Apex Legends Season 1: Battle Pass, Octane Details, Patch Notes, And Everything You Need To Know

The most significant update yet to Titanfall developer Respawn Entertainment's wildly popular battle royale game, Apex Legends, has finally arrived on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The Season 1 update is available now, bringing with it both a battle pass and the first new character since the game's launch in early February.

The most significant component of Season 1 is the release of a new playable character Legend, Octane. However, despite what you may have expected, Octane is not actually a part of the Battle Pass--he's simply releasing alongside of it. You can purchase he and the Battle Pass individually, which is good news if you only care about one or the other. There's plenty else to know about the new patch and Battle Pass, given that this is the very first one, so read on for a complete rundown on everything that's new and how it all works.

Patch Notes

Actually kicking off Season 1 is the new update that's now available. Respawn has shared the full list of patch notes, which are more substantial than simply adding the battle pass and Octane. For starters, it introduces the previously promised hit box changes, which should make several characters more viable than they were previously. It also adds a new reporting feature when dealing with cheaters, improved reporting for when the game crashes on PC, and various other tweaks and quality-of-life improvements.

Skins, Rewards, And What's Included In The Battle Pass

In Respawn's year-one roadmap for the battle passes, it stated that all four of this year's battle passes will include new weapons and loot like exclusive cosmetics, and at least one new Legend character. Each battle pass will include 100 rewards: skins for characters and weapons, stat trackers, Apex Coins, and more. You can see all the battle pass skins and rewards here.

For Season 1, anyone who plays during the season can earn the Wild Frontier skin, five Apex Packs, and 18 Wild Frontier stat trackers. Those who purchase the battle pass can also get loads more loot, including instant unlocks of Lifeline Revolutionary skin, Wraith Survivor skin, and Mirage Outlaw skin. This is done by leveling up the battle pass with XP; there no Fortnite-style challenges here, although Respawn's statements suggest those could come in the future.

Among the rewards you can earn by leveling up the battle pass are Apex Coins--provided you make it to level 97, you can actually earn 1,000 coins, enabling you to buy the next battle pass without spending any additional money.

As for the new weapons and items in the roadmap, Respawn didn't share any plans to introduce these at the start of Season 1. That doesn't mean March 19 won't have some surprises in store for us, but it could be that weapons and items will be introduced through subsequent updates, much like how we got the new Havoc gun seemingly out of nowhere.

Price

Respawn will offer two tiers of the battle pass pricing. For 950 Apex Coins (roughly $10 / £8) you can get the standard battle pass and start grinding away at earning your rewards. For 2800 Apex Coins you can purchase a Battle Pass Bundle, which grants you the first 25 levels instantly.

If you're on Xbox One or PC, you might be able to get the battle pass for cheaper. Subscribing to EA Access or Origin Access gets you some free rewards on the respective platforms, including 1,000 Apex Coins. Because a month of these services is cheaper than buying 1,000 Apex Coins (the lowest amount that will cover the cost of the battle pass), subscribing for a month and then canceling will both save you a few bucks and get you other rewards and perks. And, as noted above, you'll be able to buy a future battle pass with Apex Coins earned by leveling up this one.

How It Works

The first Battle Pass is centered around XP and leveling up--you won't find any challenges here, as some had speculated. In a blog post explaining the philosophy behind its approach, Respawn explained, "Season 1 is about keeping it focused and allowing players to earn a lot of rewards at a great value (you even get the cost of the base Battle Pass back if you reach level 97). We'll begin adding more and more innovations each season, as we evolve the Battle Pass."

In a post on Reddit, Respawn explained, "Basically there are now two progression paths--Player Level and Battle Pass Level. Battle Pass Level is earned similarly to Player Level--via playing the game an earning XP, with a few BP-only bonuses. Both tracks are separate and independent--so two rewards tracks!"

You can read more about how the Battle Pass works in our explainer.

New Character, Octane

The new seasonal character is Octavio "Octane" Silva, who lost his legs in a gauntlet speed run. He has an Adrenaline Junkie ability that trades health for speed, and he has unlimited Stim health supplies. His Ultimate ability is a Launch Pad, which gives him and his teammates a serious boost. You can read all about Octane's abilities in our overview.

Octane was released alongside the battle pass but is a separate purchase. He will cost the same as other purchasable characters Mirage and Caustic--12,000 Legend Tokens or 750 Apex Coins.

Respawn teased his Ultimate ability by littering launch pads around the in-game map in the days before the announcement. We can probably expect similar in-game teasers to come for subsequent characters in future seasons.

Gallery

Respawn acknowledged that the leak of Octane was legitimate. That said, datamining has revealed several other possible Legends, and these are much less certain. Respawn appeared to address these purported leaks in its statement as well.

"There's stuff in there that is very old, or things we've tried in the past and cut--remember our design process is to prototype and play lots of ideas--and some of it may be things we're still building for Apex Legends," said community manager Jay Frechette. "Finding this stuff by no means confirms that it'll ever come out. At best you should treat any posts about this as a rumor and the real info will come from us when we’re ready to show off what's coming next."