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Apex Legends has launched its Season 2 update, bringing with it a new character, a totally revamped Battle Pass, Ranked Leagues, and tons of other changes. All the big-ticket updates launching with Season 2 came alongside a number of smaller tweaks to factors like weapon balance, and Respawn has outlined all those in the patch notes.

Posted on the Apex Legends subreddit, the patch notes are extensive. It outlines a few of the major changes, but then goes into the nitty-gritty detail. There are several balance adjustments to Legends and weapons, some quality-of-life changes, and bug fixes.

The patch notes also detail some free rewards you can get simply by playing Season 2. Those include a Hot Rod skin for Wattson, five Apex packs, and stat trackers for each Legend. New hop-ups are also available, including disruptor rounds for shielded targets, hammerpoint rounds for unshielded targets, and a change to the skullpiercer.

You can read the full patch notes below, or check out our wrap-up of all the big changes in Season 2. Also be sure to keep up with how King’s Canyon has changed and the revised challenge system. Aside from the new Legend Wattson, we’ve seen hints of a second new Legend coming to the game this season as well.

Apex Legends Season 2 Patch Notes

BATTLE PASS

To get the Battle Pass, jump into Apex Legends and head to the Battle Pass tab in the store. Grab the Battle Pass for 950 Apex Coins or the Battle Pass Bundle for 2,800 Apex Coins (containing 4,700 Apex Coins’ worth of content!), and you’re all set.

CHALLENGES

Take on Daily and Weekly Challenges to score bonus Battle Pass XP and level up even faster. Read more here.

NEW CONTENT TYPES

Skydive emotes, music packs, and unique loading screens are now part of the rewards track.

MORE LEGENDARIES AND CRAFTING MATERIALS

Grab even more Legendary skins from the reward track and earn enough Crafting Materials to create a Legendary item of your choice.

FREE REWARDS

Everyone who plays Apex Legends Season 2 can earn:

Many new things to discover on Kings Canyon!

KINGS CANYON CHANGES

The Leviathans have breached Kings Canyon and it’ll never be the same! Many areas have been affected by our new guests. Enjoy exploring the new changes!

NEW LEGEND: WATTSON

Wattson has entered the arena and is available for 750 Apex Coins or 12,000 Legend Tokens.

RANKED LEAGUES

One thing we forgot to mention in the blog post: Players abandoning in Ranked will be penalized both with a matchmaking penalty, as well as have any potential RP gains zeroed out. On top of that, they will pay an additional penalty RP cost equal to their match entry cost. For example: if a Gold player gets 4 kills and would have finished top 5 but abandons his or her match on purpose, that player will get 0 RP for kills and placement, pay the 2 RP entry cost, and on top of that pay another 2 RP abandon penalty cost.

WEAPONS

New Airdrop Weapon: L-STAR EMG

• Fires large high-damage plasma projectiles

• Will overheat if player fires for too long

• Comes with its own limited ammo supply

• Only available in Airdrops

New Hop-Up: Disruptor Rounds

New Hop-Up: Hammerpoint Rounds

• Increased damage to unshielded targets.

• Compatibility: P2020, Mozambique.

New Attachments: Energy Mags

• Increases magazine capacity.

• Increases reload speed at rare and above.

• Compatibility: Havoc, Triple Take, Devotion.

• Reduced default mag sizes on compatible weapons.

Skullpiercer Hop-Up: Upgraded to gold tier & increased rarity.

Flatline:

• damage 16 -> 19

P2020:

• damage 12 -> 13

Triple Take x Precision Choke:

• choke time 1.5 -> 1.1

Alternator:

Kraber:

• damage 125 -> 145

• headshot scale 2.0 -> 2.05

• leg damage scale 0.76 -> 0.8

• slightly increased rarity

Arc Star Tweaks

• Increased ignition delay from 2.5 to 2.8 seconds.

• Sticking a full health player with no armor will now down them.

• Players at the edge of the explosion no longer get their shields completely shredded.

Ammo Stack Sizes

Rotated Gold Weapons

• Flatline

• Alternator

• RE45

• Mozambique

• P2020

Airdrop Weapon Spawn Rates

• L-STAR added to airdrop weapon loot tables.

• Airdrop weapon spawn rates now change based on early/ mid/ late game. For example, early game will spawn more Krabers, end game will spawn more Mastiffs.

