Apex Legends

Apex Legends Season 20 patch notes: Legend upgrades, Ranked rework, QoL changes, more

Joseph Pascoulis
loba looking out of airship in apex legendsRespawn Entertainment

Wondering what Season 20 of Apex Legends will bring into the free-to-play battle royale? Here are the patch notes for Apex Legends Season 20, including the release date, as well as the major overhaul coming to the ranked mode and the Legend upgrades.

As Season 19 of Apex Legends approaches its conclusion, anticipation is building among players for the upcoming release of Season 20. The update is set to bring a ton of new content and changes to the free-to-play battle royale.

The previous season introduced players to Conduit, a powerful Legend who’s certainly made their mark on the roster, boasting an impressive top-five pick rate for the whole season.

Now, the major Season 20 update will bring plenty of things to get excited about, including a massive rework to Ranked, Legend upgrades, and even a change to the way armor works in the game.

For those interested, here’s everything you need to know about Apex Legends Season 20.

Apex Legends Season 20 release date

The official Apex Legends Season 20 launch trailer confirmed that the new season update will be released on February 13, 2024, at around 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 6 PM GMT.

Will Apex Legends Season 20 bring a new Legend?

No, Apex Legends Season 20 will not bring a new Legend to the game. Instead, the devs are bringing a huge rework to the way armor works in the battle royale, as well as new Legend Upgrades that alter abilities.

Apex Legends Season 20 brings new map for Mixtape

Apex Legends Season 20 will be bringing a new map for the Mixtape playlist called Thunderdome.

This new map is exclusive to Mixtape, and it’s a floating stadium that pays homage to Kings Canyon, as Thunderdome was an old POI on the iconic map.

Ranked overhaul for Apex Legends Season 20

Ranked Leagues is also getting some major changes in Season 20 of Apex Legends. The devs have decided to revamp the mode, with changes such as the reintroduction of RP, a more simplified scoring system, and more.

If you wish to read more in-depth about the ranked changes, be sure to check out our full piece on the Apex Legends Season 20 ranked overhaul.

Apex Legends Season 20 patch notes

PATCH NOTES

  • Added Tags: a 3-4 character piece of flair ahead of players’ usernames that appear everywhere usernames do
    • Clubs are being retired
  • Events moved into a dedicated tab in the Lobby (out of Seasonal tab)

BALANCE UPDATES

Crafting 2.0

  • Crafting Rotation is no more, all weapons and loot are back on the floor
  • Crafting options reduced to Shield Battery, Medkit, Ammo, and Player Banners
  • Inventory can now be accessed from the Crafting menu
  • Rampart’s Big Maude
    • All paintball weapons are now free, dispense time increased
    • Increased variety of weapons, but gold kitted weapons no longer offered
    • One free weapon per player, per match (Loba can steal a second with Black Market)
  • Replicators
    • Each individual Replicator is now single-use per player, per match
    • Every game will start with 12 spawned
    • Decreased interaction time with instant printing
    • Printed items left alone will auto-eject from the Replicator after some time

Care Package Weapon Rotation

  • EVA-8 enters the Care Package
  • Prowler returns to the floor

Gold Weapons Rotation

  • R-301, RE-45, Mastiff, Devotion, 30-30

WEAPONS & ATTACHMENTS

30-30

  • Base damage reduced to 39 (was 42)
  • Ammo capacity
    • Base capacity unchanged (6)
    • White Magazine reduced to 7 (was 8)
    • Blue Magazine reduced to 8 (was 10)
    • Purple & Gold Magazine reduced to 10 (was 12)
  • Skullpiercer headshot multiplier reduced to 2.0 (was 2.1)
  • Dual Loader removed as an integrated Hop-Up, now only loads 1 shell per reload
  • Marksman Stock reload speed bonus normalized to match other sniper weapons
  • Reloading 3 shells in a row now increases reload speed by 20% for the remainder of the reload

EVA-8 [Care Package]

  • Damage reduced to 6 (was 7)
  • Fire rate increased to 3 (was 2.4)
  • Recoil reduced to better match the much faster fire rate
  • Hammer Points: 20% damage increase against flesh (+1 damage)
  • Gold Shotgun Bolt: shells reloaded on slide increased to 2 (was 1)
    • Note: this change only affects the Care Package EVA-8

Hemlock

  • Damage reduced to 20 (was 21)
  • Hipfire spread increased
  • Spread delay increased to 0.28 (was 0.21)

L-Star

  • Can no longer equip Barrel Attachments

Prowler [Floor]

  • Reverted to non-Care Package version
    • Damage decreased to 15 (was 16)
    • Select Fire Hop-Up removed
  • Burst delay increased to 0.28 (was 0.24)
  • Spread delay increased to 0.28 (was 0.15)

