Following on from the recent Holo-Day Bash event, Apex Legends is jumping straight into another event next week; the Apex Legends Grand Soiree. Spanning two weeks, this ‘Arcade Event’ will give players the chance to try out seven new game modes, but each will only be available for two days. The last of these modes, called ‘DUMMIEs Big Day,’ looks to be the most interesting by far. Specifically, it appears to feature the inclusion of the first true AI enemies in Apex Legends…
The Upcoming Apex Legends DUMMIEs Big Day Game Mode
At present, relatively little is known about the seven new game modes featuring in the Apex Legends Grand Soiree. That is especially true for ‘DUMMIEs Big Day,’ which seems to offer the most radical departure from the game’s norms. Thus far, Respawn has not released clarifying details about the mode. However, footage from the event trailer appears to show AI-controlled enemies in the form of colourful test-dummy robots. These ‘DUMMIEs’ don’t seem to use guns, but will instead attack players in close combat with melee attacks. They also appear to be able to use certain abilities, like teleporting short distances.
Whatever the case, the inclusion of these ‘DUMMIEs’ could be a major milestone for Apex Legends. While Season 2 did see the inclusion of some AI-controlled fauna, these were mostly quite passive. They served a role more as map hazards than true enemies. The DUMMIEs, meanwhile, seem to actively target players. At present, it’s unknown whether the new game mode will pit players against the DUMMIEs (perhaps in a wave-based horde mode), or whether they will simply spawn around the map as some sort of extra threat during matches.
Apex Legends wouldn’t be the first battle royale game to add AI enemies, of course. After all, both Call of Duty: Mobile and Black Ops 4 have featured zombies on some of their battle royale maps, for example. In fact, given that the DUMMIEs don’t appear to use firearms, it’s possible that this is Respawn taking cues from some of their competitors. For now, players will have to wait for the mode to become playable on the 26th of January. While the mode will only be available to play for three days, it’s very likely that the Grand Soiree is intended as a sort of testing event for Respawn. As such, if the DUMMIEs are well-received, they could very well return in the future on a longer-term basis.