Apex Legends' Shockwave Patch Brings New Map; Class Perks
A shocking new season of Apex Legends is here! Players will get some pleasant surprises: a new map approaches and Controller and Recon Legends will receive new Class perks. Vantage and Crypto will receive major buffs, and a new Akimbo weapon mode will arrive. In a shocking twist, Electronic Arts is also turning over a new leaf and allowing players to unlock the premium Shockwave Battle Pass through challenges and Apex Coins. Let's dive into the nitty-gritty of this fun, futuristic update and explore everything Season 22 has to offer!
When will the Apex Legends Shockwave Patch arrive?
The Apex Legends Shockwave patch will arrive with a bang on August 6, 2024. This is the day Season 22 will begin. The exact update time may depend on players' timezones.
What maps are in rotation in Apex Legends Season 22?
E-District, Broken Moon and Storm Point will be available in Pubs and Ranked for the first half of Season 22.
What new map is arriving in the Apex Legends Shockwave Patch?
A brand-new map, E-District, is joining the Apex Legends rotation in Season 22! E-District is a cyberpunk-esque city filled with bright and colorful neon buildings. Vertical combat and varied landscapes will make the map unique, while its overall structure maintains familiar Apex Legends map composition elements. Apex Legends' developers state their aim in E-District is to encourage 'constant action'.
The map includes gravity launchers capable of flinging players from one skyscraper roof to another. It sports a close-range Energy Bank at its center, and a luxurious Lotus building with rooftop combat. There is also an arcade, boardwalk, city hall and resort.
E-District will be the dedicated Featured map for a limited time to introduce players to its unique gameplay. This will occur for the first week of Pubs and the first 72 hours of the Ranked season. Further information is available on Apex Legends' 'Welcome to E-District' blog.
E-District Patch Notes:
- Added to Ranked and Pubs rotation.
- Featured map.
What Class Perks are being adjusted in the Apex Legends Shockwave Patch?
Controller and Recon Legends' Class Perks are changing to allow more strategic gameplay and better team support. Apex Legends developers state "we’re beginning a much more intentional push on what classes mean to the core of the game by bringing new tactical class passives to the Controller and Recon classes".
Controller Changes:
New Class Perk:
- Zone Overcharge: Controller Legends now have extra shield capacity when playing in zone
- The Zone automatically grants an overcharge of 25HP shield capacity and remains as long as the player is within the Zone
- Overcharge can be healed with cells, batteries and abilities while in the Zone
- Notes: Overcharge will never enhance Legend Armor beyond max capacity; Shield Overcharge will drain normally but Zone Overcharge will remain; Overcharge will refill automatically if a player enters the Zone with full shields
Quality-Of-Life:
- Controller Legends can remotely pick up their Tacticals
Recon Changes:
New Class Perk:
- Threat Vision: Recon Legends now gain threat vision when aiming down sights
- Threat Vision highlights all enemies within LOS when aiming down sights
- Threat Vision does not work through walls or smoke
Survey Beacons:
- Use time: 7.5 s > 4 s
- Shortened range of 500 m
- No longer randomly distributed
- Scanning EVO: 200 > 75
- Beacons release a scan wave across the map; enemies no longer receive scan messages
- Enemies scanned display on the Mini-Map
What do we know about the Shockwave Battle Pass?
Apex Legends and Electronic Arts are updating how Battle Passes work in the game. Apex Legends' July 2024 memo explains that players will be able to unlock upcoming Premium Battle Passes with Apex Coins and by completing in-game quests. Players can purchase Battle Passes using 90 Apex Coins. The Apex Coins unlocked in Battle Passes will accumulate to enough to unlock future Battle Passes. These changes arrived after massive player backlash towards how expensive the Premium Battle Pass was.
Shockwave Battle Pass Info:
- You can unlock it by completing a series of simple in-game challenges before the end of Split 1 on September 17th at 10:00am PT:
- Play 2 matches in Trios on a specific map
- Deal 1,000 damage as a Recon or Controller Legend in BR
- Open 15 Supply Bins in any mode
- Deal 500 damage in BR with a specific weapon
- Complete 10 levels of the Battle Pass
- "Starting with Split 2 on September 17th, you can get the Premium Battle Passes the same way as before: by using 950 Apex Coins. You’ll be able to earn enough Apex Coins via the Battle Pass to get future passes."
- The Battle Pass has better rewards and will complete faster at 60 levels.
What is Apex Legends' new Bot Royale mode?
A new Bot Royale mode will appear for Apex Legends' new and learning players. This mode is for squads, who will compete against a squad of bots. Players can use allied bots in their squad or invite friends. It will follow a slightly altered Battle Royale format.
What Legends are changing in the Apex Legends Shockwave Patch?
Surprise, surprise: Crypto and Vantage are getting massive buffs — and yes, for those of you asking, Off The Grid is REAL!
In addition, Altar, Rampart and Seer will see huge changes. Ballistic, Lifeline and Wattson are receiving smaller yet still significant alterations.
