How The Battle Pass Works In Apex Legends Season 1

The first major content update for Apex Legends has arrived. A new patch Respawn released on Tuesday introduces some significant balance changes, tweaks, and bug fixes, but it also adds the first post-launch character (Octane) and makes the Season 1 battle pass available for sale. Here's what you need to know about how the battle pass works.

The Wild Frontier battle pass is out now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC as part of the game's new update. First up, it's worth reiterating that Octane is not a part of the battle pass, as many had presumed prior to now. Instead, he's a completely separate release that works just like Mirage and Caustic. You can buy Octane with Legend Tokens or Apex Coins, and carries the same cost as those other two premium characters: 12,000 Legend Tokens or 750 Apex Coins.

Apex Legends' Season 1 battle pass can only be purchased with Apex Coins, one of the three in-game currencies. Buying into the battle pass will cost you 950 Apex Coins. (If you're looking for a cheaper route to buy the battle pass, consider subscribing to EA or Origin Access if you're playing on Xbox One or PS4.) However, you don't have to buy the battle pass right away to avoid missing out on rewards. Buying the battle pass later in the season will retroactively net you any rewards you would have already earned.

The Season 1 battle pass has 100 levels in total, and contains an assortment of character/weapon skins, stat trackers, Legend voice lines, and Apex Coin and XP drops as rewards. Leveling up is entirely XP based, as there are no Fortnite-style challenges--at least for this season. Respawn has suggested that the exact structure of the battle pass could change for future seasons, and it's open to player feedback on the subject. For this season, you'll simply unlock rewards as you play normally.

Like other games that feature seasonal battle passes, all rewards unlocked with Apex Legend's Season 1 battle pass--including skins, which you can see here--remain with you during follow-up seasons. However, once Season 1 ends, you can no longer unlock the items included in this specific pass.

Regardless, whether you buy the pass or not, you'll be able to unlock free rewards during Season 1. You can get 18 new stat trackers, five Apex Packs, and a new skin for Octane. Most rewards are only available for those who buy the battle pass; that includes free Apex Coins--up to 1,000 are available if you level up enough, effectively letting you earn back the cost of the pass and giving you enough to buy next season's.

Another reward of note is the game's "first-ever three-stage evolving Legendary weapon skin." This is for Havoc and, as you earn kills during a match, Respawn says the gun's "eyes glow and its nostrils emit smoke," among other things.

If you want to buy yourself a little help in unlocking the Season 1 battle pass rewards, there's also a bundle--which you can purchase for 2,800 Apex Coins--that unlocks the next 25 levels for you. Like many other aspects of Apex's battle pass, this essentially mirrors the way the wildly successful Fortnite has operated.

The broader update that launched alongside the battle pass makes the much-anticipated changes to hit boxes for several players, which will hopefully better balance the experience. There are no new guns or items at this point, although those are expected to be added at some point during this season.