New Apex Legends Mode Is Designed Specifically For Hardcore Players

Apex Legends‘ protracted content drought will soon be at its end.

Later this week, publisher EA will play host to the unveiling of Season 2 for the beleaguered battle royale. It’s an event that’s been a long time coming for the majority of players, who considered Season 1: Wild Frontier a shallow, disappointing start to the post-launch content assembly line. New playable characters and weapons, as well as more remarkable cosmetics, are bound to round out the bulk of what Season 2 has to offer, but what about the more immediate future?

To fill the gap between now and bidding Wild Frontier a final farewell, developer Respawn has a treat lined up in the form of Legendary Hunt. Scheduled to kick off tomorrow, the event brings with it a suite of new skins to be earned via the completion of several limited-time challenges. What, exactly, those tasks will have players do remains to be seen, but it’s not the only component you’ll want to be aware of.

Apex Elite Queue, a wholly standalone mode to current playlists, will also go live on June 4th, finally giving competitively-minded players an outlet to directly test their skill against other reputable opponents. That’s not to say you’ll need a hefty number of victories under your belt to even participate, but the unique ruleset for Elite Queue will certainly turn off all but the most battle-hardened of combatants.

Indeed, anyone can queue up for a round of high-stakes entertainment, though performance will be directly rewarded with some interesting extras. For starters, any player who manages to attain a Top 5 finish will be selected to enter a lobby reserved only for others to have reached a similar finish, but there’s a catch. In order to retain your place in the winner’s circle, further Top 5 placements are required. Fail to hit that tough requirement and you’ll be booted back to the standard Elite Queue in order to once more make the climb.

It’s an interesting setup, to say the least, though it’ll ultimately live or die, based on how many competitive players continue to visit Kings Canyon on a regular basis. Either way, we’ll be keeping a close eye on Apex Legends‘ first pseudo-tournament mode to gauge early fan reaction. Watch this space for more.