Performance Optimizations

• Improved performance when firing weapons, especially for multi-projectile weapons like shotguns and Triple Take.

• In our testing this has contributed to delivering a smoother overall experience on both server and client, particularly during early game combat situations.

Bug fixes

• Fixed exploit where players could use weapon inspect to cancel out other weapon behaviors.

• EVA-8: ADS recoil now resettles back to starting point instead of a randomized offset of the starting point.

• Thermite Grenades: fixed an issue where players downed with thermite could be invincible to thermite after being revived.

General

• Fortified [ Gibraltar, Caustic ]

• Low Profile [ Wraith, Lifeline, Pathfinder ]

Bloodhound

• Eye of the Allfather

  • Enemies scanned now are tracked in real time instead of leaving a ghost image behind. The tracking lasts for 1.5 seconds.

  • Increased the angle of the scan to 110 from 90.

• Tracker

  • Increased clue duration to 90 seconds from 60 seconds.

  • Fixed a bug where energy weapons wouldn’t leave behind weapon fired clues.

  • Fixed a bug where movement clues would sometimes not be generated.

Mirage

• Vanishing Act

Caustic

Gibraltar

• Dome of Protection

Pathfinder

• Updated the hit box to better conform with the base model.

• We are also planning to make adjustments so his hitbox better reflects Legendary Skins as well for cases where it’s not matching up.

Lifeline

STATS PAGE

• Added a stats page. You can access it by hovering over your name while in the Lobby and clicking it to inspect. The page will show you your overall account stats as well as access to your stats for each season and Ranked Series.

• We’re sure you all will have feedback on other stats you’d like to see here. What we’re shipping with Season 2 is just the start and we’re planning to build on it. We won’t promise anything but definitely let us know what other stats you want shown after you’ve played around with it.

• KNOWN ISSUES: There will be some stats [like assists for example] that will start counting for Season 2 but won’t account for progress before that. This is because until we added the feature, this stuff wasn’t being counted. We’re looking at future improvements to retroactively update these areas that we hope to address down the road.

THE RING

• With Season 2, we’ll trying out new circle closing speed, size, and damage that now applies to both Ranked Leagues and the normal Apex Queue.

QUALITY OF LIFE

• Pings

  • When pinging a closed door, the player will now say “closed door here”.

  • When pinging an open door, the player will now say “someone’s been here”.

  • When a player requests a hop up, if the gun only accepts one kind of hop up, the player will callout that specific hop up they are looking for. If the gun accepts multiple hop ups, the player won’t vocalize it but all possible hop ups requested will show up in the obit feed.

• Arc stars that are stuck to players should no longer fail to do damage when the part of the player it is stuck to is intersecting another object.

• Made visual improvements to the Legends while in the Lobby and character select.

• Added improvements and polish to the Legend’s animations while skydiving.

• Improved melee hit detection on the hover tank while it’s moving.

• Server optimizations.

• Improved server and client performance when firing weapons, especially for multi-projectile weapons like shotguns and TripleTake.

• Large doors and Supply Bins can now be used while viewing them from more extreme angles.

• Slow Effects will now slow players equally regardless of their controller settings.

• Wraith’s Heirloom will now more reliably show its lightning visualFX.

• Heal items will now more reliably show the correct model when switching between different types.

• General optimizations to improve framerate.

• Fixed issue with geometry sometimes flickering when viewed from a long distance.

• Death Box rarity colors are now more visible from a distance.

• “Send Friend Request” tool-tip now shows up when hovering over teammates Banners while viewing the “Squad Eliminated” screen and “Squads” tab during a match.

• Made it so that your weapon won’t play its priming animation when you pull it out after skydiving.

• Fixed issue with skydive continuing to loop falling soundFX after landing.

• Apex will no longer swap from full screen to windowed mode automatically if you shift to focus on other applications while Apex is booting up.

• Fixed issue with players seeing their Origin friends listed as offline when they aren’t.

• Made improvements to voice chat for PC.

• Fixed issue where you could lose your Steam friends list after restarting Apex on PC.

• Fixed issue where sometimes players would get a black screen during character select.

• Added “Flash Hider” description to the Gold Barrel Stabilizer attachment. It always did this but the information wasn’t provided well so we added it to the description when inspecting the attachment.

