Respawn Entertainment
Apex Legends Season 17: Everything you need to know
Apex Legends is about to enter its 17th Season, and this time it’s looking to be full of changes and new content like never before. Take a look at everything new coming to the game.
Apex Legends’ Season 17 is starting on May 9, and it’ll be a big one for fans of the battle royale. Titled “Arsenal”, this new content update will bring with it an entirely new legend, Ballistic, a reviewed World’s Edge map, reworkings to the progression systems, and more.
Meet a new Legend, a returning champion
You might have already heard of him thanks to the latest”Stories from the Outlands” short released, but August Montgomery “Ballistic” Brinkman is the new playable character coming to the game. The 24th Legend in the game comes as a new Assault class character, with an interesting set of abilities that’ll help you control de battlefield.
- Passive - Sling - Ballistic is able to carry a third weapon on him at all times, which is limited to not having any attachments.
- Tactical - The Whistler - Ballistic shoots a smart bullet that’s able to lock on to enemies, and when they’re hit their weapon overheats quickly as its firing. If their weapon overheats completely, it’ll blow up and deal damage. If the bullet misses, then it creates an Area of Effect that applies the skill to anyone inside it.
- Ultimate - The Tempest - Ballistic gains infinite ammo, quick reloads, and faster speed, with whatever weapon that is equipped in the Sling getting upgraded to Gold rarity.
World’s Edge is healing
It’s been a while since Apex Legends players got to play in a new arena, but for the past few seasons they also didn’t get to see any changes to the ones that they had. It’s not without reason, of course, as the developers have been focusing on important changes to the gameplay. However, that’s not the case this time.
Season 17 s getting a huge update for the World’s Edge map, where the lava flows of the area have risen and cooled, and construction crews are already working to repair as much as they can. The place now has new snowbanks, less volcanic smoke and clearer visibility, as well as new points of interest to explore and fight in:
- Monument: Fragment East has been rebuilt, and in its place you’ll find an entirely new complex. There’s a Museum dedicated to the history of the Apex Games for you to learn the lore behind every Legend, and perhaps one or two references to the larger universe.
- Stacks; Lava City is gone, and construction crews have been quick to create new buildings. It’s still a building in progress, which means that there’s a lot of verticality in play here.
All the changes coming to gameplay and progression systems
As if all of that wasn’t enough, players will also find that the Firing Range continues to evolve and change with every Season. The AI in the map will now fire back at players to test their reaction, a Vert Course has been added so everyone can train their movement skills, every gun in the game has been updated and added so you can get a feel for them without pressure, and there’s a new Duel Pit so you can fight one on one against your friends.
The Ping wheel that’s been a part of the game since its launch is also getting updated. Now, new options will allow for better communication between players while being more specific with wording and situation. It’s a simple but well received upgrade to the previous one.
But most importantly, there’s a Weapon Mastery system coming. This is actually a new progression mechanic that will apparently carry over between seasons from this point onwards, in which players will get XP for a specific weapon when fighting with it (ie. dealing damage, getting kills, reloading, or using special features of them). Every weapon is getting a Mastery progression tree, which unlocks cosmetic accessories and that eventually rewards players with a legendary skin after players reach a weapon’s max level.
Apex Legends Season 17, “Arsenal”, begins on May 9 at 10AM PST. There has been no details about its duration, but as always it’s expected to last around 4 months.