Apex Legends Season 4: Assimilation begins February 4th and brings a ton of new changes that keep things fresh including ranked mode updates, a new Battle Pass, a new bolt-action sniper rifle, a new Legend, plus some more mysterious backstory for the Apex Legends universe. Here’s everything we know so far.
Map Changes
The Assimilation season will be split into halves, each containing a different map and will last for roughly six weeks. During the first split, players will continue playing on the existing World’s Edge map, although it appears to have undergone some changes. During the recent Apex Legends developer stream, we saw that Capital City has been destroyed and the lava beneath the ground is visible. While it’s not a huge change, there may be other locations that are affected which greatly reduces ground areas to explore and loot. World’s Edge will be available from the start of the new season through March 23. After that the second split will begin, bringing with it the return of Apex Legends’ original map, King’s Canyon, which will be available from March 24-May 5.
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Series 3 Changes
Since this is the first Series that features a split, adjustments have been made to the ranked system. After the mid-season split, players’ ranks will undergo a soft reset, dropping down 1 ½ tiers. In addition to splitting the ranked season, adjustments have also been made to the competitive ladder. For example, the new Master Tier now replaces Apex Predator and is attained once you reach 10,000 RP. Apex Predator still exists, but will now be reserved for the top 500 players on each platform. But, reaching Apex Predator doesn’t mean players remain there indefinitely. It’ll be a highly contested rank that players will fight for throughout the season.
Ranked rewards are getting some minor changes and are now generated based on the highest rank you achieve on either split. And, if you achieve the same rank during both splits, you’ll be rewarded with exclusive animated badges. Additionally, Dive trails will now be a reward for the following Series, and will expire at the end of that season (unless you manage to hit the same rank). Players who earned Dive trails during Series 1 or 2 will be excluded, however, and will keep those trails forever.
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New Legend?
Initially, Respawn revealed James “Forge” McCormick as the new Legend, a melee-based character armed with Shatter Gauntlets who is also known as the “Five-time Federation Fighting Champion.” However, shortly after his reveal, Forge appeared in a fictional interview where he was stabbed through the chest and allegedly killed by the mysterious character Revenant. The actual interview site is available to visit on the World’s Edge map right now in game in the ‘Sorting Factory’ landing spot. There, you can see Forge’s death box and grab his “Steel Cut” Commemorative Charm that’s a unique weapon charm players can equip after their game ends. Check out the location in the slideshow below.
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An interesting detail that’s included in the description of the charm is that Forge is “the often imitated but never defeated” champion. Players have been speculating that maybe the Forge we saw in the interview was merely a pretender, an impersonator, and the real Forge is alive and well. But that’s all speculation for now. Forge is also the first Apex competitor to be sponsored by the fictional in-game company, Hammond Robotics. Fans of the Titanfall universe may recall hearing about Hammond Robotics, but to really understand the connection between this company and how it ties into Apex Legends, we have to go way back…
What is Hammond Robotics?
The first Titanfall took place when the Titan Wars and the Frontier War were at large. The main powers fighting against each other were the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation and the Militia. The IMC, originally called Hammond Engineering, was a massive industrial conglomerate that existed on Earth. The IMC was notorious for sending their fleets to independent human-occupied worlds to exploit their natural resources. The colonists rebelled after suffering the loss of their homes and freedom and formed the Militia, which sparked a civil war that spanned many worlds.
Hammond Robotics was an allied component of the IMC that acted as a manufacturing, aerospace, and defense contractor. It famously produced war materials for the IMC including Titans, Spectres, and Marvins—janitor robots that resemble Pathfinder and may point to its mysterious past. There’s even a fictional website for Hammond Robotics that’s been around since the launch of Titanfall if you’re interested in learning more about the company. During this time, the IMC contracted a mercenary by the name of Kuben Blisk who led a mercenary group of elite pilots called Apex Predators—a fitting name for the top rank in Apex Legends. The story in Apex Legends takes place after the Frontier War, when both the IMC and Militia were dissolved following a final battle.
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This brings us to the new Legend, Forge. Because Forge is sponsored by Hammond Robotics, fans are speculating that the changes and destruction of World’s Edge aren’t a coincidence. There are even construction signs that have begun appearing in certain locations that read “future Hammond Robotics Worksite,” implying something beyond a simple sponsorship may be in the works. Oh, and Hammond Robotics sponsored the interview where Forge was assassinated.
What About Revenant?
After Revenant’s introduction to the game during the Halloween event (and a tease from the development team), people have been digging up evidence about the mysterious character. Reddit user VonHollde recently noted that Revenant can be seen in the background of Respawn’s Season 4 announcement page. Apex’s twitter page has been releasing updates after Revenant assassinated Forge, and there are several details within these posts that might give us a clue on what to expect. A statement from the fictional “Outlands Television” network stated that they were accepting any information about the assailant (Revenant) but “If your information involves a MRVN with fantastical claims that he interacted with “another version” of the attacker on Halloween, please refrain from contacting the Syndicate.”
The MRVN described in this statement is clearly Pathfinder from the Halloween event trailer that came out last year where Revenant was first revealed. Also, the Syndicate is the group that runs and moderates the Apex Games, though not a whole lot is known about them at the time. It’s been highly speculated by fans that Kuben Blisk may be the founder of the Syndicate. Outlands Television also tweeted out an update about a recent break-in at Hammond’s facility, stating that whoever had broken in and murdered the security guards now has downloaded files containing information about nearly three hundred Hammond Robotics employees. It seems that Revenant may be causing more havoc after his stunt on live television, but this is all speculation for now. If Forge did somehow survive the interview encounter, then maybe Revenant will show up during the King’s Canyon split halfway through the season or earlier if Forge did not.
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There’s a ton of new content on the way in Apex Legends Season 4 that’s sure to keep us on our toes. It’s also the 1-year anniversary of Apex Legends, so there will be additional daily login rewards to look out for. What do you think is happening with the lore behind the Apex Legends? Do you think we’ll see Forge return from the grave, or was this all a ploy to reveal Revenant? Or, do you think we’ll get both legends during the season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and be sure to stick with IGN for all your Apex Legends news.
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Matthew Adler is a Features and News writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @matthewadler and watch him on Twitch. Stella Chung is Associated Gameplay Editor and Host at IGN. Follow her on Twitter and watch her on Twitch.