Apex Legends Has Begun Its First Season
This is a post by Community Member Eli Shaw
The first season of Apex Legends has arrived and, with that, comes our first “Battle Pass” of many for the free to play game. Developer Respawn Entertainment has teased the pass since the game’s release on February 4th, and fans have been deeply speculating in anticipation. Leaks and datamined results have been surfacing all around the Apex community and now we can finally see, from Respawn themselves, what we have to look forward to from Season 1’s “Wild Frontier.”
One of the biggest features that has slightly been spoiled by leaks is the addition of a new legend. Octane joins the ranks of Mirage and Caustic as an unlockable legend that can be purchased with either in-game currency or by spending real world money on “Apex Coins.” He is able to be used without purchasing the “Battle Pass,” so all season 1 players will have access to him.
The Battle Pass itself holds many exclusive gifts for those who choose to purchase it, with many of them being purely cosmetic items. However, much like the Fortnite model, you can also accrue “Apex Coins” throughout the pass in order to cover some or all of the cost for the next season. The coin values increase with your BP level, so you will be getting 400 coins by level 47 before the value increases from 50 coins to 100 as rewards. Along with the coins, pass holders also can receive XP boosters for themselves and their party members. All of this seems pretty spot on for a 2019 “Battle Pass” model.
However, it should be known that advancing within the pass is restricted only to match by match XP. This means there are no challenges like in Fortnite that will grant you thousands of points to help you get to the next “Battle Pass” tier. Players who are getting dozen kill games and multiple wins a day will be able to advance in the pass quicker than those who spend less time actually playing. For example, I played a game in which I got three kills, a “first kill of the day” bonus, a legend bonus (which is Respawn’s way of getting players to vary the legends they play), and a win. In that one game I was able to earn 10,305 points towards my pass, which may seem like a lot at first, but to get from level 1 to level 2 of the pass you need 29,500 points. So if you are not regularly having games such as this (which admittedly I do not), you will be grinding quite a bit even at the very beginning of the season.
Respawn has also added a microtransaction to the “Battle Pass” system itself in which players can pay to skip levels of the pass. From the beginning you have the option to either buy the pass itself for 950 coins or 2,800 coins for the pass and the ability to skip 25 levels. Those 25 levels will be skipped for you even if you have started the free version of the pass and have advanced through that. Players also have the opportunity to skip individual levels for 150 coins per level.
Of course there are also free items that are available during the first season whether or not you purchased the “Battle Pass.” These include Apex Packs, Season 1 kills and damage trackers, season 1 exclusive badges, and a skin for Octane.
-By Eli Shaw (@RealSFTreat on Twitter)
