Apex Legends Season 2 is here, and it has a new name: Battle Charge. Just like Apex Legends Season 1, Season 2 is brings new legends, cosmetics, and events to keep the battle royale fresh through the summer. Season 2 also feature Respawn's reborn Battle Pass, which features better rewards and more ways for players to earn them.
Here's our breakdown of what to expect from Season 2, what's in the Battle Pass, and more. For a full patch list of every change in each Apex Legends update, hit the link.
Check back here for new details on Battle Charge as they come.
Watch the Apex Legends Season 2 Battle Pass trailer
What's in the Apex Legends Season 2 Battle Pass?
The Apex Legends Season 2 Battle Pass is a big improvement on Season 1's, featuring new rewards like music packs that play when you drop or win, skydiving emotes, and loading screens.
Purchasing the Battle Pass grants instant access to four new skins, including Gilded Gibraltar, Valor Bangalore, Dreadnought Pathfinder, and Spitfire Intimidator, pictured below.
Here's an overview of what's in the Battle Pass, followed by a gallery of every item you can earn on the journey to level 100.
- Level up via Daily and Weekly Challenges.
- Time to Battle Pass level 100 should be significantly reduced.
- Three additional Legendary skins added to the rewards track.
- Three entirely new content categories replace badge and stat tracker rewards.
- You’ll earn enough Crafting Metal rewards from the full reward track to craft a Legendary item, or whatever your heart desires.
What you can earn on the free Battle Pass track:
Apex Legends Season 2 launch trailer
The Apex Legends Season 2 launch trailer is a beautiful flurry of color that gives players a good look at what's to come. First and foremost, we see new legend Wattson reporting for duty. Interestingly, we also get a sneak peak at what players think could be the next legend following Wattson.
In the trailer, a large scale EMP is triggered by someone with a laptop, the same laptop recently found in-game, that supposedly belongs to a "Crypto." Is Crypto the next legend we don't know about? Hopefully they have some sweet hacking abilities.
The EMP seems to have a significant effect on Kings Canyon as it attracts the attention of the giant stone-laden creatures that roam the edge of the map. In the trailer, we seem them invade Kings Canyon and crush familiar locations.
Season 2 adds Ranked Leagues
Apex Legends is adding its first Ranked Leagues in Season 2 where you'll start at Bronze IV and work your way through ranks 1-4 (I-IV) of Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond before becoming an Apex Predator. The first competitive season will last through September, ending at the end of Season 2, though future ranked series may be longer. Check out our in-depth explanation on how Ranked Leagues work.
Meet Wattson, Apex's Season 2 legend
According to Respawn, Wattson is the answer to Apex's aggression-heavy meta. She can place protective pylons freely that connect to form laser barriers. Friendlies can pass through them unharmed, but foes will need to go up or around. Her ultimate ability, the Interception Pylon, is a permanent structure that zaps away incoming mortar strikes, grenades, arc stars, etc.
Season 2's newest weapon is the L-Star, a powerful plasma LMG
The L-Star is Apex Legend's newest LMG coming in Season 2. The legendary weapon will only be available in supply drops and have a fixed ammo pool that can't be replenished. It's a high damage plasma rifle with larger projectiles than other Apex weapons. The catch is its slow bullet travel speed. Players will need to learn how to lead targets from far away. Its other weakness is heat: Sustained fire will cause the L-Star to overheat and trigger a long reload.
Old weapons, new ammo types
Some existing weapons and attachments are receiving updates to increase their effectiveness.
- New Energy Mag attachments that will boost the ammo capacity and reduce reload time of energy-based weapons.
- The Flatline, P2020, Alternator, and Triple Take are getting buffs, and the Arc Star is getting tuned up a little.
- Energy stack size is being increased from 60 to 80.
- Shotgun ammo stacks are being hacked from 64 rounds to 16.
- Changes to airdrop packages, which will use different loot tables depending on the stage of the game—more Krabers in early/midgame drops, more Mastiffs in the endgame.
- A new set of gold weapons will also be introduced.
How much does the Apex Legends Season 2 Battle Pass cost?
Respawn is maintaining the same price as Season 1's pass, so the Season 2 Battle Pass will cost 950 Apex Coins ($10), while the Battle Pass Bundle will shoot you right to level 25 for 2800 Apex Coins ($30). Coins don't translate directly to dollars because they're only available in static bundles, so expect to spend a little more or less depending on how many Apex Coins you're already sitting on.
After buying any version of the battle pass, you can also acquire individual levels of progress with the brute strength of your money. Individual levels can be bought outright, all the way to the max 100th level, for 150 Apex Coins each. If you reach level 97 by playing, though, you'll have earned enough Apex Coins to recoup the cost of the battle pass, essentially setting yourself up to get the next one for free.
Apex Legends tips: How to play
Apex Legends guns: Which to use
Apex Legends characters: Skills and tips
Apex Legends performance: Get the best
Apex Legends map: Where to land
Apex Legends loot boxes: How they work
Apex Legends Battle Pass: Everything you need to know about the current season
Apex Legends Update: Latest patch notes
The goal of the Season 2 Battle Pass, Respawn says, is a more gratifying Battle Pass that can be leveled up faster than before. Previously, the developers wanted to avoid challenges that force players to play the game differently, but Respawn believes it has struck a balance.
"While we don’t want to introduce wacky challenges that drastically warp the way you play the game, these challenges should provide some interesting variation from game-to-game. This means all players should feel more rapid Battle Pass progression and the journey will hopefully be more fun and interesting. Also, this addition should allow players who can only dedicate a few hours a week to the game to make a very deep cut into their Battle Pass progression."
