Apex Legends™: Showdown Patch Notes

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SHOWDOWN OVERVIEW

WILDCARD

Check out our dedicated blog here for all the cards you’ll want to have in your hand before jumping in.

LEGEND UPDATES

In addition to some Controller class updates, we’ve also taken a pass at two smokeshow Legends. Good to have you back in the meta, Gas Daddy and Bangydang.

CAUSTIC

Caustic’s gas should be deadly enough to live up to the fantasy, but lately it’s felt a little toothless. With the updates detailed below, Nox Gas has become something Caustics can trust to threaten or hold an area for a long time with windows that attackers can play around. Also, Caustic’s new Field Research perk allows him to gain additional Legend Updates—making him the first to be able to get all four upgrades at once!

BANGALORE

With a whole new Legend Upgrade tree, Bangalore’s been given tons of new flexibility. Among these new options, are new breaching mechanics that allow you to clear out entrenched enemies.

GAMEPLAY ADDITIONS

We’ve got three powerful additions to the Outlands with Showdown. Read on for an overview or dive into specifics with Patch Notes sections further down: 

• Elite Weapons take the firepower from Ballistic’s personal stash and into your hands. These variants pack a punch and replace their typical counterparts for a limited-time. Showdown brings the RE-45: Burst, which swaps to Energy ammo and comes with a spin-up mechanic.

• Legend Amps are game-changing passives available in Unranked and Ranked BR matches. With five options to choose from, there’s an optimal Amp that could sway things in your favor in any type of fight.

• Locked Hop-Ups means that the looting for these boosts are no more. Each weapon comes pre-equipped with its Hop-Up waiting to be activated and unlocked for the rest of the match.

RANKED

Key adjustments have been made to better reflect your performance and risks. Entry costs, placement RP, and kill points have been tuned to create more room for performance-based variance and rewarding consistent well-rounded play. The updated Challenger Bonus gives more RP to players who take on and win fights against higher-tier opponents. And those aren’t the only Ranked updates in Showdown.

NEW: DROP ZONES

Drop Zones will start Ranked matches faster and fairer with squads automatically spread out across POIs. Before the match starts, you’ll see a preview of your Drop Zone with a ping-able map for strategic co-ordination before locking in your Legends. Loot has been fairly distributed across POIs, so no Hot Zones here. Keep your head up, though. There’s always the chance a neighboring squad will contest by skydiving in. 

AURAS

Introducing a brand new cosmetic option: Auras. When equipped, your Aura will be visible in the lobby, Legend selection, and during podium moments. In matches: during dives, emoting in 3rd-person, and it’s visible for both of the engaged players when reviving or finishing. You can toggle your clout on/off in the Legend Locker.

Every player with access to Ranked will get the “Ascension Crest” Aura after logging-in after Showdown’s launch and it will reactively reflect your Ranked Tier going forward. Those still working on their Road to Ranked will be granted this Aura once Ranked is unlocked. 

ACCOLADES

Time to recognize players and their squadmates for all that they do during a match—not just winning. From pulling off tricky double kills to expertly blocking damage for your squad, Accolades highlight actions that often go unnoticed, uncelebrated, and untracked. They’re designed to celebrate varying playstyles and skill, and can be earned in Unranked, Ranked, Wildcard, and Mixtape with each tracking separately.

Each Accolade has up to four tiers for you to achieve as you progress and they’ll award XP too. Post-match, the summary will show your earned Accolades and your Gladiator Card the top three. You can earn and record multiple Accolades each day, but there’s a cap of 2200XP for these per day. Find the full list and your tracking under Account Progression, including descriptions, targets, and those you’ve earned this season, per mode, and how many times you’ve hit them.

CHALLENGE UPDATE

We’ve updated our challenge system to try and help you progress more consistently no matter which mode you choose. Most challenges that used to require specific modes or had dual targets now count across all modes, making it easier to play how you want and still finish your Battle Pass.

To keep time-to-completion balanced, some challenge targets have increased and we've added progression boosts to some modes. For example, “Deal 10K damage as a Skirmisher or Assault Legend” gets a 2x progress modifier in BR to match it to Mixtape’s completion time.

This is part of our long-term goal to create challenges that support a wider range of playstyles. Jump in, play your way, and get rewarded just like before.