Legend Updates:
Alter:
- Void Nexus
- Channel time when knocked: 3s > 2s
- Chase portal duration: 10s > 8s
- Chase portal opening delay: 6s > 8s
- Void Nexus travel speed increased 40%
- Ult cooldown: 3.5 min > 3 min
- Can travel to friendly Void Nexus while knocked without looking at it
- Level 2 Upgrade removes ult cooldown
- Ringmaster: Gain access to Ring Consoles
Ballistic:
- Whistler
- Lock-on time: 0.3s > 0.1s
Crypto:
- Surveillance Drone
- Cooldown: 40s > 30s
- Off The Grid
- Crypto becomes cloaked while in drone
- Crypto can still be scanned while cloaked and emits a sound cue
- Threat Vision will not reveal Crypto
- Crypto's ult now scans anyone it hits for 4s and tracks through walls
- Quick Ping: removed and integrated into base kit
Lifeline:
- Gold-Plated
- Replaced Gold EVO Cache with Battery
Rampart:
- Sheila
- Ammo drains from pip charge with use
- Maximum of 1 place turret
- Need 1 PIP of ult charge to place Sheila
- No longer requires a full charge to equip
- Now uses ammo-style ult model
Seer:
- Focus of Attention
- Health bars persist for duration of Silence
- Heartbeat Sensor
- Passive move speed has increased to weapon sprint speed
- Passive is quieter
- Upgrades:
- Focus Scan: removed
- New Split-Focus: Gain an additional TAC charge
Vantage:
- Echo Relocation
- No longer requires LOS to Echo to launch
- Can launch when LOS is blocked
- Can cancel tac mid-charge
- Tac reticle turns red when Echo is behind you and you are launching
- Will slide around obstacles to reach Echo
- Sniper's Mark
- 2nd shot multiplier: 2x > 2.5x
- Can hit reload in ult to use ult accel
- Spotter's Lens
- Ranged tracking
- Waypoint will track enemy for 10s
- Will not show within 100m
- Upgrade: Ult Reload
- Doubles ult accel use speed while providing 2 extra bullets
Wattson:
- Power Pylon
- Now regenerates shield charge
- Split Current
- Removed
- Emergency Power
- Added: Increases shield regen rate of Interception Pylon
What is changing in Ranked in Apex Legends' Shockwave Patch?
Apex Legends' Ranked mode is undergoing some controversial changes in this patch. Here's a quick summary:
- No RP reset for Rookie IV to Rookie I, players will keep the RP they have from the last split
- Bronze IV to Platinum IV will reset to Bronze IV 1000 RP
- Platinum III reset to Bronze III 1500 RP
- Platinum II reset to Bronze II 2000 RP
- Platinum I reset to Bronze I 2500 RP
- Diamond IV reset to Silver IV 3250 RP (with +250 demotion protection)
- Diamond III reset to Silver III 3600 RP
- Diamond II reset to Silver II 4200 RP
- Diamond I reset to Silver I 4800 RP
- Master and above reset to Gold IV 5650 RP (with +250 demotion protection)
What else is changing in the Apex Legends Shockwave Patch?
Balance updates to existing Legends and mechanics are once again shaking up the Apex Legends meta. Game updates also target Aim Assist and refine the process of in-game aiming. Weapon modes are changing: there is a new Akimbo mode and many weapon updates. Plus, Stat Tracker updates help players customize their profiles.
Gameplay Updates
Care Package
- EVA-8 returns
- Slight blast pattern increase
- Damage: 6 > 7
- Fire rate decreased
- Recoil increase
- Further info on official patch notes
- R-99 enters Care Package
- Improved recoil
- Damage fall-off: Close-range 14 , 11+ meters 10
- EVO spawn rate in first wave 100%
- Gold Weapon Rotation: Mozambique Akimbo, P2020 Akimbo, R-301, Rampage, Sentinel
Aim Assist
- Console cross-play aim assist reduced to 18%; Performance Mode reduced to 22%
- Controller Aim Assist reduced 25%
Aim Flinch
- Aim Flinch removed from all weapons and most abilities
Loot Bin Reset
- Starting with Shockwave, all loot bins will close and reroll their loot with a significantly increased chance at high tier and rare loot at the mid-way point of the match.
Mythic Bin
- One Mythic Bin will spawn into the match. This bin contains one random Care Package weapon, gold versions of your squad's current weapons, medical supplies and grenades and a large XP bonus.
Loot Pool
- Gold and Purple attachment spawns reduced by 50%
Battle Sense
- Critical Ammo state will now kick on when a player has 0 relevant ammo in their inventory
- When emptying a weapon of all reserve ammo it will now automatically ping that the player is in need of ammo
- When damaging an enemy, players are now shown the enemy’s Armor and Health state.
- Enemy players will now be highlighted with a red outline similar to how allies are highlighted with a blue one.
- Ammo spawn rates have changed.
- More in Apex Legend's official patch notes.
Weapons
- Players can now wield two P2020s or two Mozambiques in Akimbo Mode.
- Minor LMG changes
- Alternator magazine size changes
- CAR magazine size changes
- Minor Devotion changes
- Flatline magazine size changes
- Minor Havoc change
- Hemlok Damage: 20 > 19; reduced magazine size
- P2020 Damage: 18 > 21; Hammer Point Damage: 27 > 23
- Mozambique Hammer Point Damage: 60 > 54
- Mastiff Damage: 11 > 15
- Peacekeeper Damage: 9 > 11
- R-301 and RE-45 magazine size changes
- Minor Rampage changes
Modes
- New Bot Royale mode
- New Revival respawn mechanic:
- Respawn into a skydive near your teammates as long as one teammate is still alive
- If all players in a team die, it is eliminated
- Revival Respawn timers will increase with each death and decrease with kills and assists
- All respawning ends at Round 5 in Trios Revival and Round 4 in Straight Shot Revival
- Straight Shot returns as Straight Shot Revival on August 20, 2024
- New Mixtape Map Rotations (check official patch notes for more info)
- R99 removed from all Mixtape loadouts and replaced with Akimbo weapons
- New Player Experience Changes
Quality-Of-Life
Stat Trackers
- Players can set banner cards separately.
- The Art of trackers is universal.
- Shockwave automatically unlocks three new Stat Trackers.
- More small updates available on the official patch notes.
Stay tuned for more information as Apex Legends' Season 22 Shockwave update arrives. We're here to inform you about in-game patches and Apex Legends esports news. Enjoy your vacation in E-District, and see you on the Dropship!
GABBY DESENA