Season 11 of Apex Legends marked the launch of the game's fourth map - Storm Point. The new map is the biggest so far - larger even than World's Edge, which previously held the title - and contains a multitude of POIs for players to explore, loot, kill and be killed in, spread across mountainous terrain with impressive verticality.
Given the scale of Storm Point, dropping in for the first time could be an overwhelming prospect, as you'll be spoiled for choice by the many locations on offer. Fear not - here's a handy guide containing everything you'll need to pick the best drop spots on the new map.
10 Fish Farms - Southeast Corner
If you prefer a drop that's on the quieter side, giving you some time to loot up, then Fish Farms is the spot for you. It's a relatively isolated location and its position on the map's edge keeps the third-party risk to a minimum. However, the buildings will contain plenty of good loot.
The water separating buildings does make movement between them more difficult, but this inconvenience will discourage many players looking for high-kill games, making Fish Farms a good bet if you're looking for a safe, relaxed beginning to your game, or trying to learn the ins and outs of Apex.
9 Lightning Rod - Northeast Corner
Contrary to Fish Farms, Lightning Rod is the tactical player's drop. It represents the highest point on the map, which, given Storm Point's verticality, makes it a very valuable position. It's height makes it very strategically advantageous. and it serves as a good vantage point from which to spot other players.
Dropping here and surviving will allow you to either hold the high ground in the event of the ring moving upwards, or come at unsuspecting foes from height if the ring moves you down - a win-win on a map like Storm Point.
8 Barometer - South of the Map's Centre
While Storm Point lacks a massive, central POI like Fragment or Skull Town to attract absurd numbers of players, Barometer is definitely one of the more central locations on the map. Its position allows easy rotations by land or water to the north, west, and east.
Barometer is fantastically situated to allow you to drop in, get geared up, and move out quickly in any direction of your choosing. It's the ideal place to land for those looking to quickly get into the ring, or get in on some action.
7 North Pad - Northwest Corner
Like Fish Farms, North Pad is situated in a more remote location, likely making it another good option for a less crowded drop. Unlike Fish Farms though, North Pad is, as the name suggests, in the north of the map, putting it nearer the mountains and that all important high ground.
If the quietness of Fish Farms appealed to you but you were put off by the POI's low ground location, then North Pad is your answer. You'll be able to drop in, loot up, and quickly move to take height from which to get the jump on enemies.
6 Cenote Cave - Southwest Corner
Cenote Cave is an expansive POI located on its own island at the bottom of the map. While this does put it on the low ground, the area does still have great strategic advantage. Storm Point's layout of waterways means that anyone on the bottom half of the map looking to travel west by land will have to move through Cenote Cave.
This obviously makes controlling the cave very tactically valuable, and combined with the area's spider eggs, which allow you to farm ammo and weapon attachments by killing the spiders (just like the island's prowlers), Cenote Cave is a drop spot worth considering.
5 Cascade Falls - Near the Map's Centre
While not the exact centre of Storm Point, Cascade Falls is the closest POI to it. It doesn't have the size to support drops on the scale of Fragment or Skull Town, but its position means that while not many players will drop there, they likely will travel through, either on foot or on the Trident cars found around Storm Point.
This means that if you're dropping there, you'll want to either get geared up and get out quickly to avoid third parties, or arm up and play defensively, preying on teams passing through to bolster your arsenal.
4 Storm Catcher - East of the Map's Centre
Unlike many of the POIs on Storm Point (or Apex in general), Storm Catcher is largely indoors, making it an ideal POI for those who prefer close-quarters fighting. If you've been practicing in the more cramped maps of the arenas and want to bring your skills to battle royale, give Storm Catcher a shot.
It's not without outside combat entirely, though - a few balconies allow for long-range defense against those pushing the building, meaning that if you can conquer the interior, Storm Catcher is an excellent spot to hold down.
3 Checkpoint - Northwest of the Map's Centre
Checkpoint is, in many ways, a fairly standard town-style location; it's a group of connected buildings, each containing plenty of loot. One thing sets it apart, however is that the whole thing is suspended above a dense jungle.
This means that if things get too chaotic, you can bail out and jump into the trees below, using the thick foliage for cover as you escape. Checkpoint is a great spot for anyone who likes to make a clean getaway when fights get too intense.
2 The Wall - North of the Map
The Wall is another choke point POI, serving as the barrier between the northern beach and the mountain. It's also a large area, meaning it'll have plenty of loot and space for many teams. These factors combine to mean that The Wall will likely have many teams landing at it, and many more moving through it once the initial fighting has died down.
Though it won't be on the scale of Fragment, The Wall should be a fairly reliable hot drop location on Storm Point, so it's perfect for players who like to get straight into the action as soon as they touch down.
1 Highpoint - North of the Map
As the name suggests, Highpoint is located on Storm Point's ever-valuable high ground. Though small, the location offers far more strategic benefit than its position - it acts as a choke point to the very top of the mountain, allowing you to defend against teams passing through either way.
Highpoint also contains Storm Point's only redeploy balloon, giving it even further tactical value. This is a seriously tall balloon, so combined with the POIs existing height, you can get some serious distance when it's time to move out. For rotations elsewhere on the map, Storm Point forgoes redeploy balloons in favour of gravity cannons, which launch you like stronger versions of the speed-obsessed Octane's jump pad.