What to Expect in Season 5 of Apex Legends
| Tags: Apex Legends
| Author Coleman Hamstead
Season 5 of Apex Legends is right around the corner. The reported release date for the new season is May 5, 2020. Though the official release is still weeks away, many of its details have already been revealed/leaked. Here is what players can expect to see in Season 5.
Contents
New Legend – Loba
As is tradition with each new season of Apex Legends, fans can expect a new playable legend. Season 5’s legend will almost certainly be Loba.
Details on Loba were originally made public early into the life of Apex Legends. Leakers found her in the game files under the name of “Rosie”. Loba was more officially revealed in the Season 4 launch trailer starring Revenant.
Revenant is seen infiltrating a building and assassinating Loba’s father, a renowned thief named Marco Andrade. At the time, Loba was just a young girl with an eye for revenge. Considering her family history, rumours suggest Loba will have abilities linked to stealing and reconnaissance.
While there is no guarantee we see Loba in Season 5, all signs point toward her inclusion. There have been no further leaks that suggest a different legend will be making an appearance. However, anything is possible. Respawn bamboozled us all in Season 4 with Forge.
Class-Specific Abilities
Respawn entertainment appears to have a more class-based vision for Apex Legends. Rumour has it that Season 5 will bring with it class-specific passive abilities. Each class, Support, Defensive, Offensive and Recon, will receive their own perk.
- Support: Support legends will all receive a passive perk similar to the one Lifeline was granted in the most recent patch. With the introduction of the new blue bins comes increased loot for Support legends. Each blue bin will have a secret compartment that only Support legends can open.
- Defensive: Defensive legends will revive teammates with an added shield. This perk is reminiscent of the gold backpack. There are no further details on how this class ability will work exactly. This includes how much shield the perk will grant to the revived ally.
- Offensive: Offensive legends will receive two extra backpack slots reserved exclusively for grenades. This comes shortly after the nerf to backpack/grenade carrying capacity. Surely, the idea for this perk is to give offensive legends an advantage while still nerfing grenade spam.
- Recon: All Recon legends will now be able to use survey beacons to locate the next ring. This means that legends such as Bloodhound and Crypto will gain an ability once limited to only Pathfinder. One would assume that Pathfinder will now receive a new passive to make up for it. However, nothing further is confirmed.
New Weapon(s)
It appears that new weapons are also on the horizon for Apex Legends. Datamined leaks have found hints toward at least four new guns. This includes the Volt SMG, CAR, EPG and a grenade launcher.
The most likely one to release with Season 5 is the Volt SMG. The Volt SMG has been in the game files since Season 3. With the Sentinel sniper being introduced in Season 4, it only makes sense that Season 5 brings a close-range weapon.
The Volt SMG is a high rate of fire SMG that uses energy ammo. It already exists in the Titanfall games and will likely work similarly.
New Maps and Game Modes
One of the most common complaints about Apex Legends is the lack of variety in maps and game modes. Since release, Apex Legends has stuck strictly to trios. There have been short limited-time events with solos and duos but besides that, nothing permanent.
The same can be said for maps. Respawn has teased players with the return of Kings Canyon but it was always in a limited-time capacity.
Finally, players will receive a permanent resolution. Respawn announced in the latest patch notes that the standard game modes will rotate between Kings Canyon and World’s Edge. Additionally, different versions of these maps such as King’s Canyon After Dark will be playable.
The cherry on top is the permanent implementation of duos. Teams of two will no longer be forced to play with a random.
The developers are obviously listening as the competition in the battle royale space rises. Season 5 will almost certainly bring even more unique game modes such as Déjà Vu. You can bet that the developers have a few more tricks up their sleeve to fight off the new king of BRs, Warzone.
Introduction of Emotes
Apex Legends has skydive emotes and finishers but they've never had emotes usable during normal gameplay. That may change in Season 5. Leaks reveal that legends may be getting emotes similar to games like Fortnite and Realm Royale. These emotes will likely represent dances, celebrations and memes.
Cross-Play
Last but not least, cross-play may be coming to Apex Legends. Cross-play is a relatively new feature in gaming and has been highly requested since launch. Cross-play will allow players on different platforms to play with and against each other. Xbox players will be able to team up with PC players and PS4 players.
Players had begun to assume this feature was never coming. However, a recent interview with a developer gives new hope. In response to a question about cross-play, the developers said,
“I think on crossplay we see it’s something that is kind of expected in the industry and is important to a game like ours. We are obviously big fans of playing our game, at work and in our free time, and we go home on a Friday or weekend and want to play with each other and we’re on different systems. On a personal level, yes, we’d love to do that and party up on the weekends. I think it’s an important thing to get to.”
It certainly sounds like cross-play may already be in the works. Developers know that saying something like this with no intent on following through will leave a bad taste in the consumer’s mouth. It may not happen in Season 5, but cross-play will very likely make an appearance in Apex Legends down the road.
And there you have it. Everything players can expect to find in Season 5 of Apex Legends. Season 5 is turning out to be chock full of content. Stay tuned here at ESTNN for more news and updates as these features come to life.