BUG FIXES

• Fixed a hit registration bug that could occur if you fired your weapon while being damaged by an enemy shotgun.

• Fixed a bug where sometimes load screens would not appear properly and players would temporarily see the training map before loading into a match.

• Fixed issue with players not always hearing selected quip dialogue when performing a finisher or being executed.

• Fixed issue with Apex not working correctly when SLI or Crossfire is enabled.

• Fixed bug with the consumables wheel sometimes appearing blank.

• Fixed bug where players would sometimes get stuck on the Battle Pass Level screen.

• Fixed bug where The Unlock button would be greyed out when it shouldn’t be when trying to view rewards.

• Fixed bug where players would sometimes be unable to exit the Battle Pass tab after selecting it from the Lobby.

• Fixed an exploit where players could jump while downed.

• Fixed issue where sometimes the client would crash to the Dashboard when entering character select on Xbox One.

• Fixed a bug where pinging a sniper stock in your inventory would show up as “looking for Grip”

• Fixed a bug that caused players and loot to begin sliding permanently or launching inconsistently onto Supply Ship surfaces after doing melee attacks against the Supply Ship walls.

• Fixed bug that could cause players to shift to a location under the map when switching between players while spectating.

• Fixed bug for cases where performing a melee attack while inspecting an item would cause the attack to slow down and not deal damage.

• [X1 only] Fixed bug where players were not being rewarded “The Player” achievement after hitting level 50. If you have reached level 50 and not received it in the past it should now be awarded retroactively.

• Fixed the bug that sometimes caused Apex to crash when plugging a PS4 controller into your PC while the game is active.

• Fixed bug that caused an “Out of Bounds” warning and timer while riding the Supply Ship over certain areas of Kings Canyon.

• General improvements to game stability related to various script errors.

• LEGENDS

  • Bloodhound

  • Wraith

    • Fixed bug where Wraith’s jetpack boosters could still be seen while phasing.

    • Fixed issue where in some rare cases, performing a Finisher while down player is entering a Wraith Portal.

    • Fixed an exploit that allowed players to place extra Dimensional Portals.

  • Octane

San Diego Comic-Con is now only a few weeks away, and we’re starting to get an idea of what fans can expect from the latest convention. Marvel will make its return to SDCC after it stayed away from last year’s event, with a number of event across the weekend. It has also been revealed that Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo will be appearing at their own panel.

As reported by Deadline, the Russo brothers will be hosting a panel to promote their production company, AGBO Studios. The panel will take place in Hall H on Friday July 19 at 11am PST, and will be moderated by Collider editor-in-chief Steve Weintraub. The site states that the panel will reveal the Russos’ plans for AGBO, as well as looking back at their time working for Marvel.

Deadline’s sources also state that an Avengers reunion is also likely to take place at SDCC. It is unknown whether this means Endgame and Infinity War stars appearing at the AGBO panel, or at a panel later in the weekend. While a number of Marvel events have been announced, a Marvel Cinematic Universe panel is yet to be announced. However, Deadline suggests this will take place on the Saturday night.

Other Marvel events taking place at SDCC include a panel focusing on Marvel Games, an Agents of SHIELD panel, a conversation with Endgame writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, a look at how Marvel’s comics are put together, and a showcase on the women of Marvel. Check out the Marvel SDCC schedule so far here, and then read GameSpot’s guide to everything else happening at the convention.

Earlier this summer, we marveled as the PlayStation Classic–Sony’s retro plug-and-play box, which launched at $100–became widely available for $30. That deal is trash now, and anyone who bought it should feel bad, because now you can get the PS Classic for just $25 at Best Buy, which is a full 75% off the original price.

Get the PlayStation Classic for just $25 »

The PlayStation Classic is a retro plug-and-play console in the style of Nintendo’s NES and SNES Classics, packing 20 beloved games into one small box. Those include genre-defining originals like Metal Gear Solid and Grand Theft Auto, and the breakout RPG Final Fantasy VII, for which Sony is currently deep in production on a high-profile, top-to-bottom remake. The console features an HDMI connection and two wired controllers. GameSpot’s Peter Brown was disappointed by the visual fidelity and controller quality at launch in his PS Classic review, but those issues sting a lot less when you’re paying $25 instead of $100, as it initially retailed.

