Apex Legends' next event trials predictable loot and evolving shields
Charged up
Packed enough shield batteries, champ? Apex Legends is going all robotic with its next Collection Event, System Override. As usual, that means two weeks of themed get-ups for the arena's characters, weapons and intangible banners. But respawn are also taking this chance to experiment with the ApeLegs format by introducing a power-hungry new shield and removing the randomness from their battle royale.
Collection events in ApeLegs are like little seasons-within-seasons, themed two-week-long festivals boasting a barge full of cosmetics and perhaps a new gamemode or two. Next week, the champs are donning their best cyborg get-ups in System Override.
System Override's big new mode is Deja Loot, AKA a dull mode for boring people. The gimmick here is that the randomness has been taken out of the royale - flight paths and circle locations will be set fixtures each day. Loot locations won't change at all, only mixing up when the map switches from World's Edge to King's Canyon halfway through the event. I s'pose this could create for an interesting learning process, learning optimal routes to preferred loadouts and... oh, gosh, is that a yawn I hear?
So I'm not into the sound of this new mode. Shoot me. But there's one nifty piece of kit arriving with System Override that sounds proper brilliant. The Evo Shield is a new armour drop with a spicy little twist - when you pick it up, it's utter rubbish. Worse than plain ol' white armour.
But stick with it, and Evo Shields can quickly become invaluable. See, the more damage you dish out, the more the Evo levels up, eventually hitting a "red" state that can tank even more damage than top-tier purple armour. That progress sticks between owners, too - nail a few headshots on someone boasting a fully-charged Evo and it's yours for the taking.
For now, the Evo Shield is limited to Deja Loot with a ramped-up spawn rate to make sure you have the chance to give it a try. If it pans out well, Respawn will consider adding it to the game proper.
'Course, being a Collection Event, System Override has a big bucket of loot to push through as well. The battle pass-style Prize Track is back, letting you earn points towards cosmetics by plugging hours into the limited modes. Crypto's got a slick white coat and had his torso turned into a skeleton, while Revenant... well, he was already kind of a skeleton anyway. They put Mirage in a crop top, finally.
System Override kicks off on March 3rd, running for two weeks before wrapping up on the 17th.