Everything You Need to Know About Apex Legends: Shockwave New Update
Apex Legends’ Shockwave update has landed, bringing a wave of fresh content including a new limited-time mode, a themed event, and significant changes to gameplay through extensive patch notes. Get ready to dive into everything new in this comprehensive overview.
New Mode: Knockout
Knockout introduces a fresh twist to the Apex formula. Twenty squads of three compete in a zone-capturing, point-accruing frenzy. Squads accumulate points by securing zones and collecting EVO. However, a unique elimination system keeps the tension high; the five squads with the lowest scores are eliminated at the end of each round. Teams have unlimited respawns until the final round, provided at least one teammate survives. After three elimination rounds, the remaining five squads battle it out in a sudden-death showdown to claim victory.
To help players get accustomed to different Legends, the new mode is releasing Amped Knockout Trials. Each week will have new challenges to unlock the legends in the game. Players will need to complete these challenges to permanently unlock them.
- September 17 – October 15: Crypto unlocks after completing the trials.
- October 1 – October 15: Wattson unlocks after completing the trials.
- Completing these trials gives an Epic tiered badge.
Space Hunt Event
The Space Hunt Event is a limited-time opportunity to snag exclusive cosmetics. The event features 36 new items, each unlock bringing you closer to milestone rewards. Acquire these space-themed treasures and enhance your Legend’s style.
These new cosmetics can be acquired through the Space Hunt Event Packs. These Packs will guarantee an Event Item along with two standard items. There are no duplicates of the event items. Bounty Bucks can be earned by completing daily event challenges. These bucks can be spent on the Space Hunt Reward Shop. These items can be refreshed on September 28. Limited-time offers from September 17 to October 8 are available for Bangalore, Wraith, Ash, Mirage, Ballistic, and Gibraltar.
Patch Notes
Beyond the new mode and event, the Shockwave update brings a wealth of changes across various aspects of Apex Legends. From weapon tweaks to Legend reworks, here’s a detailed look at the patch notes:
Weapons And Loot
Gold Weapon Rotations
A new set of fully kitted Gold Weapons is now available. The weapons include: P2020 Akimbo, Mozambique Akimbo, EVA-8, VK-47 Flatline, G7 Scout. These rotations are essential for controlling various engagement distances. Securing these weapons gives teams an early advantage and improves combat effectiveness.
Loot Bin Reset
The mid-game Loot Bin Reset feature receives further refinement. An announcer voice line has been added to signal the reset, improving player awareness. The spawn rate of high-value loot, such as backpacks, hop-ups, and gold attachments, has been slightly reduced. If a player opens a loot bin before it resets, the items on the ground provide pre and post loot. Legendary Loot Bins will have fewer Gold Items, and Mythic Loot Bins will roll more healing items.
Loot Ticks
Loot Ticks have received a significant upgrade. White and blue rarity attachments have been removed from their loot pool. Additionally, the chances of receiving a gold weapon from a Loot Tick have been increased. The Phoenix Kit and hop-ups have been removed to increase the value of the drop.
Weapons
Balancing adjustments affect various weapons. The Havoc Rifle no longer uses the Turbocharger hop-up. The R-99 SMG in the Care Package now features damage falloff starting at 11 meters and has improved recoil. Ammo spawns have been consolidated. Instead of two separate bricks, ammo will now spawn as a single brick, containing twice the ammo amount.
Loot
The spawn rate of the Gun Shield Generator hop-up has been reduced. The Turbocharger has been removed from the standard loot pool. Ultimate Accelerants are now considered purple rarity instead of blue. This makes it more desirable to grab. Using Ultimate Accelerants also grants a temporary movement speed boost.
Legends
Several Legends have received tweaks and changes in the new patch. These Legend changes aim to refine their roles and capabilities within the game.
Fuse
Fuse’s scan radius now has a maximum limit, capped at 450 units, which is 50% of the default ring radius. This prevents excessively large scan areas. Perfect setups from the mortar targeting multiple objects in the player’s control has been prevented.
