July 3, 2024
The latest Apex Legends season, ‘Shockwave,’ is packed with new features, updates, and gameplay changes. You can check the full patch notes here. However, we’re going to take a brief look at the most important updates to remember this season.
New Map: E-District
One of the biggest highlights this season is the introduction of a brand-new map, E-District. This map stands out with its emphasis on verticality and varied landscapes, creating opportunities for various combat strategies. With A LOT of buildings, this map is heaven for those who enjoy range combat. It’s also fun for those who, like me, like to engage in close combat with a shotgun and try to outmaneuver their opponents by climbing up and down between floors.
Controller and Recon Legends Get Upgrades
Shockwave season introduces some changes to the roles of Controller and Recon Legends:
- Controller Legends now have a new class perk called Zone Overcharge, which provides extra shield capacity when playing within the zone. This perk allows Controller players to maintain their armor and survive longer in intense fights. Additionally, a new quality-of-life feature allows Controller Legends to remotely pick up their undamaged Tactical abilities.
- Recon Legends gain a powerful new ability with Threat Vision. This perk highlights enemies when aiming down sights, making it easier to spot and track opponents. Survey Beacons have also been reworked to be faster.
- One change I’d specifically like to comment on is Crypto’s new Off the Grid upgrade: Crypto now cloaks himself while controlling his drone, making him harder to spot. However, he still emits a sound at close range, and ability scans can reveal his location. Seems like devs are trying to make Crypto a bit more enjoyable with a more fun-to-use drone.
Weapons and Loot Overhaul
This season brings several weapon adjustments and loot system changes:
- R-99 is now in the Care Package with better stats, better recoil, and increased damage at close range. However, it now features damage fall-off at longer distances, making it much more awkward and inefficient in medium/long-range combat.
- The Gun Shield Generator hop-up for LMGs adds a defensive element, making these weapons more versatile in battle.
- The loot system has been significantly revamped with the introduction of the Loot Bin Reset. Halfway through a match, all loot bins will close and reroll their contents; this implies a higher chance of containing high-tier loot. Some bins will transform into Legendary Loot Bins that guarantee good and juicy upgrades for your squad.
- Say hello to Akimbo weapons, a new mechanic that allows players to dual-wield P2020s or Mozambiques for a fun and fast close-quarter combat.
Quality of Life Improvements
Apex Legends has always been about fast-paced, intense action, and the Shockwave season adds several quality-of-life improvements to help maintain the feeling:
- Stat Trackers are now more customizable, now you can mix and match background art and stats on your Legend Banner Cards. This gives players more ways to aesthetically show off their achievements across different Legends.
- The game’s ammo management system has been improved, with better indicators for low ammo and an intuitive in-game display.
- The removal of Aim Flinch from most weapons and abilities is another welcome change, ensuring that players can maintain their aim even when under fire.
- The introduction of Enemy Health Bars and Enemy Highlights makes it easier to track and engage opponents during the heat of battle, and if you are used to how it was before and you are annoyed by this new feature, you can always disable it easily from the settings.
- This season introduces color-coding for abilities like Caustic’s gas traps, making it easier to tell if a trap is friendly or from an enemy (thanks, Respawn).
New Modes
- Bot Royale is a new mode designed for new players. Here they will battle against bot squads in a faster version of the standard battle royale mode.
- The Revival mode brings a new respawn mechanic: players can re-enter the fight as long as one squad member remains alive. Teams must balance aggression with survival to keep their chances alive deep into the match.
Conclusion
The Shockwave season of Apex Legends is packed with fun new features and strategic updates. Get ready to drop in, Legends!