Apex Legends Season 8: Mayhem Kings Canyon map changes

Apex Legends Season 8: Mayhem brings players back to Kings Canyon in a brand new avatar.

Receiving the biggest overhaul in three seasons, Kings Canyon has gotten a facelift, rotation changes, and multiple new areas.

Addressing the criticism that the map was subjected to, Apex Legends Season 8 looks to place Kings Canyon as a viable arena for ranked and competitive gameplay.

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Apex Legends Season 8 Kings Canyon changes

As seen in the Apex Legends Season 8: Mayhem launch trailer, the crash of Fuse's ship in the north of Kings Canyon has devasted the world and given rise to new locations like ECHO (Ecological Cleanup and Hazard Outreach) camps, Explosive Holds, Observation Towers, and more.

As to what developers Respawn Entertainment have worked towards with the changes, they are:

• More attractive drop points in the Northwestern part of the map.
• Improved rotations of northern locations to Runoff, Artillery, Containment, and the Pit.
• The easing of 3rd partying by:
• Adding an entirely new section of the map that never existed before, thus giving more options for the initial drop
• Thinning out densely-packed smaller POIs to provide more breathing room and reduce combat choke points
• A new map mechanic that can create on-the-fly high ground to gain a power position
• New armories scattered across the map to help you gear up quickly, requiring a bit of forethought when looting

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Crash site

Fuse's crashed ship (Image via Electronic Arts)

Added to increase the map's size after Skulltown's destruction in Season 5, the crash site serves as an interesting addition as it gives rise to brand new rotations.

The crash has affected Artillery, virtually making it an entry point to the new part of the map.

Artillery before Season 8 changes (Image via Electronic Arts)

Artillery after Season 8 changes (Image via Electronic Arts)

The tunnel east of Artillery was also affected, with a portion of the wall completely blown out, forming a new route for rotations from the north.

Artillery tunnel before Season 8 changes (Image via Electronic Arts)

Artillery tunnel after Season 8 changes (Image via Electronic Arts)

Spotted Lakes

Taking the place of Slum Lakes on the map, Spotted Lakes consist of camps divided by a dam in the center, with ECHO hutments littered all over the place for indoor or outdoor fights.

Pre-changes Slum Lake (Image via Electronic Arts)

Slum Lake's replacement, Spotted Lakes (Image via Electronic Arts)

Uncovered Bones

To speed up the rotation from Spotted Lakes to Runoff and Artillery, Uncovered Bones serves as the connecting gateway.

The new location, Uncovered Bones (Image via Electronic Arts)

Observation Towers

Four new observation towers have been added to ECHO camps to gain the high ground quickly.

The new Observation Towers in Apex Legends Season 8 (Image via Electronic Arts)

Explosive Holds

Players can now access mobile armories from the crashed ship, with a well-placed ordnance to access ammo, weapons, and attachments.

Explosive Holds (Image via Electronic Arts)

Removal of chokepoint: The Farm

In an attempt to reduce ambush spots in Apex Legends Season 8, a controversial spot from Kings Canyon has been completely removed.

The Farm before changes (Image via Electronic Arts)

The Farm after changes (Image via Electronic Arts)