Everything We Know So Far About New Apex Season 20 (Updated)

by  John Uke Last update: December 18, 2024

Apex Legends is on the verge of entering its 20th anniversary season, which also marks the game’s 5th anniversary. Fans are eagerly anticipating what new features and updates the Apex Legends new season will bring. We have gathered all the information and leaks regarding the upcoming season, and I am here to share what the GameTree team knows so far. 

1. Season 20 will start on February 13, 2024, at 10 am PT / 1 pm ET / 6 pm GMT.
2. The new season will be called Breakout.
3. A new Legend upgrade system will be introduced.
4. Mixtape will get a brand new map called Thunderdome.
5. A new limited-time mode will be introduced at launch, called Straight Shot.
6. The ranking system will be changed. 

Of course, this is far from all the changes that await us in the new season. Read on to learn more.

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When Does The New Apex Season Start?

Season 20 will start on February 13, 2024, at 10 am PT / 1 pm ET / 6 pm GMT. We already have a confirmed date, which adheres to the rule that new seasons usually start on Tuesdays at 10 am PT / 6 pm GMT, so no changes here.

Everything We Know About The New Apex Season

Now that we know the Apex new season release date, let’s also see some of its features that have been uncovered. In particular, changes in the balance of heroes are planned. In addition, we expect new skins (Epic and Legendary), changes in the operation of armor, and the addition of Legendary perks to armor. There are also rumors about the appearance of a new hero, weapons, and map. Next, I will tell you in more detail about all the changes that await us. Seams like season 20 will bring a lot of new things to the game.

Challenges To Unlock Legends For Free

In Apex Legends’ new season, challenges are planned to unlock Legends for free. Players will have two weeks to complete tasks and unlock heroes.

The release order will be approximately as follows:

• Seer (Feb 13-27);
• Fuse (Feb 27 – Mar 12);
• Rampart (Mar 12-28);
• Mad Maggie (Mar 28 – Apr 8);
• Loba (Apr 8-23);
• Valkyrie (Apr 23 – May 7).

No New Legend This Season

Hate to disappoint you, but no new legends will be introduced in season 20.

Data miners dug up information that it is possible that the next Apex Legend, Cave, will be waiting for us in the new season. Even though this has not yet been confirmed, the game fans have already taken it to Reddit, and are eagerly discussing the new legend.

Also, according to playtesters’ leaks, he will have the ability “to teleport through walls with portals.” Probably, this would be a type of Phase Breach ability that allows Cave and his teammates to phase through walls and buildings. This ability would work as a countermeasure against controller legends such as Catalyst and Wattson, who have the ability to easily secure buildings.

Unfortunately, all of those turned out to be just a speculation, as EA has not mentioned any of this information in their article on Breakout updates.

The New Map

According to various rumors and teasers, it is assumed that there will be a new District map in the Apex new season. This map will be located in Suotamo, Crypto’s former city of residence. Suotamo is one of the largest cities in the Outlands, and whenever it was depicted, it had a cyberpunk neon look.

In addition, the district is not only closely related to Crypto but is also located on the planet Gaea, which is also the home planet of Ballistic, Caustic, and Rampart. All of this seems to be true, and it could indeed be a new map, as we know that Respawn likes to update maps related to the lore and characters of the game.

Unfortunately, these speculations have not been confirmed, and now we actually know that this map won’t be introduced (at least in the Breakout season). However, what has been confirmed is the fact, that we’ll get a new Mixtape map – Thunderstorm.

Thunderstorm – new Mixtape map

Thunderdome is a new map being added to Apex Legends in the Mixtape rotation. It is based on the original Thunderdome location from Kings Canyon, but has been modernized and upgraded. This floating sky stadium arena is designed for fast-paced action across a variety of multiplayer modes like Team Deathmatch, Control, and Gun Run.

The map has three lanes to promote different gameplay strategies. Fans can battle for the high ground in TDM, fight to control points in Control, or find power positions for an advantage in Gun Run. The map was created to support many different playstyles and counter some commonly used tactics.

Overall, Thunderdome brings back the essence of a classic Apex arena with a modern twist. Players can expect intense, dynamic matches on this map with opportunities for creative strategies. Even if you lose, the energetic virtual crowd keeps the energy up. Thunderdome looks to be a thrilling new addition to the Apex Legends mix that both long-time fans and newcomers will enjoy.

Apex Ranked System Change

According to leaks, there is insider information that in the Apex next season, there will be a return to the rank system of the 12th or 13th seasons. The exact details of ranked rewards and the matchmaking system are still unknown. And this one has been confirmed, guys!

Here are the key changes coming to Apex Legends Ranked mode in the Breakout season:

• Level requirement reduced to 20, splits and season reset returning.
• Scoring now emphasizes eliminations over placements. No cap on elimination scoring.
• New bonuses for top 5 placement streaks and beating higher ranked players.
• Matchmaking based on RP rank rather than tiers.
• Tier promotions and provisional matches removed. Some RP requirements increased.

Overall, Ranked will be reverting back to a more familiar system for players. The goal is to put more focus on skills like getting kills and wins rather than just placement. The updates aim to make scoring more transparent and competitive. Players will need to continue honing their skills to climb ranks in the revamped system.

