Apex Legends latest major update, From The Rift, is rewinding time all the way back to early 2019 with a new Launch Royale mode, letting you play the game with the original map, the original selection of Legends, weapons and loot, and original gameplay balance. But that’s not all that this update does.
As a limited time mode, Launch Royale is a step back to the origins of the game, which has evolved and changed an awful lot since 2019 – a time when battle royale still felt rather novel. All of the characters released since then are snuffed back out of existence, you no longer have EVO Armor or Ability Upgrades, and get what many will consider to be a mure pure experience from it.
Old hands will be able to immediately lean back into the early meta of weapons, strategies and drop points, but there’s also some incentives beyond that. Launch Royale Challenges will unlock Legends, earn rewards that include Apex Packs and more.
Beyond that, this season will also see the revival of the original medic and healer character, Lifeline. Outside of Launch Royale, she will sport a new kit that includes teleporting the healing drone direct to allies and dropping a circular healing forcefield.
There’s also Rift Relics that can be retrieved from strange portals, which will feature overpowered weapons and Boost Kits to give you a real leg up in a match, and a new universal, character agnostic melee, the Raptor’s Claw. This can be unlocked through the Void Mercenary Store between now and 7th January,
For full updates and patch notes on Apex Legends: From The Rift, head to the Apex Legends site.