Apex Legends delivers a squad-based battle royale experience with a uniquely Respawn flavor. Players will select from one of eight Legends - each with their own unique abilities and playstyles - and the last team standing wins. Combatants can choose from unique characters like Bloodhound, the tracker who can see recent enemy activity on the map, or Lifeline, a battlefield medic who can shield teammates and bring them back from the brink of death. Balanced squads and teamwork are critical, as each Legend is easy to pick up and learn, but challenging to master.

Apex Legends showcases several new genre-leading innovations, starting before players even start the match. Once players are ready to begin, they’ll choose their drop point with the Jumpmaster system, giving each squad full control over exactly where they drop in. Is it smarter to head straight for the most valuable loot and risk early conflict with other teams, or make for one of the outlying areas to plot an attack and let other squads pick each other off?

EA and Respawn revealed Apex Legends: Arsenal, the hero shooter's next major update, which will launch worldwide on May 9 with the newest Legend, Ballistic. This dapper old chap was originally a competitor in the Thunderdome Games and has come out of retirement to teach the young pups some respect.

August was the sole heir to the Brinkman fortune, built on shady backroom deals. But when those deals caught up with his parents, August was left a billionaire orphan. Wealthy, furious and self-destructive, August joined the Thunderdome Games (the pre-Apex Apex Games). Here, he took the name Ballistic and became a sensation! His style was wild, reckless, and utterly selfish⁠, helping him become the very first Thunderdome celebrity.

He was famed for his iconic CAR (“Lady Grey”, for the tea). It was here, in combat, that August would meet the love of his life, Sok Leng. They would quickly marry and have a son, Nathaniel. Sok Leng and her brother Kit Siang were an inseparable duo of destruction, and with August now in their squad, they seemed unstoppable.

But nothing lasts forever. August’s crowd-pandering combat style meant he wasn’t paying attention to his team when they needed him, leading to Kit Siang’s death. Devastated by guilt, August retreated into himself, driving away his wife and son. For nearly two decades, August lived as a recluse, keeping busy with small tasks to distract a lonely mind. And so August was largely forgotten, though not by everyone. His son, Nathaniel, was both enamored with his father’s victories and determined to surpass them. When his son qualified to join the dangerous Apex Games, August went to the Syndicate with an offer: take me instead.

His son would be safe from the path that ruined him. What better way to use those skills than in selfless service? And if it just so happens to be his favorite activity, killing all who stand against him…That’s quite the fortunate coincidence.

Players can expect Arsenal to be fully loaded with new content, goodies and of course, a new competitor, including:

World’s Edge is Healing

NEW POI: MONUMENT

One of the hottest topics for World’s Edge is Fragment East and West. This season we have decided to make some changes starting with our new POI, Monument. We know Fragment is a polarizing spot on the map, and we also like it to boot. Our goal was to be delicate and add something fresh to the long-standing map center.

Fictionally, Monument stands as a testament to the Apex Games. Its museum celebrates Apex’s past, present, and future. It’s a shining beacon to us on the dev team. A glowing reminder for how far Apex Legends has come since its initial debut in 2019.

The Monument Project has been brought to you by Silva Pharmaceuticals—paving the way to a brighter future at the Edge of the World.

From a design standpoint, Monument is a deep bunker with a quick access sniper nest for positional control and scouting. The glass ceiling brings an interesting component to the vertically layered fights this space offers. It’s a different pace to the familiar collapsed map center and we hope you enjoy it. 

That being said, we did make one more big change to Fragment….

NEW POI: STACKS

In our efforts to balance the map’s landing distributions, the tower of the sweat lords had to go. You know the one, built like a stack of pancakes with two ziplines on either end: Fragment’s infamous Construction Stack. Don’t worry, it’s not gone; we just moved it.

Now introducing - Stacks! Our new Point of Interest on the southern edge.

Built like a red velvet layer cake, Stacks is a crow’s nest that’s all about verticality with its interconnected rooftops replacing the long-forgotten Lava City. Positioned right next to Rampart’s Big Maude, we plan for the counter play here to be high. Did someone say cat and mouse?

LAVA UPDRAFT IS NO MORE

In this Season, we have completely removed the “vertical updraft” movement system from World’s Edge. This floaty state above deep Lava Fissures was a remnant of World’s Edge that is no longer needed with our recent map adjustments. To compensate, we have raised the lava floor and it is now walkable. Be careful, it’s hot.

HARVESTER UPDATE

After removing the lava updraft, it was logical to improve the landing experience at Harvester. Threading the needle through the building’s central tube will now bring players to a safe landing platform. “Safe” but also surrounded by lava.

This loot honey pot also provides a new shortcut. You can now catch a zipline across Harvester’s circular arena from below, adding a new approach to fights here. We’ve also created a new vertical connection. An open window that allows players to jump from Harvester’s center room to the platform below. It’s a risky escape route for when your squad is being pinched by predators.

