For an exciting couple of weeks, it appeared that Apex Legends might snatch Fortnite‘s crown to become king of the lucrative battle royale genre. But we’re now several months on from release and Fortnite remains on top.
One factor that may have contributed to this was Apex Legends‘ deeply underwhelming Season 1 Battle Pass. Players were expecting a lot from it, only to be met with essentially meaningless rewards and an extremely grind-y progression system. But developer Respawn Entertainment has been listening, and they’re hopeful that Season 2 will get a more positive reception when it’s released on July 2nd.
“We heard your feedback on the Season 1 grind and created a system which should allow for significantly greater Battle Pass progress with less grind over less time for players who return on a regular basis and maximize their Challenge resets,” says the dev.
What this means is that you can level up your Battle Pass through Daily and Weekly Challenges, combined with smaller tasks that won’t necessarily mean you have to win rounds. More than half of the Weekly Challenges will grant whole Battle Pass levels, while the Daily (and remaining Weekly) Challenges will reward you with STARS, which are an additional form of XP on top of the match XP. You can use this to work towards further Battle Pass levels, but this XP won’t count towards your account level.
For the sake of completeness, here’s the full rundown direct from Respawn:
Daily Challenges
Each day, you will receive three new Daily Challenges chosen randomly from a pool of over two hundred. These challenges range from “Deal 200 Damage in Bunker” to “Play 1 game as Lifeline” and are intended to be achievable in a short play session. Complete your daily challenge and earn 3,000 STARS each.
Your challenge pool will reset every day, so be sure to check back regularly to maximize Battle Pass progress.
Weekly Challenges
Each week, you will receive a set of seven new Weekly Challenges. These challenges are intended to take several play sessions to complete and range from “Get 20 Kills as Gibraltar, Bangalore, or Mirage” to “Loot 100 Epic items.” Four of the Weekly Challenges are worth 6,000 STARS each (24,000 STARS total) and three of the Weekly Challenges grant an entire Battle Pass level each upon completion.
Starting the season late? No problem – you’ll get access to all previous Weekly Challenges at one. So, if you start in Week 3, you’ll get access to Week 1, 2, and 3 challenges immediately (21 in total).
Weekly Resetting Challenges
Each week, you’ll have an additional set of three special resetting Weekly Challenges. These are the same every week and refresh even if you haven’t completed them. Keep a careful eye on these to make maximum Battle Pass progress.
- Complete five Daily Challenges – Rewards one Battle Pass level
- Complete 10 Daily Challenges – Rewards one Battle Pass level
- Earn 9,000 STARS and/or match XP – Rewards one Battle Pass level
- This quest may be repeated an unlimited number of times each week.
- Each completion increases the STARS and/or match XP required for the next by 9,000, up to a maximum of 54,000. You need 9,000 for the first level, 18,000 for the second level, etc. This challenge resets to 9,000 each week.
It sure sounds more comprehensive that what Season 1 offered, but the proof will only come when Apex Legends players get their hands on it and decide for themselves whether this is all just a joyless grind or not.