NEW REWARD FLOW

Based on your feedback around reward confusion, we’ve created a new summary to showcase your hard work and rewards without the plethora of pop-ups. You’ll now be able to see each reward (including those occasionally granted silently), how it was earned, and additional details all at once—giving you more time to celebrate those Ws. 

NINTENDO SWITCH 2

Apex Legends is now available to download on Nintendo Switch 2! Log into Apex Legends on your Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2 before September 16, 2025 to automatically receive the “P.A.T.H.” Pathfinder skin!** 

• Enjoy up to 60 FPS, depending on monitor/hardware capability and compatibility (1920x1080 docked, 1792x1008 undocked)

• When you login, you’ll be redirected to the eShop to download Apex Legends on Nintendo Switch 2. You’ll be able to delete “Apex Legends for Nintendo Switch” after you login to the updated version.

**Requires EA account & all game updates. Applicable platform account &/or subscription may be required. Only available on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. Must log in to Apex Legends (available separately) by September 16, 2025 to claim. Limit 1 per account.

PATCH NOTES

BALANCE UPDATES 

Care Package

• Peacekeeper returns to the floor

• Akimbo P2020 enters

Gold Weapon Rotation

• EVA-8, Hemlok, RE-45: Burst, Sentinel, Wingman

EVO Harvesters

• EVO rewarded by Harvesters increased to 425 (was 350)

• Overhauled placement to guarantee spawns closer to the geo-center and away from POIs cores

• Spawn rate reduced to 8 or 9 depending on Map size (was 17-20) 

Dev Note: EVO Harvesters haven’t seen many adjustments, so it’s time to shake things up. We’re removing spawns at the edges of playable space and preventing them from the center of POIs. This could lead to unfair starts where some levelled up quickly by chance, while others were left behind. Now intentional strategic moves will be needed to access Harvesters. With fewer of them, the chances of bumping into enemies is high, but the reward is too with nearly enough EVO to level up.

GAMEPLAY UPDATES 

NEW: Amps

• Purple tier loot items

• Early game: fairly uncommon with a higher chance to spawn in high tier loot locations such as Care Packages, Vaults, and the Hot Zone

• After Bins Reset: all bins have a higher chance to spawn an Amp

  • Mythic, Legendary, Extended, and Weapon supply bins guarantee one

• Five Amp types:

  • Infinite Ammo Amp: gain infinite ammo for non-care package weapons

    • Temporarily locks two inventory slots. These slots can hold ammo, but you cannot drop their contents.

  • Bottomless Batteries Amp: Batteries are not consumed upon use

    • Must have at least 2 Batteries in your inventory to activate

  • Over Armor Amp: gain an additional 25 shield capacity

    • Stacks with Ring Expert, but cannot exceed 125 total shields

  • Heal Overflow Amp: after using a cell or syringe, the corresponding health bar will fully heal over time

    • Taking damage stops the regeneration

  • Power Booster Amp: reduces cooldown for Tac and Ult

    • Refresh a Tactical charge when knocking an enemy

Dev Note: Amps are a new vector to explore when creating and optimizing your loadout. Your choice could be influenced by playstyle, team composition, weapons, and the bedlam each match provides. The Amp you want in one match may not be the one you need in the next.

NEW: Elite Weapons

• Limited-time standard-issue weapons are replaced with one from Ballistic's private collection

• Features devastating new mechanics from across the Outlands

• Showdown’s Elite Weapon is the RE-45: Burst

  • Swaps Light ammo for Energy ammo

  • New spin-up mechanic that fires 3-round bursts in rapid succession

NEW: Locked Hop-Ups

• Hop-Ups removed from floor loot

• Now pre-equipped and locked to weapons, start as inactive

• Can’t be removed or transferred

• Gain Locked Hop-Up Points to activate by:

  • Dealing damage to other players with the weapon (damage from any any other source grants partial credit)

