May 1, 2019

Apex Legends: battle pass, characters, and news

By Tech Online Things

EA surprised many with the sudden announcement of Apex Legends, a new free-to-play battle royale shooter that sees the publisher going toe-to-toe with genre mammoths PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite Battle Royale.

Developed by Respawn Entertainment and set in the Titanfall universe, Apex Legends is a squad-based battle royale shooter where teams of three go up against 57 other players to try to gather loot and be the last person (or squad) standing.

However, unlike Fortnite and PUBG, Apex Legends sees players take on one of eight classes, each represented by a unique character (imagine Fortnite mixed with Overwatch and you’ll be on the right track.)

Whether that sounds like your kind of gaming or not, it’s clear Apex Legends is going from strength to strength. It managed to reach a million players in its first eight hours and amassed 10 million players in three days.

That’s good going. Really good going. Particularly when you consider that it took Fortnite two weeks (a fortnight!) to reach those same numbers. Similarly, it took Fortnite 24 hours to accrue a million players, compared to eight hours for EA’s shooter.

Do we have another Fortnite on our hands? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves and instead let’s take a look at everything we know about Apex Legends.

[Update: Apex Legends will get less-frequent, more meaningful updates.]

Cut to the chase

  • What is it? A free-to-play battle royale shooter set in the Titanfall universe
  • When can I play it? Available to play for free now
  • What can I play it on? Xbox One, PS4 and PC

How to download Apex Legends

Apex Legends can be downloaded for free from the PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, Origin Store or Apex Legends website. Simply search for the title, download the game and enjoy!

But do keep in mind that a good internet connect and subscription to either PS Plus, Xbox Live or Origin Access is required to play.

The good news is that Apex Legends might also be coming to mobile. According to EA’s CEO, Andrew Wilson, it could soon be following in the footsteps of console-turned-mobile hits Fortnite and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and coming to both Android and iOS devices in the not-so-distant future.

Apex Legends Battle Pass

Apex Legends has now officially launched its first Battle Pass season, dubbed Wild Frontier.

Players on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC are now able to purchase the Wild Frontier Battle Pass for 950 Apex Coins, entitling them to a new character in Octane (available separately for 750 Apex Coins or 12,000 Legends Tokens) and the ability to earn 100 new items, such as Legend Skins, Apex Coins and a new legendary Havoc skin.

As a reference, Apex Coins start at $9.99 (around £7.50 / AU$14.15) in real world money for a pack of 1,000.

Along with this speedy new Legend, the Wild Frontier Battle Pass also offers the ability to earn 100 new items, such as Legend Skins, Apex Coins and a new legendary Havoc skin.

Players who want to get a head start can immediately unlock the first 25 levels (out of 100 available in Season 1) by purchasing the Battle Pass Bundle, which costs 2,800 Apex Coins.

According to EA, Apex Legends will follow a seasonal model with each themed season bringing new content to the game in the form of new weapons, new Legends, new skins and more.

Apex Legends latest news and rumors

Less-frequent, more meaningful updates

Following a saddening report about rival Epic Games’ developers working to brutal schedules in order to keep Fortnite‘s constant flow of updates coming, Respawn is instead looking to deliver content in larger, more meaningful chunks with less frequency than its competition.

“We don’t want to overwork the team,” said Respawn Entertainment’s CEO Vince Zampella in an interview with Gamasutra:

“The thought was, ‘Hey we kind of have something that’s blowing up here, do we want to start trying to drop more content?’ But I think you look at quality of life for the team. We don’t want to overwork the team, and drop the quality of the assets we’re putting out. We want to try and raise that.”

It’s a stance that’s been echoed by the game’s executive producer Drew McCoy, who wrote in a message to Apex Legends players:

“We know that, in addition to addressing issues with the game, everyone is hungry for us to add new content. The studio culture that we’ve worked hard to cultivate, and the health of our team are very important. We take those things into account when we discuss our content roadmap, the production schedule, and the frequency in which we can update the game.

“Our long-term goal is to ensure Apex Legends always feels alive and thriving, with a focus on quality of content over novelty or speed of release. At the same time, we want to maintain our culture as a development team and avoid crunch that can quickly lead to burnout or worse.”

New Legends on the way

After the launch of new character Octane, it’s been rumored that another Legend by the name of Wattson is set to join the fray during the current season (by the end of May). Wattson is reportedly the daughter of Apex’s lead electrical engineer, which could mean Respawn is planning to expand the lore aspect of the battle royal game.

According to dataminer Shrugtal (via Apex Legends Insider), Wattson will be the first of another seven Legends planned for the battle royale.

Apex Legends has crossed the 50 million registered player mark

By some estimates that makes the player base around a quarter of the size of the battle royale behemoth – and money printing machine – Fortnite, which had around 200 million players at last count, but also means that Apex Legends is catching up quickly.