Legend Upgrades

Legend upgrades is probably the biggest upgrade that will be introduced this season, and here’s what we can expect:

• Players will now earn EVO points during a match by dealing damage, getting knockdowns, using abilities, etc.
• Earning enough EVO will level up your legend, improving their armor and unlocking new upgrades at levels 2 and 3.
• You get to choose which upgrades to unlock, allowing you to customize your legend’s abilities.
• Body shields are removed. Instead legends have inherent armor that levels up via EVO. It is fueled by a Shield Core with health that can be swapped.
• New EVO Harvesters spawn on the map, allowing squads to get EVO boosts.
• EVO Caches are new rare items with EVO that give a full level up.

Overall, the new Legend Upgrade system should allow for more customization and progression during a match. Players can tailor their legend’s loadout to their preferred playstyle. It adds more strategy around harvesting EVO and leveling up your squad.

Changes In Armor And Perks

“When does the new apex season come out?” is not the only question fans ask. They are also intrigued by the balance and armor changes. So, in Season 20, the armor will not spawn on the ground. There will be only the armor with which you appear on the map. That is, the randomness is removed when you land in white armor and your enemy is already in purple. For example, you have blue armor for 75 HP; you kill the enemy and take their purple armor, and you should have a 100 HP shield. Yet, 75 HP of yours remains, and 25 HP will be temporary. As soon as they are broken, you will have blue armor again. Thus, you will constantly upgrade your armor and only occasionally receive temporary additional shields.

Another key feature of the Apex new season is that the armor will have legendary perks. When you upgrade your armor from white to blue, you can choose one of two perks that will last until the end of the match. Having upgraded the armor from blue to purple, you choose perks again, and so on, every time you upgrade the armor. The perks will be very different: a quick rollback of a tactical skill or ults, illumination of potions and grenades, and so on – that is, everything that players tested in the 19th season.

New Skins And Battle Pass Updates

Is the new Apex season out? No, not yet, but we already know about the future skins and events. You can familiarize yourself with the list of new skins for Legends below.

• Legendary skins will be for Wattson, Valkyrie, Seer, Pathfinder, Mirage, Fuse, Crypto, Catalyst;
• Epic Skins will be for Ballistic and Bloodhound (and more to come);
• Epic Weapon Skins for R99, Prowler, Car SMG;
• Lunar New Year for Season 20 will likely be a store event (Legendary Skins for Catalyst, Crypto, and Seer).
• Reactive Flatline Weapon Recolor is coming in the Apex new season.

We also already know about some major events in Season 20. Here are their code names and some information about them:

• Outurban A – Battle Pass.
• Outurban B – Collection Event. It should contain a Mythic skin for Octane (not confirmed) and legendary skins for Newcastle, Wraith, Vantage (and more).
• Outbeast – probably a store event. This event has no legendary skins listed at the moment. There will be Epic skins for Mirage, Vantage, Valkyrie, Newcastle + Pathfinder Rare Skin.
• Outnoir – Collection Event. It will feature a Noir-themed collection event. Outnoir will bring themed legendary skins for Bloodhound, Ballistic, Mad Maggie, Revenant, Lifeline, and Horizon.

Changes In Balance of Two Legends

The developers plan to change some of the abilities of Ash and Crypto when the new Apex season is launched. In particular, the developers consider Ash’s ultimate ability too weak. Thus, she will likely get the following buffs:

• Adjustment to Phase Tear;
• Slight improvements to tactical stats;
• Quality of life QoL changes to passive.

The developers are concerned that Ash may suffer the same fate as Seer. Seer was initially a popular character, used frequently in gameplay, but eventually fell to the bottom of the pick rate and was no longer chosen by players. To avoid this scenario with Ash, the developers are exploring different options to make her stronger and more actively chosen by players.

The same plans for Crypto: they also want to redevelop him, namely diversify the capabilities. His likely buffs for the Apex new season are: 

• Improved/altered drone handling;
• Streamlining of abilities.

By the way, we’ve recently covered a list of the best legends in Apex, and Crypto turned out to be one of the weakest characters, let’s see how this changes with the new season.

No New Weapons

No new weapons will be introduced this season. The process of releasing new weapons has slowed down over the years, as the Apex developers clearly did not want to oversaturate the loot pool or mess around too much with the meta and long balance. However, there are four currently rumored and leaked weapons waiting for release in Apex Legends. The weapons that players might see coming in future seasons are Gemini (energy SMG), Scorpion Crossbow, dual-wield Fanatics (energy Pistol), and Malestrom (light LMG).

Technical Updates

There were rumors, and now there’s a confirmation, that the game would get a new engine, but the developers decided to finish the current one, and there are no plans to switch to a new one. Also, an update for consoles should be released this season, and players will be able to play the game in 120 fps mode when the next Apex season starts.

Other Rumors And Speculations

I have some disappointing news to share, according to the information that we now have from the developers, the Apex new season is going to be quite ordinary. We now know that there won’t be any new weapons, maps, or heroes introduced this season. We may have to wait until Season 21 to see any of these additions.

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Final Thoughts

So, when is the new season of Apex? 13 February 2024, so get ready There is already some confirmed information about what can be expected in the season, but it is too early to draw any conclusions. We can definitely say that there will be new content and pleasant bonuses for players. We already know for sure that there will be new Legendary and Epic skins, and some major ranked system upgrades. And the game’s 5-year anniversary is ahead, surely, the developers have some other surprises in store for the Apex Legends new season. We’ll see!