R-99

  • ADS vertical and horizontal recoil increased

R-301

  • Hipfire spread reduced

SMG Ballistics

  • Projectile gravity increased across all SMGs
  • Projectile launch speed reduced across most SMGs (Prowler unchanged)

1x Digital Threat

  • Can no longer be equipped to SMGs
  • Spawn rates reduced by 20%

Laser Sights

  • Spread multipliers reduced
    • White Laser Sight adjusted to x0.9 (was x0.8)
    • Blue Laser Sight adjusted to x0.8 (was x0.6)
    • Purple Laser Sight adjusted to x0.7 (was x0.4)

LEGENDS

Heavy-Rig Legends (Gibraltar, Caustic, Pathfinder, Newcastle, Revenant)

  • Now use medium-rig first-person movement animations
  • Actual game speeds have not changed, these Legends will feel less sluggish when running

Support Legends

  • Extended Supply Bin contents have been improved (see below)

Ballistic

  • Sling: Sling Weapons now have all White attachments while equipped
  • Tempest: effect radius for ally range has been increased to 90m (was 13m)

Bloodhound

  • Tracker: Raven scan’s Ult Charge is now gated behind the Hunting Ravens upgrade

Catalyst

  • Dark Veil:
    • lifetime decreased to 15s (was 25s)
    • length decreased to 40m (was 55m)

Conduit

  • Radiant Flash
    • Cooldown increased to 26s (was 21s)
    • Temporary Shield generation rate decreased to 15HP/s (was 20HP/s)
    • Temporary Shield generation time increased to 9s (was 8s)
  • Energy Barricade
    • Mine duration reduced to 45s (was 60s)
    • Mine HP reduced to 200HP (was 250HP)
    • The distance at which mines are removed when deployed too close to one another has been increased by ~100%

Crypto

  • Surveillance Drone
    • Speed of drone recall has been increased slightly
    • Transitions going in and out of drone are now faster

Horizon

  • Gravity Lift: cooldown increased to 25s (was 20s)

Lifeline

  • In modes with Upgrade Cores enabled, Lifeline’s Care Package now has a 50/50 chance to drop an extra piece of smart equipment (vs. large consumable) instead of an Armor

Mad Maggie

  • Wrecking Ball
    • Will no longer be destroyed on first enemy hit
      • Instead, the Wrecking Ball will trigger an explosion then keep going, allowing for a second explosion to trigger later
      • The same player cannot be hit again by the ball for 2s after first impact
      • Players can only be affected by the shellshock and knockback effects once
    • Will now bounce through devices it hits and destroys

Octane

  • Jump Pad: audio falloff of double-jump has been adjusted to be slightly less audible from long distances

Pathfinder

  • Insider Knowledge
    • Scanning Care Packages now awards 50% Ult Charge (was 100%) and 15s Ult Cooldown (was 10s)
    • This also applies to Ring Console or Survey Beacon scans

MAPS

Map Updates

  • The Apex Games Museum on World’s Edge has an all-new exhibit that honors the history of the Outlands and the origin of the Games. Filled with interactive kiosks, artwork and red carpet flair, the museum has many interesting tidbits of information, community artwork and even some easter eggs.
  • Special celebration dressing in the form of flags, banners, and even the return of our larger than life Legend balloons can be found on every map. This year features an all-new cast designed with the Breakout aesthetic in mind. 
  • Tridents, jump balloons, gravity cannons, loot bins and more have a fresh look to compliment the theme of the season.

Thunderdome

Feel the energy as the crowd comes alive in our first custom Mixtape map!

  • Immerse yourself in the action of a focused 3-lane multiplayer map, designed for fast-paced gameplay
  • Playable for all mixtape game modes: Team Deathmatch, Gun Run, and Control
  • Get hyped listening to the cheers from the crowd in the arena stands

MODES

  • Mixtape
    • Updated Loadouts to reflect Weapon Meta changes
    • Gun Run: removed Charge Rifle, added Kraber
  • NEW LTM: Straight Shot
    • Players spawn above a random POI and skydive in, no Jumpmaster
    • Weapons spawn kitted at different rarities, streamlining loot
    • Reduced Lobby to 30 players and shorter rounds
    • Requeue with your party directly from the death screen

RANKED

  • Level requirement now 20 (was 50)
    • Entry cost will return: 20 RP per Tier starting at Silver
  • Player Rankings now visible
  • Promotional Trials have been removed
  • Provisional Matches have been removed
  • Ranked Tier RP requirements will have some increases
  • RP value will be used to matchmake. For full-stack premades, the highest RP value in the squad will be used.
  • Splits are returning
    • Start at 1 RP at the beginning of the Season, split will drop ranking by 6 divisions
  • Updated Bonuses
    • Challenger Bonus: earn a 50% bonus on a elimination of a higher ranked player that was contributed to
    • Top 5 Streak Bonus: for maintaining a placement streak of 5th or better, earn up to a maximum of a 40 RP bonus
      • 2 match streak: +10 RP
      • 3 match streak: +20 RP
      • 4 match streak: +30 RP
      • 5+ match streak: +40 RP

