EA and Respawn Entertainment"s popular battle royale, Apex Legends, is taking things old school for its 23rd seasonal update. Dubbed From the Rift, the latest season has a new mode that takes players back to 2019, a rework for Lifeline, new gameplay altering weapons and upgrades, and much more.
When the free-to-play experience launched back in 2019, it did not have many of the bells and whistles that the game is known for now like EVO armor and ability upgrades. It seems Respawn has realized some fans may want to go back to the simple times where there"s not much mechanics to think about and it was mostly about fast-paced combat and skill with aim. For this, the studio has unveiled Launch Royale.
"If you"re craving that old-school Apex vibe or just want to see how it all started, this is the best time to jump in and see where Legends were born," explains Respawn. Existing alongside the main battle royale playlist, the new mode brings back the map that started it all, the original roster of Legends, weapons, and rules from the launch product.
The studio has also given the Lifeline Legend a rework. Her D.O.C gadget can now also serve as a glider in addition to reviving allies by its own. It can also be attached to an ally to heal them on the go. Lastly, Lifeline"s ultimate deploys a ring shield around D.O.C that doesn’t let damage pass through, and lets any player inside the ring use regen-items faster than normal.
Other additions of this season include the new Rift Relic loot type that lets players "break the game" with extremely powerful weapons and equipment. These can let loose everything from weapons with rocket jumping capabilities to power-ups that offer lifesteal when damaging enemies.
The complete patch for the latest season can be found here. It includes information about the numerous balance changes that have hit most of the existing Legends, as well as a whole lot of bug fixes.
Apex Legends: From the Rift launches today, November 5 across Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. While the title was also playable on Linux, support for the operating system (and by extension, the Steam Deck) was pulled recently citing rising cheating issues.