NEW VAULT NEAR SKYHOOK

We’ve added an additional Vault for balanced Vault distribution. This North vault is nestled in a tunnel leading to Skyhook. Vault key drops have been increased; Vault loot has been relaxed. Loba mains rejoice.

SNOW IN SKYHOOK

Hammond’s Climatizer technology has made advances cooling the region down. Additional Climate Seeding Towers have been installed near Skyhook to further their efforts. As a result, Skyhook has received a fresh dusting of snow, opening new pathways and injecting some new life to the area.

MIRAGE A TROIS

This Party POI has left the previous Season’s maps and has now settled in World’s Edge.

Weapon Mastery

Weapon Mastery is our first new long-term progression system outside of account level! As we look to make Apex Legends more approachable for new players, this system incentivizes them to learn about the strengths and character of all our weapons. The goal here was to deepen player engagement across the board regardless of who you main or which mode you prefer.

When the feature launches, all players will start with every weapon at level 1 and can start progressing their weapon levels by using them in any game mode. These levels are account wide and do not reset with seasons. Having a weapon in hand, dealing damage, securing kills, and fighting with style will all generate Weapon XP for that weapon. Every 20 levels, a weapon specific trial will unlock for you to test your skill with that weapon and reward you for completion. Get your weapon to level 100 and finish all five trials to fully “master” that weapon and earn the final rewards. Each weapon mastery track will earn players weapon-specific badges, lifetime performance trackers, Legendary weapon mastery banner frames, and a guaranteed Legendary skin for each weapon.

Upgraded Firing Range

This season, we are debuting an all-new Firing Range, re-design from the ground up as your ultimate evolving training platform. Learn, experiment, practice, improve!

• Familiarize yourself with Apex Legends 
• Warm up before matches
• Sharpen your shooting and movement skills
• Experiment with weapons, attachments and gear 
• Develop and hone tactics with your squadmates
• Practice combat in duels with friends, and against combat dummies that shoot

However you'd like to sharpen your skills, the ever-expanding tools and features will have you covered!

COMPLETELY OVERHAULED LAYOUT

The Firing Range has been completely re-designed with one core idea in mind: flow. We have expanded the space to give you more room to play. From a reorganized Core to a new Agility Course, Duel Pit, and POI sized town, this new space is built from the ground up for skill expression and skill development.

• Core: a reorganized Weapons & Loot layout allows players to find what they’re looking for quickly and efficiently. Simulated death boxes allow you to grab your favorite loot from anywhere in the Range.
• Agility Course: designed for mobility. Slide, zip, jump, climb, and balance to harden your movement skills.
• Duel Pit: designed for you to duke it out with friends and finally settle the debate on who has the fastest Wingman in the Outlands.
• Training Grounds: the rear town allows you to practice fighting in a simulated combat experience.

Customizable Dummies

Dummies can be configured to spawn, move, and shoot at players in a variety of ways. Change the settings to find the experience that best serves your needs. Turn on Full Combat mode to have the Dummies come to life and aggressively attack you all over the Firing Range!

Improved Targets

Infinitely shootable targets will light up different colors to give you feedback for where you hit them. Turn on Hit Markers in the Customize Range settings to learn shot patterns for the myriad of available weapons.

Improved Dynamic Stats

Dynamic Stats that track your performance in real time can now be manually reset so you can use it in any manner you wish.

NEW SURVIVAL ITEM: EVAC TOWER

Evac Towers provide a new means for Legends to traverse the dangerous Apex Games and gain a positional advantage over their adversaries. Expect to find this new survival item on the floor, inside loot bins, and in care packages. Deploying an Evac Tower will send a rocket skyward, eventually exploding into a balloon high above the action. Once the anchor brings the zipline to ground level, Legends will be able to ride up and initiate a skydive, redeploying to a new location.

Be careful though – the Evac Tower has a limited duration and will slowly take damage over time. Enemies and allies can also shoot the balloon to accelerate this process, destroying both the Evac Tower and your hopes of escaping. Pay attention to where you deploy because your evac may be hotter than anticipated!

High-Caliber Battle Pass Rewards

New weapon skins, character skins, emotes and more are launching alongside Arsenal on May 9.

Ranked Updates

Additional details are dropping tomorrow - stay tuned!

More details for Apex Legends: Arsenal will be announced soon ahead of the update’s official launch on May 9, 2023.

The innovations don’t stop there as Apex Legends also delivers Respawn Beacons, one-time use locations where defeated teammates can be revived, a contextual Ping communication system that allows players to call out enemies, weapons, locations and more with the push of a button, and an intelligent inventory system which automatically attaches gear and equipment to the appropriate weapons once players pick them up. All together it creates a battle royale experience unlike any other, complete with Respawn’s commitment to top-notch quality and fun.

Apex Legends is now available on Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC.