RANKED RELOADED
We’re passionate about delivering the world’s most fun and rewarding shooter experience, and we recognize that not everything we try works as intended. Take for example our Ranked experience—it’s one of the most important in our game. We’ve heard you, and we agree that there are a few things that need attention.
With the launch of Breakout, we’ve decided to make a series of changes - which members of the Apex faithful will find familiar. The Level requirement is going back down to 20 and splits will be returning, which means that the season reset will be as well. Each player will start at 1 RP with the launch of Breakout. There’ll also be a quick split reset which will drop your ranking by 6 divisions. Players will receive a Ranked Tier Badge for the highest rank they've achieved at the end of the season across all platforms.
TRANSPARENT SCORING
Scoring will be moving to a more transparent model similar to that of past seasons, placing a heavier emphasis on eliminations over placements. Your hidden skill rating will have no influence on either matchmaking or scoring. The bonus system has also been updated to provide more insight and Player Rankings will now be visible. We’ll also be returning to an improved Ranked Point system.
With these changes, this also means that entry cost will return: 20 RP per Tier starting at Silver.
ELIMINATION SCORING
Elimination score continues scaling with placements—the value of each elimination will increase the higher your team places. There’ll be no hard cap placed on the number of eliminations a player will be scored on nor the amount of points gained from them. Instead, eliminations after the sixth will be worth half of their value.
BONUSES
There are a couple key bonuses that we want to call out with Breakout’s Ranked changes.
- Top 5 Streak Bonus: for maintaining a placement streak of 5th or better. Everytime you extend your streak you’ll earn 10RP more than your previous match, 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
- Challenger Bonus: earn a 50% bonus on an elimination of a higher ranked player when you’ve personally contributed. This bonus is unaffected by the elimination soft cap of 6 kills.
MATCHMAKING
We will be matchmaking based on RP values as closely as possible, and will not be using a tier-based lobby like prior seasons. Premade parties will be matched by the highest Ranked player’s ranking.
TIER STRUCTURE
This is another area that we monitored closely and considered all of your feedback, so there are a few changes with tiers for Breakouts Ranked:
- Promotional Trials have been removed
- Provisional Matches have been removed
- Demotion and Demotion Protection will remain the same as Ignite’s Ranked
- Ranked Tier RP requirements will have some increases
NEW MIXTAPE MAP: THUNDERDOME
The deadliest entertainment venue is here: enter Thunderdome. Modernized with killer upgrades, this floating sky stadium is inspired by the first arena in Kings Canyon—capturing the essence of its Thunderdome, all while paying homage to the vast history of the Apex Games.
Thunderdome is geared up for a fast-paced matchup in any Mixtape mode with its three lanes to pursue. Grind for the high ground in TDM, battle to see who can hold B in Control, or find one of many power positions to dominate in Gun Run. This latest map was created with a plethora of playstyles in mind and challenges the expected strats used by many. Win or lose, the dynamic stadium crowd will always keep up the good vibes.
PERFORMANCE MODE: 120Hz
Enable Performance Mode on current-gen consoles for 120Hz output to displays that support it! This new Video Settings option adjusts graphical settings, leveraging recent improvements in the Apex rendering engine to target up to 120 FPS gameplay.
BREAKOUT REWARDS
Six Legends will be unlocked for everyone throughout the season. Complete challenges with these Legends to earn special Breakout Rewards—including permanent unlocks for the featured Legends, the Reactive Top Tier Flatline, and a matching set of Wraith cosmetics.
Check out the full breakdown, including Legends and chase rewards, in our Breakout Rewards blog.
TAGS & THE RETIREMENT OF CLUBS
We will be retiring Clubs in Apex Legends with the launch of the Breakout Season. Cheers to all of you who participated in a Club or maintained an active one. You’ll still be able to rep the same flare with our new feature: Tags.
This new visual indicator will appear ahead of your username wherever it is shown. Tags are 3-4 characters long, are limited to alphanumeric characters, and can be updated as often as you’d like via the Social page.
5TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION EVENT & NEW LTM
Squad up and go loud in the 5th Anniversary Collection Event, with community-created rewards to unlock via the reward tracker and the brand new LTM: Straight Shot. This mode drops you into an even quicker Battle Royale experience that gets you more reps and more action.
SEE YOU ON THE DROPSHIP
Breakout has so much to offer: Legend Upgrades, Ranked Reloaded, Performance Mode, Thunderdome in Mixtape, Tags, and more to come! We’re celebrating 5 years of Apex Legends in a big way and what you read here with Breakout Rewards and the 5th Anniversary Collection Event is just a sample of the details to come. Stay tuned for a full breakdown of Breakout Rewards in our dedicated blog tomorrow, and more details on the 5th Anniversary Collection Event including the new Straight Shot LTM coming this Thursday, February 8, 2024.
Cheers to five years and here’s to many more!
