Apex Legends bounces into its Wild Frontier season today
Octane got even more apex leg-ends.
Apex Legends's first major update since launch is live now. New robo-legged (no apelegs here) legend Octane is all about going fast, although he's a bit tougher than his skinny Borderlands-esque frame would suggest. He constantly regenerates health, and can invest it in temporary speed boosts. His ultimate ability is a big ol' jump pad - a portable trampoline that can be used by your entire team. He's the first part of the Wild Frontier season, accompanied by an optional Battle Pass, allowing players to earn a hundred rewards (mostly cosmetic) over the next few months. Below, trailers breaking it all down.
Orange and camo green seem to be the primary colours of this season, with lots of muted, perhaps less easily targeted skins available. Not that Octane cares, with his bright green shades standing out from the crowd. There is one very ostentatious weapon skin up for grabs, but it's waiting all the way at the Battle Pass reward track.
The Battle Pass video shows you a lot of what you can earn through play. Players need to put down 950 Apex Coins (just shy of $10) to get on the reward track, but it does come with three new skins right at the start. Curiously, if you manage to hit level 100 by the end of the season, you'll have earned 1000 Coins, enough to get the next Battle Pass free, or to just unlock Octane and have some change left over. This season seems to be playing it pretty straight - nothing too wild to unlock, but the requirements aren't too demanding, either. A beginner's wardrobe, then.
On the subject of Octane, he costs the same as Mirage and Caustic - 750 Apex Coins. I'm curious to see what kind of combat niche he ends up filling. Health regeneration is an obvious perk, but his manually-activated speed boost requires a degree of premeditation I'm not quite up to yet in Apelegs. I reckon I'll be sticking with Bangalore and her automatic get-out-of-dodge speed boost. That, or Pathfinder for high-flying antics. Still, I'm sure some expert players will be showing me up in videos over the next couple days.
There's also a more expensive Battle Pass Bundle that'll skip you ahead 25 levels. You can see the full list of unlockable goodies on the Battle Pass page here, and there's a handful of rewards that anyone (whether you get the pass or not) can earn this season. Still, I reckon I'm good already - I've got Bloodhound's Plague Doctor skin, and that's all I really need.
Apex Legends is free-to-play, minus premium characters like Octane, Mirage and Caustic. Snag it here on Origin.