Rumor: Gladiatorial ‘survival’ and player-stealing ‘recruit’ game modes

We could potentially see a new survival mode or a recruit mode, along with a kill camera feature, plus a couple of new playable characters (the eponymous Legends).

As spotted by @RealApexLeaks, there’s a reference to a ‘survival mode’ in the game’s files, although there are no details as to exactly what this may be. The only hint is that it involves a host NPC (non-player character), and possibly spectator NPCs, who could cheer players on, or sling emotes at them, giving the atmosphere more of a gladiatorial game show feel, presumably.

Apex Legends update adding a new weapon

Apex Legends received an update that added a new weapon to the free-to-play battle royale – the Havoc assault rifle.

Strategy and communication

Apex Legends puts a huge amount of emphasis on strategy and communication among squads, which isn’t surprising considering it’s an online multiplayer game with a reliance on character classes.

Titanfall

Apex Legends is set in the Titanfall universe, however reports have begun to pop up that the battle royale title has completely replaced a third Titanfall game – according to Kotaku, Titanfall 3 isn’t currently in development and Apex Legends is what we’re getting instead.

No mechs

Players won’t be able to get into any mechs – news that likely ruffle a few feathers of franchise fans. Ditto with other signatures of the series, like wallrunning.

Playable characters are called ‘Legends’

Each has their own play-styles and special abilities, so working out which Legends complement each other in a team is key. Check out our guide for the best Apex Legends character for your playstyle.

Supply ships

Apparently these contain the best loot (essentially acting as a supply drop), so naturally they pose the biggest risk.

Customization

Unlocked as you rank up. Customizations are available for your apparel, weapons and legend banner.

Rumor: Upcoming solo mode

According to news from a prolific Fortnite data miner, a possible solo mode could be coming to Apex Legends, along with a duo mode – two-player squads – to slot alongside the existing gameplay which pits three-player squads against each other (20 of them to be precise, to make for 60 players).

Apex Legends characters and abilities

Octane

Adrenaline Junkie

Apex Legends’ newest Legend is the ultimate death-defying adrenaline junkie, speeding his way through the map, healing himself as he goes and getting into as much trouble as possible.

Tactical Ability: Stim

Passive Ability: Swift Mend

Ultimate Ability: Launch Pad

Bloodhound

Technological Tracker

Bloodhound is one of the the Outlands’ greatest hunters. There’s little known about them except that they are non-binary and super-skilled at tracking enemies in the battlefield.

Tactical Ability: Eye of the Allfather

Passive Ability: Tracker

Ultimate Ability: Beast of the Hunt

Wraith

Interdimensional Skirmisher

Wraith is a fighter with a dark twist. She’s able to execute swift attacks and open rifts in reality to benefit herself and her teammates.

Tactical Ability: Into the Void

Passive Ability: Voices from the Void

Ultimate Ability: Dimensional Rift

Gibraltar

Shielded Fortress

Built like a brick house, Gibraltar is essentially the tank of Apex Legends. He is great for defending teammates and unleashing massive damage on any enemies who dare get close enough.

Tactical Ability: Dome of Protection

Passive Ability: Gun Shield

Ultimate Ability: Defensive Bombardment

Bangalore

Professional Soldier

Bangalore serves as a classic offense character, at her best when she’s inflicting damage on enemy teams and using strategic attacks to unleash devastating assaults.

Tactical Ability: Smoke Launcher

Passive Ability: Double Time

Ultimate Ability: Rolling Thunder

Lifeline

Combat Medic

Prefer to play a healer? Then Lifelines is probably the Legend for you, providing medical assistance to her teammates on the battlefield with her healing drone and calling in extra supplies when needed.

Tactical Ability: D.O.C. Heal Drone

Passive Ability: Combat Medic

Ultimate Ability: Care Package

Pathfinder

Forward Scout

It’s important to survey and scout potential locations before sending your team in. Better to be safe than sorry. That’s where Pathfinder comes in, checking areas for enemies before making a speedy exit and guiding your team along the safest route.

Tactical Ability: Grappling Hook

Passive Ability: Insider Knowledge

Ultimate Ability: Zipline

Caustic

Toxic Trapper

Prefer to trap your enemies rather than combat them head on? Then Caustic is your guy. He’s one of two current characters unavailable in the base game and requires you to pay 12,000 Legend Tokens or 750 Apex Coins to unlock.

Tactical Ability: Nox Gas Trap

Passive Ability: Nox Vision

Ultimate Ability: Nox Gas Grenade

Mirage

Holographic Trickster

Arguably the most charismatic Legend, Mirage is a master of illusion and uses decoys to confuse enemies. Like Caustic, Mirage is unavailable in the base game and requires you to pay 12,000 Legend Tokens or 750 Apex Coins to unlock.

Tactical Ability: Psyche Out

Passive Ability: Encore!

Ultimate Ability: Vanishing Act