Apex Legends is getting the largest content release in quite some time with the release of Season 20. With it being dubbed Breakout, players are going to want to check out all the changes coming.
Some of these changes are drastically going to affect the way players are able to play Apex, and it’s best you get familiar with all the changes.
Here’s what we know.
Apex Legends Season 20 Breakout Patch Notes: Evo Shield Changes, New Map and More
Apex has been in a tricky spot throughout the last couple of seasons, as the game has lost the identity it once had within the battle royale space. Now, Respawn is looking to take this back, by reverting some of the changes they made in previous seasons.
However, players are now overjoyed at one of the features being added in Season 20, and all changes are listed below.
LEGEND UPGRADES
Introducing the Legend Upgrade system—an in-match progression system that deepens the Apex Legends Battle Royale experience by allowing you to tailor your Legend to your playstyle. This new feature will restart with each match, giving you the opportunity to try different upgrades on for size.
Earning EVO will now Level-Up your Legend over the course of the game, improving your armor tier and unlocking unique upgrade selections at Levels 2 and 3. Choose wisely, as your decision can impact your whole squad’s strategy.
Legend Upgrades and EVO changes will be limited to Battle Royale modes with Breakout. Stay tuned for our Breakout Patch Notes blog on February 12, 2024, for each Legend’s upgrade tree.
LEGEND ARMOR & SHIELD CORES
Body Shields are no longer a loot item and won’t be found on the ground in Battle Royale. Instead, all Legends have inherent Legend Armor that increases in capacity permanently as they Level-Up.
Legend Armor is fueled by a Shield Core which contains the current shield HP. Shield Cores can be swapped or dropped at any time as with previous armor systems, however, fallen enemies will now drop Shield Cores in their Death Boxes.
OVERCHARGE
Picking up a higher level Shield Core will temporarily overcharge your Armor—adding extra shield health that is held for 30 seconds before returning to your Legend Armor’s max capacity.
EARNING EVO
Players will earn EVO points from many core actions, like dealing damage, that help you succeed in the Battle Royale—with some actions also rewarding EVO to the whole squad. Earn EVO from the following Sources:
- Personal Gains
- Damage
- Knocks and Knock Assists
- Knocks against a legend of higher level will net an underdog XP bonus
- Finishers
- EVO Cache (Care Packages, Vaults etc.)
- Team Gains
- Squad Wipes
- Revives
- Respawns
- Class Interactions (Survey Beacons, Ring Consoles, etc.)
- World Interactions (Wildlife, Trials Completions, etc.)
- EVO Harvesters
EVO HARVESTERS
EVO Harvesters will randomly spawn on every BR map with a delayed activation during the first ring, allowing players time to loot up before seeking them out. Any squad member can interact with them to award a large amount of EVO to the whole squad. Every team can interact with each EVO Harvester individually, as with Crafting Harvesters in previous seasons.
Legend Upgrades and Armor will only impact Battle Royale modes. Mixtape modes will not have upgrades and will continue to use Body Shields this season.
EVO CACHES
EVO Caches are a new rare loot item that contains raw EVO and will award a full level when collected. They can be found in the world’s more highly contested 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.
RANKED RELOADED
We’re passionate about delivering the world’s most fun and rewarding shooter experience, and we recognize that not everything we try works as intended. Take for example our Ranked experience—it’s one of the most important in our game. We’ve heard you, and we agree that there are a few things that need attention.
With the launch of Breakout, we’ve decided to make a series of changes – which members of the Apex faithful will find familiar. The Level requirement is going back down to 20 and splits will be returning, which means that the season reset will be as well. Each player will start at 1 RP with the launch of Breakout. There’ll also be a quick split reset which will drop your ranking by 6 divisions. Players will receive a Ranked Tier Badge for the highest rank they’ve achieved at the end of the season across all platforms.
TRANSPARENT SCORING
Scoring will be moving to a more transparent model similar to that of past seasons, placing a heavier emphasis on eliminations over placements. Your hidden skill rating will have no influence on either matchmaking or scoring. The bonus system has also been updated to provide more insight and Player Rankings will now be visible. We’ll also be returning to an improved Ranked Point system.
With these changes, this also means that entry cost will return: 20 RP per Tier starting at Silver.
ELIMINATION SCORING
Elimination score continues scaling with placements—the value of each elimination will increase the higher your team places. There’ll be no hard cap placed on the number of eliminations a player will be scored on nor the amount of points gained from them. Instead, eliminations after the sixth will be worth half of their value.
