Apex Legends had a surprise release in February, and unless you've ignored all the commotion, it has taken over the battle royale genre. With it growing, organizations are scrambling to assemble players to compete for them in the quickly growing Apex Legends. Today, we managed to snag an interview with one of those players, Jonathan "UrbanCDN" Boland of WorldBestGaming.

Do you mind telling us how you became a member of WBG?

UrbanCDN: Our entire team represented WBG in previous games so when we began to excel in Apex, they reached out to us.

Which character do you main, and what about that character has made you attached to it?

UrbanCDN: Lifeline. Lifeline's support base and lack of evade abilities makes me play a smarter more analytical game as our IGL (In-game leader) while my teammates are out making the big plays.

We currently have eight characters with more to come. Who do you think is the weakest of playable characters and how would you fix said character?

UrbanCDN: I'd say Caustic is the weakest legend. His abilities affect his teammates as much as his opponents, which removes any use for him in any form. For him to be re-introduced and be accepted, both in public and competitive play, his abilities would need to only affect enemy players.

Apex Legends has been growing at an almost alarming pace, reaching the 50 million player mark at the beginning of March. What do you think has Apex so successful in the Battle Royale genre where Fortnite has been so dominant?

UrbanCDN: Apex has been going in the opposite direction with Fortnite: Apex has shown every single feature in the game, and every update they push into this game is going to be well tested, well balanced, and actually have a place in the game while Fortnite continues to annoy players by introducing unbalanced items and then vaulting them soon after.

What are your thoughts on the current state of the game (post Wingman and Peacekeeper nerf)?

UrbanCDN: The current state of them game, especially in a competitive mindset, is really good. Almost every weapon is currently viable and, after the slight Wingman re-tune, you can have numerous different play-styles to bring you to the end.

Respawn gave us a roadmap for what to expect through December of this year. Besides the rumors of the new characters, what would you like to see them add to the game?

UrbanCDN: I'd love for custom/private servers to come ASAP. The rumors around these are everywhere but haven't been put anywhere on a roadmap. This game is more competitively balanced than any BR out there, and we all just want to start playing on the main stage.

There have been rumors of ranked play circling about. Are you looking forward to a ranked mode, and what system do you think would work best for Apex Legends?

UrbanCDN: I'm very interested in ranked play. When you're spending every hour of the day trying to improve and test yourself, you aren't overly challenged when you are facing a young teen who plays casually after school. I can't wait to play consistently against people that take this game as serious as my team.

Apex currently only has three-man squads as a play option, with the reasoning behind that being character abilities and teamwork. Do you think this game would still be enjoyable with solo or duos or is it better off with three players?

UrbanCDN: I think "three's" is perfect. I honestly hope solos and duos don't come out because I think the world needs a good team-based BR. Once ranked play comes out, I expect most players won't have an issue solo queuing because they will always be playing with people who take the game as serious as they do.

Do you have any tips/strategies on how to get more wins or improve your play?

UrbanCDN: If you're a player new to Apex or BRs in general, I'd say just don't worry about your results at first. When I first got into BR, I spent the first few months just dropping into the game and going for every kill I possibly could. If I died, I would requeue, and if I won it, then I'd instantly go for the next fight. I killed thousands and died even more, but you learn so much more and improve faster doing that then sitting around looting and hiding going for the final win. You won't see instant results, but when you go back to playing a more moderate style you'll be a whole new player.

The pro scene in Apex seems to be growing very quickly with teams signing players left and right. For the aspiring pro players out there who don’t know where to start, what path would you tell them to take in order to get to pro status?

UrbanCDN: Quite honestly, there is no straight path to pro in esports. Every player on my team has taken a different path to get here and at the end of the day we are all in the same place. My biggest tip is... just do it. Don't sit around asking for a team and expect the best team in the world to contact you. Go out and make a team, play in scrims, play in tournaments (UMG has consistent tournaments right now for their 3k Grubhub tournaments), and make a name for yourself. Nothing in esports is ever just handed to you so you need to make the moves yourself.

Anything you’d like to conclude this interview with?

UrbanCDN: I'm just insanely excited! My team has started a new practice regimen to focus on long-term growth to ensure we will always be in the debate in who the best team in the world is. I've never seen a more dedicated to long-term success so I just can't wait to be able to compete on the main stage with Birt and Monsoon.

Congrats to Urban and his team at WorldBestGaming for their success, and best of luck in their future endeavors!

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