Without a doubt, Apex Legends season 2 is a huge improvement over the first, with daily and weekly challenges adding a better grind to complete this season's Battle Pass than before. The rewards this season also stand out over last season's, as they are move innovative like the skydive emotes, provide more chances at epic and legendary gear with the Apex Packs, and give a satisfactory amount of rewards. That said, there is one major area where the season 2 Battle Pass could be improved: high-tier rewards.
There is almost a clear lineation in the season 2 Battle Pass where the quality of the rewards descend. At Tier 75, Apex Legends players unlock the final skin on the Battle Pass, which is the Jade Tiger Octane skin. It is a pretty sweet reward, but the fact that there are 25 tiers remaining (disregarding the tiers past 100) after the final skin is a major blow to the quality of the Battle Pass. That, and the fact that the very next reward - at Tier 76 - is a skin for the EVA-8, a shotgun many wouldn't consider being at the top of any tiered weapon lists, doesn't help.
After that, there are a few backgrounds, a mastiff skin, and a few skydive emotes that are OK rewards before reaching the final reward. At Tier 100, players unlock the Iron Rampage for the R-301 skin, which can be elevated to the Golden Rampage Skin at Tier 110 (with a Season 2 completion badge as well). There's no knocking the R-301 or how well these skins look, but having a weapon skin as the final reward on a Battle Pass just isn't as exciting as it should be.
Completing a Battle Pass ought to come with recognizable bragging rights, as is the case with Fortnite tier 100 skins. Seeing a Reaper skin running around instantly means players will recognize that opponent as an OG from season 3, but the tier 100 weapon skins of Apex Legends aren't going to be instantly recognizable (because whose paying attention to that in a firefight?)
As aforementioned, the Season 2 Battle Pass is still an improvement despite its own shortcomings, and it helps establish a solid pattern for content. Keeping skill-focused daily and weekly challenges will keep having players push to improve their skills, but changing up the rewards system may go a long way in keeping interested players. Here's how Apex Legends can improve on its current design.
Space Out the Skin Rewards
Fortnite Season 10 only has 1 more skin than Apex Legends season 2, but players can't really tell because of the spacing. For example, Fortnite players get two skins at tier 1 and then it's at tier 23, tier 47, tier 70, tier 87, and tier 100 that players unlock a skin, making these skins span the entire Battle Pass. In direct contrast, Apex Legends players get three skins at Tier 1, then one at tier 25, tier 30, and finally at tier 75, putting most in close proximity with each other but still creating a reward drought between tier 30 and 75, and 75-110.
Even if the Battle Pass doesn't expand beyond 6 characters skin, these are arguably the biggest rewards and showcase the most bragging rights, so developer Respawn Entertainment should look to improving this area of the Battle Pass.
More Original Rewards
Arguably, the next most interesting reward this season were the Skydive emotes, which will hopefully continue on through future Battle Passes. Between these emotes, the ping system, and its respawn system, Apex Legends has adopted a reputation of innovation in the battle royale genre, which is something that should be embraced. More original rewards such as the Skydive emote will help the Battle Pass stand out even more, which should be the goal.
More Events
One thing that helps players complete a Battle Pass is an event to draw their attention. While it doesn't have to be as drastic as example seen in other battle royale games, more events and frequent updates would go a long way. Understandably, no one wants developer Respawn Entertainment to crunch to get these out, but it still feels like it's on the other end of the spectrum sometimes, wherein the game events are far and few between. That said, Apex Legends is finally getting a solos mode as part of its Iron Crown Collection event, so it remains to be seen how long this stands.
Better Tier 100+ Rewards
The R-301 may be the best AR in the whole game, but skins for it as tier 100 and 110 rewards just isn't enough. These could have easily been Tier 90 and 99 rewards, elevating the whole Battle Pass, and saving something better to top off the Battle Pass. The most simple answer would be another legendary skin to round off the Battle Pass, but Apex Legends' design hints at something even better, which takes us to our next point...
Introduce a New Character as a Battle Pass Reward
Apex Legends' hero-based battle royale system is unique, an effective crossover between a hero-based shooter like Overwatch and a military title like Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. This unique design isn't something that can be replicated easily (at least without being a straight-up clone) and is likely Apex Legends' greatest strength. Because of this, new legends should round-off the Battle Pass.
Notably, Apex Legends has been teasing the addition of Crypto, a new legend said to come to the game during season 2. And if Respawn intends to add more than 1 legend per season (which is recommended), then why not make them high-tier Battle Pass Rewards? It could be the legends' icon or even a "mystery legend" reward that players will have to complete the Battle Pass for (perhaps complete with a unique seasonal skin) that can be purchased in the next season.
Seeing a new character in a season as part of a Battle Pass is serious bragging rights and a unique skin will mean that players unlocked the character instead of purchasing it. Worst case scenario, the reward and season have to be delayed because of issues with the new character, which is likely the least of Apex Legends' technical worries.
Recent comments from Apex Legends developer Respawn Entertainment suggests that season 3 will be even bigger than season 2, so hopefully, Respawn lives up to its reputation.
Apex Legends is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.