Earlier today, Apex Legends came crashing in with its highly anticipated Season 2 patch. At last month’s E3 Expo the delayed release was announced, coming in with a whopping 20 GB update. Though we are still uncovering all the details and tweaks, let’s go over a few of our favorites!
Wattson, the Latest Legend
Daughter of the arena’s lead electrical engineer, Natalie “Wattson” Paquette joins the dynamic roster! She is a defensive character who’s abilities all revolve around her mastery of electricity.
- Spark of Genius (Passive): Only 1 Ultimate Accelerant is required to fully charge her Ultimate. Also, standing near her electrical pylons boosts her tactical.
- Perimeter Security (Tactical): Place and connect nodes to created electrified fences. These fences will damage and slow enemies while alerting Wattson of their position.
- Interception Pylon (Ultimate): Place an electrified pylon that destroys incoming air strikes and throwables. It also restores teammates’ shields.
L-STAR, the Newest Gun
Move over Kraber and Mastiff, a new legendary gun is here! Developers have really hyped this iconic Titanfall 2 weapon, calling it simply, “a beast”.
The Lastimosa Armory Assault Rifle (L-STAR for short) is a fast-shooting light machine gun that does not require reloads. Yeah, that’s gonna be a problem.
Thankfully, for those on the receiving end of this monster, take solace in knowing that the ammo is finite. Just like the Kraber and Mastiff, you only get the unique ammo the gun comes with.
Map Changes
A picture is worth a thousand words. Just watch:
Here’s the aftermath.
The Battle Charge
The battle pass is being rebranded as the Battle Charge. It promises to massively expand on Season 1’s pedestrian offering with challenges, more legendaries and new content types.
It’s a welcomed change to see the game reward players with crafting materials so you aren’t forced to accept a legendary item that you don’t want. The skins unlocked in this season look at bit more sleek than the inaugural season.
No surprise that emotes made their way to the stage, especially given the success Fortnite has had with this feature. Good move by Respawn to let you emote while dropping, given there isn’t a loading area before the match.
Music packs arrived earlier than expected. A nice-to-have which likely won’t get much attention, but it’s worth noting that you can have different music for different stages in the game.
We had high expectations for season 2 and are moderately happy with what’s been added. It’s not as though the entire Average Gamer community is running to pay for the battle charge, but more people have picked it up this time around.
Ranked Leagues
Last, but certainly not least, Respawn is introducing a ranked mode. Fortnite’s Arena Mode has performed pretty well and we expect the Apex counterpart to have similar success.
By matching players who are in a similar skill range, the games should be more competitive for the 60 people dropping in. The details are a bit long, so here are some cliff notes:
Ranks
As with most ranked games, the tiers range from Bronze up to Diamond. Beyond that is an elite tier called Apex Predator. Within each tier are four divisions.
Players need to spend Ranked Points (RP) to enter a match. Each match has a cost which corresponds to your tier.
Unfortunately for the noobie in the group, the squad will be placed in the lobby based on the top dog in your team. If you’re lucky, you will have two other people who are similarly ranked to keep things manageable.
Scoring
Moving up in ranks involves playing well in matches. Your performance within the match will net you points. Earn enough and you can “buy” your way to the next tier. From Polygon, here’s how the scoring breaks down:
Each match players will earn RP for things like getting kills, which will be worth 1RP each with a cap of five per match, and finishing high. If players finish in the top 10, they’ll gain 2RP, the top five will be worth 4RP, the top three will be worth 7RP, and finishing first will give 12RP.
Interestingly, you’ll get more points for 5-kill win than you would for a 15-kill, second place finish. Hopefully this doesn’t incentivize more camping…
Additional Info:
Interestingly, you can drop tiers but you can’t drop rank. If you achieve Gold status, then that’s your new baseline. No falling during a tilted weekend of consecutive losses. With this strategy, you should theoretically reach your equilibrium rank and plateau.
The Rewards have yet to be announced, but after the negative feedback from Season 1, we are expecting massive improvements.
Other Updates
There were several bonus changes like disruptor ammo, new hop-ups, and new attachments. Respawn added balancing for weapons and legends. Notably, there were changes to the incoming damage done to certain legends and an adjustment for Pathfinder’s character model.
The ring damage and closing speed have been adjusted for Season 2. Damage per tick and ring timing have been modified.
Feel free to visit Reddit to see these changes in greater detail.
And finally… a stats page!
What do you think?
Has Respawn delivered on its second season? Were you expecting even more content or did this satisfy you?
The next legend has already been leaked if you care to search. Other than a new legend, are you waiting on anything else this season?
Let us know in the comments below!
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