  • Upgrading at the appropriate Arsenal

  • Picking up Hop-Up Boosters

• White, blue, and purple kitted weapons do not come with Locked Hop-Ups

• Gold kitted and Care Package weapons come with their Hop-Ups already unlocked

Helmets

• Removed Gold and Mythic helmets from floor loot

World’s Edge: Rampart’s Big Maude

• Paintball weapons are no longer offered at vending machines

• Blue and purple kitted weapons are now offered at vending machines

• Reduced time to unlock weapons by 2 seconds

LOOT BINS

Extended Supply Bins

• Top drawer contents now give support items to everyone

• Secret drawer and EVO value remain unchanged

• Removed icons from minimap and full-map

• Before Bin Reset: small chance of spawning an Amp and/or an Ult Accelerant

• After Bin Reset: guaranteed Amp and/or Ult Accelerant

Weapon Supply Bins

• Top drawer contents now give assault items to everyone

• Secret drawer and EVO value remain unchanged

• Removed Icons from minimap and full-map

• Before Bin Reset: small chance of spawning Amp and/or Hop-Up Booster

• After Bin Reset: guaranteed Amp and/or Hop-Up Booster if a squadmate needs one

Legendary Supply Bins

• Amps and Hop-Up Boosters added to the pool

LEGENDS

Controller Class

• Zone Overcharge: now continuously regenerates shields while in zone

  • Taking damage stops this for 6s

• Ring Consoles: players can spawn a taller custom EVAC from Ring Consoles they have scanned

Dev Note: Controllers should have priority when taking key spots and defending, so we’ve buffed their perks so they can get to zone early and fight with less loot.

BANGALORE

Abilities

• Passive: Double Time

  • Speed increased by 5%

• Tactical: Smoke Launcher

  • Canister breaks and travels through doors

  • Projectile speed increased to 2900 (was 2500)

  • Pull out time reduced to 0.25 (was 0.35)

  • Cooldown reduced to 30s (was 35s)

  • Gas now reactive: ordnance and abilities can disable it for 5s when used inside/nearby

• Ultimate: Rolling Thunder

  • Cooldown reduced to 210s (was 270s)

  • Reduced anim frame to fire projectile to 1 (was 5)

Upgrades

• Level 2

  • Ultimate Cooldown+ & Tactical Cooldown: removed

  • Cover Me: moved to Level 2

  • Electric Smoke: electrifies Tac dealing 100 damage to enemy Ults and destroys Tacs

• Level 3

  • Refuge: removed, integrated into Cover Me

  • NEW ECM Payload: electrifies Ult dealing 10 more damage, destroys enemy deployables

  • NEW Medal of Honor: faster revives and passive triggers running towards knocked allies

Dev Note: Bangalore is always fun to play, which also makes her a prime candidate to buff into a flex pick. We’ve updated her upgrades to give her more choices and be a stronger balancing force overall. Similar to how other Controllers are set to answer highly mobile Legends, Bangalore can now be the one to tackle slower, more defensive metas.

CAUSTIC

Nox Gas

• Damage Increased to 10-15 (was 4-10)

• Now causes aim punch to victims when causing damage

• Caustic’s Health Bar does not show while inside

• Increased visibility both outside and inside his own gas

• Green highlighting is still active

• Clouds now have threat indicators for victims

• Now Grounds enemies: slowing them once and draining them of movement cooldowns

• “Slow” changed: immediately drains velocity to the desired speed even if the target is moving at high velocity or in the air

• Gas now reactive: ordnance and abilities can disable it for 5s when used inside/nearby

Abilities

• NEW Passive: Field Research (was Nox Vision)

  • Gain research points from poisoning enemies, opening unique Death Boxes, and scanning ring consoles

  • Unlock an upgrade point for every 100 research points (max 2)

  • Can uniquely have all 4 upgrades unlocked at once

• Tactical: Nox Gas Trap

  • Trap health increased to 225 (was 150)

  • Trap can be activated earlier while inflating

  • Reduced toss and stow by 0.1s

  • Increased trap activation radius to 260 (was 140)

  • Increased gas radius to 300 (was 282)

  • Doubled lifetime to 22s (was 11s)

  • Caustic traps take ring damage

  • Increased activation delay to 0.8s (was 0.2s)

  • Traps take bullet damage while inflating

  • Traps take critical (1.4x) damage when hit in the o-ring/base

• Ultimate: Nox Gas Grenade

  • Reduced cooldown to 2min (was 3m)

  • Reduced toss and stow time by 0.05s

  • Increased projectile speed to 1500 (was 1300)

  • Increase duration to 20s (was 15s)

Upgrades

• Level 2

  • Parabolic Force & Residual Toxins: removed (integrated into base kit)

  • NEW Extra Traps: one additional charge, increased max in world by 2

  • Breathe It In: moved to Level 2

• Level 3

  • NEW Gas Fighter: Tac recharges 300% faster while in gas

  • Particle Diffuser: increases Ult radius by +50%

Dev Note: At long last Nox Gas is powerful enough to be scary, even lethal again. To balance this out, we’ve made it reactive to explosions and player abilities. We hope this makes Caustic feel powerful and more relevant, while offering opponents a way to counterplay if they’re smart about using resources.

