How Apex Legends is Changing Evo Shields in Season 20
Evo Shield Changes, Apex Legends Season 20 Breakout
- In Season 20 of Apex Legends Evo Armor will no longer be a lootable item.
- In addition to dealing damage, players in Apex Legends can upgrade their Evo Shields by performing actions related to their Legend Role.
- The new Legend Upgrade System will be tied directly to a player's Evo Armor level.
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Evo Shields in Apex Legends is undergoing the biggest change in Season 20 Breakout since it was originally added in Season 6. This change will fundamentally change how pros and casuals alike engage in fights and how they approach playing the battle royale as a whole. Lead Battle Royale Designer John Mohan provided insight into the changes for Evo Armor and why it is being tied to the new Legend Upgrade System.
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Evo Shield Changes
The biggest change about Evo Shields going into Apex Legends Season 20 is that it is no longer a lootable object that players will find on the ground. When you leave the dropship and hit the ground you’ll be in level one white armor just like everyone else.
“This means the only way to upgrade your armor is by gaining Legend Upgrades. This removes the randomness that used to play a large role in determining your armor level,” John Mohan explained. Players will no longer dread dealing damage to a team that is somehow already in two purple shields and one gold while their team is still all in white.
Upgrading your Evo Shield goes hand-in-hand with the new Legend Upgrade System. As you gain new levels of armor (blue, purple, and red) you’ll gain new perks and abilities for your legend as well. Mohan explained this made the most sense so players could easily identify the potential power level of their opponents.
How Do You Upgrade Evo Armor in Season 20
Dealing damage is still going to be a key way to upgrade Evo Armor in Apex Legends, but the developers also wanted to offer players other ways to upgrade their shields. Some of the options players have besides taking team fights are exploring the environment and engaging in key aspects related to the Legend Role. Some of these options include Control Legends like Wattson using Ring Scan Beacons, or Support Legends like Loba opening up a Support Bin.
“The new armor system is intuitive to use but still contains a lot of new gameplay depth. For new players, you no longer need to hunt around for better armor and know all the secret spots where it's hidden. Just playing the game as normal will improve your armor over time. But experienced players will feel a really big shift in the pacing of a match. With no randomness in armor, this creates a distinct early, middle, and late game phase,” John Mohan explained.
The last two big ways to increase your Evo Shields level in Season 20 of Apex Legends is to use Evo Harvesters. These are similar in appearance to the old Crafting Material Bins and when a player collects one it will give Evo to their entire team. These Evo Harvesters are located randomly all across the map and players can interact with them even if another team has already done so.
Finally, there will be a new rare item called Evo Caches. These are harder to find but have a chance to be included in things such as Neutral Care Packages. These will grant a large amount of Evo to players' shields.
How to gain personal EVO Points
- Dealing Damage,
- Getting Knocks or Assists.
- Knocks against Legends of a higher level net a bonus.
- Performing Finishers.
- Eco Caches from Care Packages and Vaults.
How to gain Team EVO Points
- Wiping a Squad.
- Reviving downed Squad Mates.
- Respawning Squad Mates.
- Class Interactions (Survey Beacons, Support Bins, etc.)
- World Interactions (Wildlife, Trials, etc.)
- EVO Harvesters
How Has Armor Swapping Changed in Apex Legends?
For all those players who utilized armor swapping in intense, long-team fights, you can rest easy knowing that while the tactic is changing, it’s not entirely going away.
Since Evo Armor is no longer a lootable object players will not be able to pull it from death boxes. Instead, the Evo Shield is being replaced by a Shield Core. When players access a death box they can pick up the shield core and add its charge to their own Evo Armor. If the shield core is of a higher charge than the player has (the shield core is red, while the player's armor is purple) it will provide the extra charge as a temporary over-shield.
Here are the two key differences players can expect to change when it comes to armor swapping during a fight.
- Players can no longer put extra shields on the ground for quick swaps.
- Pulling a shield core refills your armor, but does not give you the armor progress of the defeated opponent.
For more information on the changes in Apex Legends Season 20 Breakout and the new Legend Upgrade System check out the full patch notes.
