Summary
- New Legend – Ballistic, an Assault Class Refined Gunslinger, is ready to return to the Apex Games and brings a unique passive, tactical, and ultimate ability.
- World’s Edge Map Update – The Apex Museum is a new point of interest, plus the lava fissures are healing and the world is cooling, giving the map a whole new look.
- Firing Range Remodeled – Completely redesigned to offer better training opportunities, including test dummies that shoot back.
The new season of Apex Legends is here! Arsenal launches today and ushers in a ton of new content and updates, including a new Legend, major map updates to World’s Edge, and so much more. Here are the features I’m the most excited for, but you can expect a ton more content when you jump into Apex Legends today and throughout this season! Read the official patch notes here.
New Legend – Ballistic
Ballistic is described as a refined older gentleman living with a beast inside, which sounds to me like a disgruntled old man yelling at Loot Ticks to get off his lawn. My kind of Legend (I’m a refined older gamer). He sports some interesting passive, tactical, and ultimate abilities, including a pistol with a smart bullet that tracks down its target, disrupting their weapon while causing them damage; the ability to carry three weapons (the slung weapon stored in the third slot cannot be upgraded with attachments); and the power to buff nearby teammates with increased speed and unlimited ammo – while upgrading his slung third weapon to a golden version of that weapon. As someone who likes to carry a sniper rifle but seldom does since it’s not ideal for every situation, this is an appealing ability.
With all the sweeping changes added last season including the introduction of classes and perks, we didn’t get a new Legend, so I’m excited we’re back in the cadence of one being added with this season and can’t wait to see him in action! Read more about Ballistic, including his backstory, class perks, and abilities at the official website.
Map Update – World’s Edge
World’s Edge is getting a major makeover with some big changes to the existing layout. There’s a new vault to the north, Skyhook experienced a recent snowfall, smoke is clearing from the sky, the lava fissures are cooling off, but perhaps the biggest recognizable change I can’t wait to check out is the addition of the Monument Point of Interest. Nestled near the center of the map, this museum honors Apex’s past, present, and future with exhibits ranging from tribal artifacts to abstract sculptures. There’s even a gift shop, though I doubt it sells equipment and ammo.
Other significant changes include modifications to the Harvester and Lava City areas. The construction stack in Fragment West, arguably the most popular and combat intensive landing spot in World’s Edge, is being relocated to the Lava City area to the south. This change is sure to shake up the tactical approach to the start of each match. There are also a few other surprises you’re sure to notice the next time you jump into World’s Edge this season.
Ground Up Remodel – Firing Range
Firing Range has been completely overhauled and with its grand reopening in the Arsernal Update it has so much more to offer players looking to hone their skills and test out the arsenal of weapons. The Firing Range now offers an agility course for you to practice your movements, training grounds to simulate combat with programmable test dummies that shoot back, and a duel pit where you can battle it out against your friends in a little player versus player action. My Player Two and I used to do this in the old Firing Range, so the fact we now have an actual dedicated spot for dueling is a welcomed surprise. Whether you’re a new, current, or returning player, you should check out the new improved Firing Range. Who knows, you might learn a thing or two and have fun while doing it. I know I will!
New Progression System – Weapon Mastery
With the Weapon Mastery Progression System, every weapon can be levelled up by using the weapon (in any game mode) and completing challenges related to that weapon. Rewards are earned along the way including a Legendary Weapon Apex Pack specific to each weapon you master, culminating in a unique banner frame once you’ve mastered them all.
This is a great strategy to encourage players new and old to earn rewards for varying their loadout and learning the capabilities of each weapon. I am a big fan of completing the daily, weekly, special event challenges, and I’m excited about having even more tasks to track and complete for rewards just for playing the game.
New Survival Slot Item – Evac Tower
Previously, you could equip a heat shield or mobile respawn beacon in the Survival Slot, but with the Apex Legends Arsenal update, you can now equip the Evac Tower. This item can be found in all the same places as most other items – on the ground, inside loot bins, and on care packages. They are essentially a mobile Jump Tower and can be used to traverse the map quickly – either towards or away from combat, depending on your team’s style of play. They’re also great for pouncing on care packages or escaping from ring closures.
Activating the Evac Tower will launch a rocket into the air, which will then deploy a giant balloon, like the giant red balloons used by the Jump Towers. A zip line will anchor the balloon to the spot, and the Evac Tower will be ready for operation. Once used, you will ascend to the balloon, and then you can skydive to your next destination.
A few notes about the Evac Tower. It’s not permanent, its health deteriorates over time and will eventually be destroyed. Shooting at it will speed this process up, and yes, that includes friendly fire. Also, anytime you launch a rocket into the air with a balloon and zipline attached, you’re pretty much pinpointing your location to any nearby enemies. That can be bad…or good?
Ping Wheel Update
Yes, I’m excited about a Ping Wheel update, which seems kind of ridiculous, but it’s probably the most consistently used item in the game. Not every Legend gets used every match, and not every weapon gets used every game. But I’d bet a bag of Apex Coins the Ping Wheel gets used by you, your teammates, or someone on the other team, each and every round, making it one of the most widely used elements in the game.
With this latest update, new ping options are replacing some of the underused ones to strengthen and improve squad communications, with two additional pings being added for skydiving and knocked players. It’s a small update to a simple feature, but an important one that most Apex players rely on.
As with every new Apex Legends season, Arsenal will feature a unique Battle Pass complete with new Challenges and Rewards, including Legend and weapon skins, gun charms, banner frames, emotes, and more! But that’s not all, the team has a host of upcoming events, sales, and content releasing throughout the season. For more details, visit the official website and follow @PlayApex on Twitter.
Apex Legends is a free-to-play shooter available on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. Be sure to check out everything included in the new Arsenal season when it launches today. And if you’re an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate member, don’t forget to redeem your perks and grab the Gilded Fortunes Weapon Charm available for a limited time with your monthly EA Play Rewards.