AMMO & ATTACHMENTS

NEW Hop-Up Booster

• Grants 100 Locked Hop-Up Points on pick-up

• Only found in Weapon and Legendary Supply Bins

• Can not be picked-up without a Locked Hop-Up weapon

• Does not appear in Loba’s Black Market

LOCKED HOP-UPS

Accelerator

• 150 Locked Hop-Up Points to unlock

• Compatible with Peacekeeper, L-STAR, and Alternator

• Must have weapon in hand in order to receive additional Ult gain on knock

• Assist window reduced to 3s (was 10s)

• Ult gain on knock increased to 30% (was 20%)

• No longer comes pre-equipped to white, blue, and purple kitted weapons

Dev Note: Accelerator has been a very powerful Hop-Up since its addition. We want to keep its power high while incentivizing you to use these weapons more, rather than just shoving them in your secondary slot or sling (looking at you Ballistic mains).

Graffiti Mod

• 300 Locked Hop-Up Points to unlock

• Compatible with Volt, Spitfire, and EVA-8

• Greatly improves weapon handling

• Slightly increases magazine size

• Adds paintball rounds for some battlefield flair

Gun Shield Generator

• 250 Locked Hop-Up Points to unlock

• Compatible with Hemlok, R-301, and Rampage

Selectfire Receiver

• 250 Locked Hop-Up Points to unlock

• Compatible with Charge Rifle and Prowler

Skull Piercer

• 400 Locked Hop-Up Points to unlock

• Compatible with Wingman, Longbow, and 30-30

WEAPONS

LMG

Devotion LMG

• Widened reverse hipfire spread

• Removed improved scaling from high-tier barrels and stocks (Previous Hotfix)

• Mag size reduced to 48 (was 52) (Previous Hotfix)

M600 Spitfire & Rampage LMG

• Widened reverse hipfire spread

Dev Note: LMGs were feeling especially oppressive in close quarters combat and reverse hipfire contributes to a lot of that. They’re a strong and relevant weapon class, but recognize that we need to tamp down on some of that spray gameplay.

PISTOL

Akimbo P2020 (Care Package)

• Increased damage to 25 (was 24)

• Decreased reload time

• Improved hipfire accuracy

• Added Hop-Up: Kinetic Feeder

RE-45 Burst

• Added to floor loot

• Also found on Energy Arsenals

RE-45 Auto

• Removed from floor loot

SHOTGUN

EVA-8 Auto (Previous Hotfix)

• Damage per pellet increased to 7 (was 6) 

• Reduced rate of fire

• Purple and Gold bolts now match other shotguns

Mozambique Shotgun

• Slightly tightened blast pattern

• Increased rate of fire in akimbo and single fire modes

• Increased rate of fire when using a white or blue shotgun bolt

Peacekeeper (Floor Loot)

• Increased magazine size to 6 (was 5)

• Increased choke time

• Widened blast patten

• Increased rechamber time

• No longer deals headshot damage

MAPS

NEW: E-District Daytime

• Lighting overhaul: now takes place during the day 

• Lotus: new rotation added

• Added adjacent doorways to many shops for additional flow

• Removed some buildings and clutter to improve readability

MAP ROTATIONS

Unranked & Ranked

• Broken Moon

• E-District

• Storm Point

Mixtape (August 5-September 15, 2025)

• TDM: Thunderdome, Fragment, Skull Town

• Control: Lava Siphon, Barometer, Production Yard

• Gun Run: Skull Town, Thunderdome, Zeus Station

MODES

Trios & Duos (August 5-September 15, 2025)

Wildcard (August 5-18, 2025)

• Second Chance Revivals

• Legend stacking possible

• Self Revive Drop Kit

• Simplified Loot & Inventory

• Auto Looting

• EVO Orbs

  • Level up weapons

  • Reduce respawn timers

  • Grant a percentage of shield & Ult charge

  • Kickstart health regen

Wildcard (September 9-15, 2025)

• Return to core Wildcard experience

RANKED

Drop Zones Details

• Match start: squads are randomly assigned a POI

• Pre-Legend Select: players are presented with a map preview of Drop Zone

• After Legend Select: players deploy via squad Dropship to assigned zone with nearby enemy POIs marked for imminent threat

• During landing: added warning for incoming threats if an enemy squad invades Drop Zone

Dev Note: Ranked matches should allow you to get into the match before it’s over—bad drops can ruin that and lose you RP. Drop Zones means that all players will land at relatively the same time and have a shot at survival without waiting for the Dropship to unload. Contested drops are still possible, but limited and manageable: no more will half the lobby drop on the same POI. You’ll get the best chance at loot in your assigned Drop Zone, but efficient looting is still important in case enemies invade.

