Apex Legends had a big year in 2019. Ever since its surprise launch in February, it has quickly grown to be one of the best multiplayer games of 2019, and for good reason. Respawn Entertainment's battle royale takes the solid gunplay and weapons from Titanfall, and mixes in a great roster of characters that have their own unique abilities and playstyles. Overall, the game has grown to be a massive hit among many fans. With its first full year coming to a close, it's time to look and see how the game could change and evolve as 2020 kicks off.
New Seasons, New Challenges
Apex Legends has hit a stride when it comes to its Battle Pass. After the lackluster Battle Pass of Season 1, Respawn has made great improvements to the structure of the Pass, so players are rewarded for the time and skill investments players make for the game. Season 3 began in October, and if the in-game counters are to be believed, then the season will end in February.
This gave players four solid months of challenges to complete, so they can earn the rewards in the Battle Pass. In this Season's Battle Pass, players were given new challenges on a daily and weekly basis to level up the Pass. The daily challenges were random, but the weekly challenges were a set list given in a random order - meaning that one player's week 5 challenges may be someone else's week 1 challenges. These weekly challenges ranged in difficulty from landing in a specific location on the map to getting 8000 damage with a specific gun type.
Players can likely expect a Battle Pass for all the seasons premiering in 2020, along with plenty of new cosmetics to earn. The Battle Pass content and quality were some of the many things that changed in Apex Legends in 2019. Every season featured a unique, evolving weapon skin as the capstone reward for the Pass, so it may be a safe bet to assume that will be the case moving forward as well.
So far, the Havoc, R-301, and Peacekeeper all have these evolving skins, so players should expect a different gun for the subsequent seasons. Each season also has a unique theme that the cosmetics are based around. Season 1 was the Wild Frontier theme, Season 2 was Battle Charge, and Season 3 is Meltdown. It's anybody's guess as to what the future seasonal themes will be, but there are sure to be plenty of interesting cosmetics to come along with them.
Legendary Legends
What sets Apex Legends apart from the other popular battle royales out there are the unique characters players get to choose from before dropping into the game. Each character has unique tactical, passive, and ultimate abilities that allow them to give their team an edge in battle. As of Season 3, there are 11 Legends currently in the game, some of which are so beloved that they are listed as the best characters of 2019. When Respawn first announced its Battle Pass structure, it noted that each Season would include a new Legend, and so far, that has been true. Season 1 had Octane, Season 2 had Wattson, and Season 3 had Crypto. So if the pattern stays the same, any seasons launched in 2020 will feature more characters to try out.
There have been several leaks regarding what the next Apex Legends character would be. The leaked run-and-gun Legend Reckoner is quite popular among fans, and the mysterious Revenant is also on the top of many fans wish lists. Revenant was the announcer for the popular Fight or Fright Halloween event in Apex Legends, and datamined files show that he does have abilities already in the code. Recently some of his abilities were modified with the holiday update, so many fans believe that he may be the next Legend to enter the fray. Regardless, there are bound to be several new Legends currently in development for the upcoming seasons, so there is a lot to look forward to.
Upping the Arsenal
Alongside every new Season comes a new Legend, but also a new weapon is added to the loot pool. Season 1 introduced the Havoc energy assault rifle, Season 2 introduced the L-Star LMG, and Season 3 introduced the controversial Charge Rifle sniper. Since Apex Legends is a loot-driven battle royale, the guns lying around the map are predominantly what drives teams to success, so when a new gun is added to the rotation, it could drastically shake up the game's meta. Perhaps the guns introduced in the upcoming seasons can finally dethrone one of Apex Legends' most overpowered weapons for good.
Another big change that Respawn has talked about is changing the available weapon "hop-ups" with every passing season. In Season 3, Respawn removed the Skullpiercer and the Disruptor Rounds hop-ups to add the Double-Tap and the Anvil Receiver hop-ups. Respawn noted that the idea is to change the available hop-ups every season to add more variety to gameplay and looting. Thankfully now that Apex Legends has a firing range mode, players can test these new hop-ups on day one without having to find them across the map mid-game.
Map Updates and Changes
One of the best parts of Apex Legends is that the map updates as seasons go on. Whether it's a small change like a Town Takeover or a massive update at the beginning of a new season, players can usually expect some changes to happen every so often. The biggest change came at the start of Season 3 when King's Canyon was removed and players began playing on the new World's Edge map. While World's Edge is a fun map to play on, many players miss King's Canyon and want to go back. While Respawn has made no indication if or when King's Canyon will return, players are hoping that in a future season the beloved map will make a triumphant comeback.
Town Takeovers are mini-events that Respawn hosts that are usually themed around a specific character. In King's Canyon there were two Town Takeovers: one for Octane and one for Wraith. These modified specific areas and added new structures and features themed around those characters. Mirage technically has something similar on World's Edge right now in the form of the Holo-day Bash event that has the Mirage Voyage hovership floating near Thermal Station. Whether the new seasons will update World's Edge or bring a return to King's Canyon remains to be seen, so players will have to wait until the next season launches to find out.
Themed Events and Limited-Time Modes
During its first year, Apex Legends featured several events for players to take part in. Some events were holiday-themed while others were simply in-game events that brought new limited-time game modes. Overall, Apex Legends featured some of the best in-game events of 2019 and for good reason. The Fight or Fright event and the Holo-Day Bash were spectacular holiday events, while Solos, Duos, and the Armed and Dangerous mode gave players new ways to play for short periods of time.
Some were so successful that fans have been begging for their return. There is no doubt that events like these will be happening again during Apex Legends' second year, but fans will just have to wait and see what Respawn has in store for 2020.
Apex Legends had a big year in 2019. From a surprise release in February to Best Multiplayer Game of 2019 at the 2019 Game Awards, it's safe to say Apex Legends was a surprise hit among players. 2020 is sure to have a ton of great content and surprises for Apex Legends players, so fans should be ready for whatever surprises Respawn has in store for its dedicated fans.
Apex Legends is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.