Having been out for half a decade and boasting a hearty 20 seasons of content, Apex Legends has proved itself as a mainstay in the battle royale genre. However, things can get a little stale at times. Well, Respawn has clearly been listening to the community as Apex Legends Season 20 brings with it perhaps the biggest change to the PS5 and Xbox FPS yet – Legend Upgrades, a brand-new feature to pick powerful perks during a match.
The new season of Apex Legends, titled Breakout, is almost here and it could very well be the best update yet. Not only is Apex Season 20 planning to bring 120fps support to PS5 and Xbox, but it’s also changing the core gameplay in a big way.
Arriving on the Apex Legends Season 20 release date later this month is a brand-new upgrade system that allows you to choose from unique perks for each Legend during a match. In this new system, players begin each match at level zero. Earning XP from killing players or supporting allies will level up your Legend throughout the match. With each new level, you will be able to pick and upgrade to change how your Legend’s abilities function.
Yes, this also means that every Legend now has new features. With two options available at levels two and three, you will be able to tweak your Legend to further match your playstyle. We’ve no doubt this significant influx of new tools will have a dramatic effect on the Apex Legends tier list and overall meta in Season 20 and beyond.
To go along with this, a new rare loot item called EVO Caches contain raw EVO that will award a full level when collected. They can be found in hot-drop locations such as vaults and supply drops. If a player is already at max level, they will not be able to pick up the EVO Cache, so make sure you ping one for your teammate.
Importantly, this Legend Upgrade feature also ties into your armor. No longer will you find the various tiers of armor by scavenging. Instead, your armor is entirely dictated by your Legend Level.
Why does this matter? Well, it means that your gear will upgrade alongside you, taking some of the luck out of the equation. No longer will a team be able to grab the best armor right away due to pure luck and wipe the floor with less fortunate folk. Furthermore, it’s also easier to guess the armor tier of your opponent since, as the match progresses, the surviving players should be the ones earning more XP and leveling up more. After the change to make all armor EVO armor in 2020 (meaning it can be leveled up), this seems like the obvious conclusion – particularly after the prior change didn’t fix the issues.
VideoGamesChronicle notes that, when asked about how this new system affects balance, the developers explained that XP gains are tweaked behind the scenes. Towards the end of a match, it sounds as though lower-level players will receive more XP to help close the gap somewhat.
By removing the need to scrounge for armor, especially in the early game, you’re given more freedom to hunt down other players without worrying about lagging behind in the loot department. With excellent gunplay worthy of being among the best FPS games, we’ll always relish the opportunity to spend more time on the offensive than staring at the ground for loot.
With such a dramatic overhaul to the core gameplay, Apex Legends Breakout will feel almost like an entirely new Xbox game and new PS5 game. Just be careful if you’re heading into Apex Legends ranks right away, as it will no doubt take some time to get used to the meta changes.