Heat Shields

• Heat Shields are disabled in Ranked

Dev Note: Stalling near the Ring and doing long out-of-Ring rotations will now be even riskier. You’ll need to rely on good positioning in order to survive into the late game.

SCORING

Challenger Bonus: reworked bonuses when eliminating higher-ranked opponents

• If the killer’s rank is 1 tier lower than the victim: KP +15% bonus

• If the gap is 2 tiers: +25% bonus

• If the gap is 3 tiers: +35% bonus

• If the gap is 4 tiers or more: +50% bonus

Entry Cost Adjustment

• Bronze: 10 RP (was 0 RP)

• Gold: 38RP (was 35 RP)

• Platinum: 48 RP (was 45 RP)

Kill Points Adjustment

• 1st: 20 RP (was 26 RP)

• 2nd: 18 RP (was 22 RP)

• 3rd: 16 RP (was 18 RP)

• 4th: 14 RP (was 16 RP)

• 5th: 12 RP (was 16 RP)

• 6th: 10 RP (was 16 RP)

• 7th: 10 RP (was 14 RP)

• 8th: 10 RP (was 14 RP)

• 9th: 8 RP (was 12 RP)

• 10th: 8 RP (was 12 RP)

• 11th-15th: 6 RP (was 10 RP)

• 16th-20th: 4 RP (was 10 RP)

Placement Points Adjustment

• 2nd Place: 100 RP (was 95 RP)

• 3rd Place: 75 RP (was 70 RP)

• 6th Place: 40 RP (was 30 RP)

SYSTEM

• Added report option for Wallhacking/Impossible Gamesense

Dev Note: Based on your feedback and the Reddit AMA, the Wallhack report option is back! If you encounter impossible game sense, let us know by reporting them.

BUG FIXES

• Burst weapon firing sounds now stop if the weapon overheated due to Ballistic's Tac

• Fixed inconsistent behavior when picking up some weapon attachments

• Fixed intermittent issues when predicting aim punches from ring damage

• Firing Range: fixed a few bugs that allowed other players in the server to impact your game

• Replicator: can no longer craft on a side with an item printing

• Ring visual effects now consistently show up in Kings Canyon

• Storm Point’s Northpad Tower drops sniper loot again

• Ziprails make a first person noise when attaching

LEGENDS

• Wattson

  • Corrected the used weapon name for eliminations from electrified door

  • Dropping Gold Helmet no longer removes effects of Energized Healer upgrade (Previous Hotfix)

  • Double doors no longer have one door electrified if the other breaks

  • Ultimate Conductor no longer gives Ult charge from self damage (Previous Hotfix)

  • Ultimate Conductor gives burst Ult charge correctly

• Bangalore: Ult missile no longer destroyed if it hits Newcastle Tac

QUALITY OF LIFE

• Bots: improvements to behavior

• Lifeline: updated Halo’s enemy coloring to help differentiate against the ring

• Newcastle: Ult can now be targeted and placed over Alter’s Tac portals 

• Replicator: updated color and associated assets to blue (was purple)

• Vantage: scanning an enemy will no longer show shield information if enemy’s eliminated. Previously, dead enemies would show if banner was active. (Previous Hotfix)

• Wattson: electrified doors no longer end if the fence placer dies or disconnects

• Updates and tuning to some VFX, primarily on 1P Impact FX revolving around Armor and Flesh Impacts

• Armor: 90% less smoke, 40% less debris

• Flesh: less lingering blood with shorter lifespan, smaller blood size debris

AUDIO

• Reduced occlusion of roof footsteps for clarity and consistency

• Skydiving audio will be quieter in intended in certain situations

• Mic monitor in audio settings now displays for solo players in lobby

GRAPHICS

• New tonemapping for a more natural appearance of highlights with very bright colors

• VFX: more consistent brightness regardless of in-game auto exposure, preventing extreme brightness in dark areas

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