Apex Legends’ Season 14 update is almost upon us and Respawn Entertainment is giving this free-to-play battle royale’s veteran players something to look forward to – and it’s about time, too. Alongside the new Apex Legends character and Kings Canyon map changes, Respawn Entertainment is introducing a new, increased level cap to Apex Legends on all platforms. Interestingly, this new level cap isn’t going to be as simple as Apex Legends players going from level 500 to level 600, 700, and beyond. No, this level cap increase is actually a Call of Duty-like prestige system in disguise.
Speaking to content creators and press during a pre-release Season 14 virtual panel, Apex Legends’ experience design director Aaron Rutledge took a moment to explain what players can expect to see from the increased and expanded level progression coming to this battle royale with the Hunted update.
“In Season 14, we’re going to expand the max level cap by looping through level one to 500 three additional times,” Rutledge revealed. “[This is] essentially raising the level cap to 2,000.” As you might imagine, going forward players can expect to see a different badge design for their banner every 500 levels. Respawn Entertainment may not admit it, but it’s clearly a levelling system somewhat similar to the prestige levelling system we’ve seen in Call of Duty titles for years.
But, what does this increased level cap actually mean for Apex Legends players? Well, Rutledge continued on to confirm that this increased level cap means that battle royale players can earn an Heirloom item solely through account progression and gameplay – something that will be welcome news to a lot of players looking to keep this a fully free-to-play experience.
Prior to the increased level cap, players could earn up to 200 Apex Packs through account progression and levelling. Moving forward, Rutledge has confirmed that an additional 344 Apex Packs will be available. With Respawn Entertainment guaranteeing that players will unlock an Heirloom item after 500 Apex Packs, this important development will mean that players can guarantee that – with enough time playing – they can get their hands on one of these rare items.
It might take a while, but the increased level cap coming to Apex Legends Season 14 is a good sign for players who are looking forward to playing this game for years to come – and proof that it is still one of the best battle royale games out there. If you want to shake things up, though, you should check out our updated Apex Legends tier list here and read up on the latest Apex Legends patch notes right here.