WORLD SYSTEMS

Extended Supply Bins 

  • Extended Supply Bins now give Smart Gear
    • Players can find gear upgrades for Knockdown Shields, Helmets, and Backpacks in the hidden shelf
    • Small chance of granting purple gear if a player on the squad has white gear or none at all
    • Small chance of granting gold gear if the entire squad has purple gear
  • More reliably gives Heat Shields & MRBs when needed
  • Increased likelihood of getting Med Kit over Syringes

Ring Exploit Prevention

  • Players spending too much time outside the Ring will be warned, then eliminated

BUG FIXES

  • Double-clicking in the Melee Tab now equips items
  • Firing Range dummies no longer clip through damaged doors
  • Heat Shields and Legend Ult items can no longer be placed on Tridents
  • In-match Challenge display now lists all 5 challenges
  • Player created pings can once again be removed
  • Players will no longer teleport into the building overlooking the fight night ring via Trident
  • Valkyrie can no longer get under the turbine on Olympus
  • Voiceline while picking up enemy Banner Cards no longer indicates it is a squadmate

AUDIO

  • Most in-game dialogue is now synchronized between clients
  • Squad members can now be muted while spectating

GRAPHICS

  • DX12 (PC) fixed several causes of crashes

LEGENDS

  • Ash Ult, Rampart Tac/Ult, Wattson Tac/Ult, and Loba Ult can no longer be placed out of bounds
  • Conduit’s Tac now appears for observers
  • Mad Maggie’s Ult now destroys Gibby’s Tac
  • Mirage decoys that are destroyed by Catalyst’s Piercing Spikes no longer keep the trap active nor make hit sounds briefly after dying

QUALITY OF LIFE

  • Destructible Legend abilities have consistent damage feedback
    • Objects which previously showed red (flesh) damage numbers will now show as gray and the damage numbers will indicate if the object is destroyed
    • Increased visibility for gray damage numbers
  • Firing Range: Nessie was inspired after watching some centuries old videos and wanted to change things up a bit. The yellow and purple polka-dots look quite dashing.
  • Gun Run: changed the Victory notification for the winning team to say “You Are the Champion” instead of “
  • Per Optic ADS Sensitivity: added an option for Seer Passive which controls how quickly you can turn while unarmed and using Heart Seeker
  • Performance Mode aim assist has been tuned to feel similar to 60Hz mode
  • Added advanced haptics and adaptive triggers support for PlayStation and PC consoles
    • If you encounter an issue, please ensure to connect the controller via USB and complete any updates

    • Navigation

    • Event Tab: dedicated tab appears when there is an active Event (previously under the Seasonal Tab)
    • Death Menu: added a Squad Tab where you can access your groups information, report, and mute VoIP/pings while you’re dead
    • Legends Tab: selected Legend will not reset to featured one when your cursor is not over a Legend
    • Melee Tab: Death Box icon is now clickable
    • Store Tab: new subtab containing offers that were previously in Featured, Specials, Seasonal, and more with improved navigational flow and presentation

    GRAPHICS

    • General GPU rendering optimizations for FX
    • Improved Low Res FX rendering quality
    • Improved Volumetric Lighting
    • Optimized FX after stepping through a Catalyst wall for better GPU performance
    • Optimized FX when taking damage from Fuse’s ultimate for better GPU performance
    • PS5 and Xbox SX/S improved CPU graphics performance with parallelization of rendering workloads

    LIVEAPI UPDATES AND UPCOMING CHANGES

    We are adding new gameplay event messages to LiveAPI supporting Legend Upgrades and EVO Level changes alongside improvements and bug fixes based on ongoing feedback. The schema of all events alongside technical documentation can be found in the LiveAPI folder of the game installation.

    In order to better support LiveAPI 2.0, we will retire the existing file-based output in favor of the WebSockets connection interface. The file-based output will be turned off by default in a future patch and entirely removed from LiveAPI by Q3 2024. Developers should begin migrating their apps to the WebSockets interface in order to avoid disruptions.

    All in all, that’s everything on Apex Legends Season 20. For more on the game, make sure you check out some of our other guides below:

    Will Arenas return to Apex Legends? | How to get Legend Tokens in Apex Legends | Best Legends in Apex Legends | All Apex Legends voice actors | How many people play Apex Legends? January 2024 player count | Best audio settings for Apex Legends | Best guns in Apex Legends | How to check your Apex Legends stats | Best PC settings for Apex Legends

    SOURCE: Apex Legends

Sign up to Charlie INTEL for free and receive:
Fewer Ads|Dark Mode|Deals in Gaming, TV and Movies, and Tech