Apex Legends Players Demand Straight Shot LTM Becomes Permanent

LTMs in Apex Legends have had their ups and downs, but players are raving about Season 20's new mode, Straight Shot, with growing requests that the game mode become a permanent feature. So, how does Straight Shot work in terms of gameplay, and how likely is it to stick around? Let's find out.

Apex Legends Straight Shot Gameplay

The LTM Straight Shot plays like a rapid-fire version of the standard Apex Legends battle royale. The aim is faster more action-packed matches with less looting and a lot more gunplay. Here's every change in the Straight Shot game mode explained in a snappy list:

• Straight Shot game length is limited to 10 minutes.
• Lobby sizes are capped at 30 players (half of a standard BR game).
• Weapons spawn with attachments already equipped, further reducing time spent looting. These attachments can still be unequipped and replaced if you wish to do so.
• Players begin Straight Shot matches in a random P.O.I. with one other team, setting up immediate fights.
• Due to matches being only 10 minutes in length, the zone will shrink much faster, getting you to the final circle at a rapid rate.

Apex Legends Season 20 Reviews

For the most part, the Apex Legends community is raving about the Straight Shot LTM. A major complaint surrounding battle royale games in general, even amongst fans, is that the slow-paced early game can feel drab after a while spent dabbling in the genre. Straight Shot LTM is high octane from the very beginning, minimizing time spent looting a perfect loadout, and maximizing time spent shooting.

Here are a few user reviews on the Season 20 LTM.

This is exactly what my friends and I have been wanting. I'm a long-time Apex player who was getting sick of the loot for 10 minutes to get wiped in 20 seconds gameplay. Straight Shot is fast-paced but still feels like Apex and a BR. Just more action-packed in a shorter amount of time.

Reddit user, Kona_Conch

And another from a user who tried duo queue:

My buddy and I tried it last night and loved it. We were in the "let's do one more" cycle -regardless of winning or insta-dying - because it was so much fun.
Definitely the big win of this season for me.

Reddit user, TheMangoDiplomat

Another Reddit user even speculated that Straight Shot may be a testing phase hidden in plain sight for a permanent new game mode in the future.

I feel like the devs are testing LTMs to eventually become permanent modes within the game.

Throughout the years, they’ve always brought in features within LTMs which are being tested. The earliest one I can think of is Octane's bounce pad which featured in an LTM, before Octane even came out.

Reddit user, Nervous_Difficulty_6

Will Straight Shot Be Apex Legends' New Permanent Mode?

This is the big question. While it is not unheard of for Apex Legends to trial various gameplay features in LTMs, making an entire LTM like Straight Shot a permanent mode is an entirely different challenge.

First, the mode would have to be balanced separately alongside the regular battle royale mode. Various legends that benefit from sniper or bunker-style gameplay may not fare so well when repeatedly plunged into fights immediately off the drop. Likewise, weapon spawns will have to be balanced across every possible P.O.I. to ensure all teams begin on a level playing field.

Second, and perhaps most important, competitive games of all kinds tend to use extreme caution when dividing their player base between multiple queues.

If Straight Shot becomes overwhelmingly popular, the match quality of standard battle royale games (which are already divided between trios, duos, and ranked) could plummet, leading to developers needing sweeping changes to restabilize their game.

In summary, it feels extremely unlikely that Straight Shot will morph from an LTM into a permanent feature of Apex Legends.

That said, Respawn has proven to watch their LTMs closely and use them to learn what players enjoy. Does that mean that the pace of an average battle royale game might speed up in the future? We'll see. For now, enjoy Straight Shot while you can!

For more Apex news, check out our breakdown of all Season 20 gun changes in this article here!