Deals-conscious gamers will also want to get ready for Amazon Prime Day, which is coming up soon and sure to feature lots of excellent deals on gaming software and hardware. The Amazon-owned Twitch is also getting in on the event this time around, with free in-game goodies and a variety of special events for Prime subscribers.

Ubisoft has revealed a brand-new limited-time mode for Rainbow Six Siege. The mode, named Showdown, is out now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Showdown is a new 3v3 game type that takes place on a new map designed specifically for the mode. The map, Fort Truth, is a “small size, outdoor map” that has a distinct wild west theme.

The mode only allows the BOSG 12.2 shotgun and the Magnum LFP586 revolver. You can also choose from a smaller selection of Operators than traditional Siege modes: it’s three of Maverick, Ash, Twitch, Capitao, and Glaz up against a trio from Alibi, Kaid, Caveira, Maestro, and Rook.

To tie in with the mode, a new selection of Alpha Packs are available, named Showdown Packs. Each one costs 300 R6 credits and will grant you a number of 31 new exclusive customization items.

Showdown is live now and runs until July 16. For more on the Tom Clancy game, check out everything we know about the new Rainbow Six Siege Operators, Nokk and Warden.

The next Gran Turismo game is in development. It hasn’t been announced yet, but the CEO of series developer Polyphony Digital has now offered some high-level comments about it. Kazunori Yamauchi told GT Planet that traveling the world and seeing the various World Tour events has given him some insight into what should go into the next Gran Turismo title.

“Having done all these World Tours, it gave me the opportunity to feel the history of Gran Turismo,” he said. “It gives me pointers and hints of the things we should make sure that we do in the future of the series.”

Yamauchi plainly stated that a new Gran Turismo game is coming, confirming that “obviously we’re working on the next Gran Turismo already.” However, he wouldn’t confirm if it will be a new Gran Turismo Sport title or a sequel to Gran Turismo 6. Whatever the game is, Yamauchi said it aims to be a the “complete form of Gran Turismo.”

“I think the next title that we’re going to create will be a combination of the past, present and future–a complete form of Gran Turismo,” he said.

With the PlayStation 5 coming, and rumored to release in Holiday 2020, it’s thought that a new Gran Turismo game would release for the new, more powerful hardware. Yamauchi didn’t confirm anything, but he said that more power will help provide better virtual reality experiences.

“I don’t think that there’s anything else that requires that much processing power,” he said. “I really like VR; I’m one to believe in the possibilities of it, and it’s very suited for a driving game.”

The latest Gran Turismo title is Gran Turismo Sport, which was released in 2017 for PlayStation 4. Before that, Gran Turismo 6 was released on PlayStation 3 in 2013.

Infinity Ward has shared some new details about how reloading works in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and it includes some notable changes.

Starting off, you’ll be able to reload in ADS (aiming down sights). That sounds like a small change, but it’s significant because previous Call of Duty games did not support this. According to animation director Mark Grigsby, this will keep players in the action better.

“One other thing we added this year is the ADS [Aiming Down Sight] reload. In the past, if you’re ADS, and you’re shooting and you reload, the weapon would go off to the side, and you’d have to retrain to get to your target,” Grigsby said in an interview for Activision. “This time if you reload, it stays on the target, so you can stay in the battle.”

Also in the interview, Grigbsy spoke at a high level about why the reload animation is so important for Modern Warfare. “The reload to me is the pinnacle of the weapon; it makes you feel–after you’ve taken down five different dudes in a room–and you reload, you go, ‘Sh*t yeah, you’re done!'” Grigsby said.

In Modern Warfare, the reload animation you see will be dependent on how many bullets you’ve fired. If you’re reloading an empty magazine, the animation will show the reload and the rack in full. However, for a “tactical reload,” where there are still rounds left in the chamber, you’ll see a completely different reload animation.

“In the past, we would never physically show that transition of one mag to another, but this time around, everything’s physical, so if you have an extended mag, like a drum perhaps, or a long magazine, all of the movements within every reload are visceral, strong, aggressive, it gives another feeling of power and representing the Tier 1 operators that utilize these machines,” Grigsby said.

Go to Activision’s website to read the full interview, which touches on other subjects such as how the weapons look in the game and lots more.

Modern Warfare, which is a soft reboot of the 2007 game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, launches on October 25 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. In another big change for the series, the game has no Season Pass.