Apex Legends season 5 is here, and along with a new legend and some map changes, the new season brings the game’s first-ever quest. From the quest to ranked play changes, here’s everything you need to know about Apex Legends season 5.
Further reading
- Apex Legends character guide
- Apex Legends tips and tricks
- The best battle royale games
Skull Town in ruins
EA
Season 5 centers around Kings Canyon, but it’s not the same Kings Canyon you’ve been battling on during the past few seasons. As we’ll get to in a moment, Loba is the latest legend in the Apex Games. However, upon her arrival, she destroyed Skull Town and plunged it into the watery depths surrounding Kings Canyon.
Of course, this change is reflected in the Season 5 map. In place of Skull Town, there’s now an industrial rig called Salvage. This high-tier loot area is much smaller than Skull Town, so expect a serious fight if you’re landing there. Additionally, the crater left by the destruction of Skull Town exposes one of the tunnels Loba used to sneak in to Kings Canyon.
With Skull Town gone, Kings Canyon is naturally a smaller map. However, Respawn expanded the playable area in the upper east corner to account for the change. There, you’ll find the Offshore Rig, which connects to the Relay, Swamps, and Capacitor. Like Salvage, Offshore Rig is another high-tier loot area, one that’s pushed far outside of the circle.
Otherwise, there are a few new camps scattered around the map, but no major locations. The biggest change comes from Charge Towers. Around Offshore Rig, you’ll see tubes leading around the map. These chart Charge Tower locations, which are new to Apex Legends. If you stand on the Charge Tower platform and interact with the control panel, you can immediately charge the ultimate ability of every legend standing on the platform.
Meet Loba
A new Apex Legends season means a new legend. This time around, we have Loba. Loba is an upper-class thief, who, after witnessing her family being murdered at the mechanical hands of Revenant, resorted to picking pockets in order to survive. For years, Loba was the go-to thief for any job. With her Jump Drive bracelet, Loba was able to teleport into the most heavily guarded structures. However, after hearing that Revenant had joined the Apex Games, Loba had no choice but to put her life of crime on hold in order to compete.
Loba is one of the more interesting legends we’ve seen. As expected, all of her abilities are based around looting. Her passive ability lets her see epic and legendary loot through walls, while her tactical allows you to teleport using the Jump Drive bracelet. Her ultimate is the most impressive, though. It spawns the Black Market Boutique, which allows you to take your pick from all of the loot in a given area.
The Broken Ghost quest
EA
A first for Apex Legends, season 5 introduces the game’s first quest. Throughout the season, you’ll need to search for nine pieces of a mysterious artifact called the Broken Ghost. Finding all of them will not only award you with some sweet loot but also explain how Loba’s time in King’s Canyon led to the destruction of Skull Town. This is Respawn’s first major effort to implement story elements in Apex Legends, outside of some tweets here and there.
As for story, we don’t know much about The Broken Ghost other than the fact that it’ll mostly take place outside of the Apex Games. Apex Legends lore master Tom Casiello sets the stage nicely: “Caught between the Apex Games and Hammond Robotics, Loba is spinning a web of lies and deceit in her personal quest for vengeance … but how far is she willing to go? How does the Broken Ghost fit into her plans for Revenant? And what happens when one Legend stumbles upon the truth? See a side of the Legends’ lives you’ve never seen before … outside of the Games! Alliances will be formed, friendships will be tested, vendettas will be born, and when the dust settles, nothing will be the same again in a mystery that has far-reaching consequences for them all.”
Outside of story, the quest brings a new lootable item and a new game mode. In competitive matches of Apex Legends — Duos, Trios, limited-time modes, and Ranked — you can collect one treasure pack per day. These items don’t go in your backpack. Rather, they offer rewards and progress toward weekly Hunts. Hunts are where you’ll find the pieces for the aforementioned artifact.
Hunts happen once a week, and there are nine total over the course of season 5. Rather than the traditional battle royale mode, Hunts take place in Kings Canyon at night. Either solo or as part of a squad, your goal is to collect the artifact fragment and return to your ship as quickly as possible. Hunts aren’t without danger, though. Prowlers lurk the grounds of Kings Canyon at night, so you’ll need to stay vigilant to make it out alive.
New battle pass
Season 5 brings with it a new battle pass that, for the most part, mirrors previous seasons. There are 110 levels that offer weapons skins, legend skins, music, emotes, and more. The standard battle pass runs 950 Apex Coins (around $10), but you can boost your progress with the battle pass bundle. For 2,800 Apex Coins, the battle pass bundle immediately unlocks the first 25 levels of the battle pass. Plus, it gives you the Fool’s Gold Mirage skin instantly.
Even if you don’t get the bundle, the season 5 battle pass offers some goodies right away. Upon buying the battle pass, you’ll unlock the Legendary Hemlock Retrofitted skin, along with three new Rare Legends skins.
Ranked Series 4
Season 5 marks the beginning of Ranked Series 4, which, for the most part, is the same as Ranked Series 3. In the last season, Apex Legends introduced a split in ranked play. Around half of the season took place in Kings Canyon, while the other half took place in World’s Edge. Respawn is continuing with splits, as well as offering limited-time dive trail cosmetics to those who play the most. Matchmaking is the same for Series 4, too, where you’ll be paired based on your rank.
The biggest change in Series 4 is the loss forgiveness system. As with previous seasons, if you quit a match early, you’ll suffer an RP penalty. If you follow the rules and only quit when your team is out, though, you’re eligible for loss forgiveness. This system kicks in whenever you stand to lose RP from a match. In such a case, your RP loss is zeroed out.
This system seems confusing, and it is, but you shouldn’t have to worry about it much. Loss forgiveness is mostly in place in the event someone has internet troubles while playing a ranked match. Thankfully, that’s less likely this season. Respawn has implemented a reconnect system. If you drop from a match, be it from internet trouble, a game crash, or otherwise, you can join that match again if it’s still active.