The latest Apex Legends patch, which was originally meant to launch on the 3rd of December, is now live and working properly, according to Respawn. The patch’s launch was initially delayed, then released on time but only on PC, but then appeared to cause widespread performance issues. Fortunately, it seems that these issues have now been fixed and the patch is now live on all platforms.
The Troubled Launch of the Latest Apex Legends Patch
Yesterday, just prior to the launch of the December Apex Legends patch, Respawn tweeted; “Due to a last minute, unforeseen issue, the patch that was originally set to go live today has been postponed for a later date”. However, shortly after that tweet went up, the patch went live on PC anyway. Unfortunately, it quickly became apparent that the patch was causing widespread Apex Legends performance issues. In a follow-up tweet, Respawn stated that they were holding the release of the console patch until a fix was implemented. Finally, the patch went live on consoles earlier today, shortly after the deployment of a fix.
This Apex Legends patch’s biggest inclusion is the change to level progression. The level cap for players has gone up from 100 to 500, and XP progression has been tweaked accordingly. Players can now earn a total of 199 Apex Packs through levelling, instead of just 45, and will also get new Gun Charms every 100 levels. Indeed, Gun Charms are another big new addition in this patch. 36 new Gun Charms are now available in game. You can find them in the Rotating Shop and as Epic and Legendary items in Apex Packs. Knockdown Shields have also been tweaked, so that their protection now extends both over and behind players’ heads. Plus, Common shields now have 200hp instead of 100, while Rare shields have 450 instead of 250. However, player speed while the KO shield is active has gone down.
Other than that, the patch largely features quality of life changes. For instance, players who use auto-sprint can now sprint out of a slide with L3. The Gold Armour spawn rate has gone down, final circle locations have been improved, and helmets and armour are now more colourblind compatible. Additionally, the Firing Range now supports friendly fire, which players can toggle on and off in the setting menu. Of course, the patch also includes a new range of bug fixes. You can check out the exact changes on the official patch notes.