Apex Legends Season 20: Breakout launches Tuesday, February 13, and developer Respawn Entertainment has just released patch notes for what it's calling the biggest update since the game's 2019 launch.

From major changes to the crafting system to the removal of EVO Shields and reintroduction of mid-season splits in Ranked Mode, Season 20 has a lot going on. Keep reading for a breakdown of the biggest changes coming to the game when Season 20 goes live.

One interesting feature coming to the game this season is the addition of "Breakout Rewards." Every two weeks for the entirety of the season, a new Legend will become playable, even if they haven't been unlocked yet. During this time, a series of challenges will become available for players to complete, and those who do will permanently unlock the Legend, free of charge. But even if you've already unlocked every Legend, these challenges are still worth doing, as players who complete all challenges will earn additional rewards like the Top Tier reactive Flatline weapon skin (Legendary) and the Runaway Renegade Wraith Legend skin (Legendary).

As for maps, Olympus, Storm Point, and World's Edge will be in rotation this season. Mixtape Mode is also getting a new map called Thunderdome. Meant to be a reworked version of the now-destroyed Kings Canyon POI, the Thunderdome map includes an arena with a reactive crowd that cheers when players perform well and a massive Predator skull structure that shoots fire from the hole where its nose should be.

Another new feature players will likely be glad to see is the addition of Performance mode, a setting that allows PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S owners to play the game at 120 FPS.

Ranked Mode will see the reintroduction of mid-season splits, the removal of Provisional Matches and Promo Trials, and quite a few other changes, including widened Ranked tier widths and a new, extremely detailed post-match breakdown screen that will show players exactly how they gained (or lost) Ranked Points (RP). For more information on Ranked Mode changes, check out our Apex Legends Season 20 feature breakdown.

Crafting is getting entirely reworked this season, with players only able to craft one item per Replicator. On the bright side, weapons will no longer be trapped in the Replicator each season, meaning more weapons will be accessible via the standard loot pool.

The EVA-8 shotgun will be replacing the Prowler SMG as the seasonal Care Package weapon, while the Devotion, Mastiff, R-301, RE-45, and 30-30 Repeater will all be getting the gold weapon treatment this season.

Despite entering the Care Package, the EVA-8's damage has been reduced to 6 from 7, but its rate of fire has been increased to 3 (previously 2.4). Recoil has been reduced, Hammerpoint Rounds now dish out 20% increased damage to unshielded enemies, and the gold Shotgun Bolt now reloads 2 shells when players are sliding as opposed to one.

Meanwhile, the Hemlock's damage has been reduced to 20 from 21, hipfire spread is increasing, and spread delay has been increased to .28 from .21. The L-STAR also no longer supports barrel mods as an attachment.

Lastly, the 1x Digital Threat sight can no longer be equipped to any SMGs, and its spawn rate has been reduced by 20%.

In addition to the new Legend Upgrades system--which sees over 100 new Legend perks added to the game--some individual Legends are also being reworked in Season 20.

Bigger Legends like Caustic, Gibraltar, Revenant, and others are being revamped to feel less sluggish when running, though all Legends have the same running speed, and this will remain the case in Season 20.

Ballistic's Sling weapons will now have all Common-tier attachments while equipped, and the newest Legend--Season 19's Conduit--is getting reworked as well. Her Radiant Transfer tactical ability's cooldown time has been increased from 21 seconds to 26 seconds, and its temporary shield generation rate has decreased from 20HP/s to 15HP/s. Her Energy Barricade's mines now persist for only 45 seconds (down from 60 seconds) and have had their hitpoints reduced from 250 to 200. Lastly, the distance at which mines are removed when deployed too close to one another has been increased by 100%.

Mad Maggie's Wrecking Ball is seeing some major changes this season, too. It will no longer be destroyed from hitting a single enemy, instead triggering an explosion and continuing to bounce, allowing for a second explosion from an additional enemy hit. Additionally, as of Season 20, the Wrecking Ball will continue to bounce through devices it hits and destroys. But players on the receiving end of the Wrecking Ball will likely be happy to learn that once the new season starts, they can no longer be hit by the Wrecking Ball for 2 seconds after the initial hit, and can only be affected by its shellshock and knockback effects once.

But there are loads of other updates and changes coming to Apex this season, so be sure to check out the Season 20 patch notes, which are listed in full below.

Apex Legends Season 20: Breakout launches Tuesday, February 13. For more information on the new season, take a look at our behind-the-scenes chat with Apex Legends lead writer Ashley Reed.

PATCH NOTES

• Added Tags: a 3-4 character piece of flair ahead of players’ usernames that appear everywhere usernames do
  • Clubs are being retired—check out the Highlights blog for more details
• 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—check out the collection event blog for more details
  • 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

Check out our Breakout Highlights blog for more details on Ranked Reloaded.

• 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 “<Team> is the Champion”
• 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.

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com