Rampart
The delay when re-entering Sheila, Rampart’s turret, has been significantly reduced. The delay now sits at 0.15 seconds, down from the previous 1-second delay. This adjustment makes Sheila more responsive and versatile.
Revenant
Revenant’s Forged Shadows ability has been altered. The shield health of the Shadows is now 50, reduced from 75. The activation time for Forged Shadows has been doubled, impacting its usability.
Valkyrie
Valkyrie undergoes a substantial rework. She is now classified as a Recon Legend instead of a Skirmisher. Her Full Tank upgrade now includes a 50% reduction in refuel delay. Her refuel delay has gone down from 8 seconds to 4 seconds. She now has threat vision while jetpacking, and it will stay on until she touches the ground. The Jetpack UI now has a refuel delay timer for easier viewing. The Jetpack’s performance has been reverted to its initial release state.
Her tac is now more reliable. Missile stun duration has increased by 50%. Her missile explosion radius has been increased by 20%. Her minimum attack range has decreased by 25%, so she can hit enemies that are closer. The travel time of the missiles will now be 4 seconds instead of 4.5. Lastly, the fire rate of the missiles will now be 25 instead of 18.
Maps And Modes
Significant changes are in store for map rotations and available game modes. These changes are designed to provide a diverse and engaging gameplay experience for players.
Map Rotations For Public And Ranked Games
The map rotation for both Public and Ranked matches will include three maps: E-District, Olympus, and King’s Canyon. The addition of E-District as a playable map brings a new arena to conquer.
Mixtape Map Rotations
Mixtape will feature a rotating map schedule.
- September 17 – October 14
- TDM: Thunderdome, Skull Town, and Estates
- Control: Caustic Treatment, Labs, and Barometer
- Gun Run: Wattson’s Pylon, Estates, and Skull Town
- October 15 – October 21
- TDM: Thunderdome and Skull Town
- Control: Labs and Caustic Treatment
- Lockdown: Estates and Skull Town
- October 22 – October 28
- Big TDM: Estates and Skull Town
- Control: Thunderdome and Lava Siphon
- Gun Run: Wattson’s Pylon and Fragment
- October 29 – November 4
- Big TDM: Thunderdome and Skull Town
- Control: Labs and Caustic Treatment
- Gun Run: Estates and Skull Town.
Game Modes
The Duos game mode has made a return and will remain available until the end of the Shockwave season. New mode Knockout is also added with its exciting point capturing and squad elimination mechanic.
Ranked Changes
Ranked Rumble has been removed to be reworked and its systems fixed. Developers want to provide meaningful competition and better matches. A tentative return is planned for next season for testing and rework.
Bug Fixes
The Shockwave update addresses a range of bugs and issues that have been affecting gameplay.
- Fixed the DX12 PC issue where Apex wasn’t able to run on some Intel CPUs.
- Fixed a long-standing bug where the servers would crash.
- Fixed a bug where players would get crushed by the mantle over a Loot Bin.
- Fixed the bug where Legendary Loot Bins will spawn next to each other.
- The Low Ammo Indicator won’t be seen when you’re unarmed.
- The Icons on the minimap that show Perk Loot Bins will no longer be seen.
- R-99 will be back in Care Packages in Mixtape TDM and Big TDM.
- Restored the red dot on the Celestial Sniper Longbow skin when in ADS.
- You can now zipline upwards to the second floor of Wattson’s Pylon in Storm Point.
- Players who are max level will not be able to interact with Evo Harvesters.
- Crypto’s EMP will now activate when players would recall Hack.
- When hitting gunshields, Mad Maggie’s passive will activate. There used to be issues in the past where the passive ability wouldn’t activate when coming into contact with gunshields.
- There were reports where players who use Newcastle and the Swift Shield didn’t function as intended, they’ve since been resolved and the Swift Shield now functions properly in the new update.
- Wattson’s Emergency power upgrade will now affect her teammates
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