Apex Legends Season 5 kicks off this evening (with new hero Loba!) and it’s looking great

Around 2018, when Battle Royale’s were at the peak of their popularity, I was just starting to drop off Overwatch. I’d had a good run with the game, but the constant updates focused more on competitive and esports play really sank the ship as it were. Floating aimlessly in a sea of games, I tried my hand at PUBG but it didn’t stick. I threw a decent amount of hours at Destiny 2 but dropped off of that fast (this was back when Destiny 2 was still bad, before it got really good and then went back to being bad). I spent ages looking for the next “constant” game, the game that would become a stable part of my schedule. I got my wish in 2019 with Apex Legends, a game I’ve played for a solid year and still look forward to playing every night. With season 5 about to kick off, let’s take a look at what we can expect from Respawn’s excellent battle royale shooter.

So most importantly, as has become customary for new seasons of Apex Legends, a new playable character is being added in the form of Loba Andrade. Highlighted in a cinematic trailer a couple weeks back, a recent character trailer shows off her abilities in more detail. Her movement ability is a throwable teleportation device for some snappy position changes while her passive allows her to see high tier loot through structures, perfectly fitting her theme of being a world-renowned thief. Most impressive is her ultimate, which allows her squad to peruse all loot in the surrounding area by merely navigating the “shop” created by her staff. Finally, another use for Ultimate Accelerant that’s not just Lifeline’s care package.

In terms of gameplay changes, a trailer last Friday showed off some interesting new additions to the game including treasure hunts that will yield high-tier loot for the squad. The actual gameplay trailer shows off a PvE battle, the retrieval of some kind of artefact and then an escape on what looks to be a respawn ship. Which doesn’t exactly fit with the whole “battle royale” thing, but Respawn have found a way to make it work.

Titled “The Broken Ghost”, this “season quest” will see players randomly finding treasure chests in the game. These will instantly unlock new cosmetics and rewards for you. You’re only allowed to find and open one per day though (so point them out to your teammates once you’ve met your quota). Once you’ve got five chests, it will unlock a new PVE hunt mode which will update weekly. These hunts will see you dropping into King’s Canyon at night – solo or in a squad of three – to complete the mission to retrieve a piece of an artefact, all while defending yourself from the vicious prowlers recently introduced into the game.

Each subsequent week’s hunt will unlock more rewards, but while you can join any friend on a hunt you will only get rewarded if you’ve unlocked it yourself. More importantly though, each hunt will unlock chapters that tell the story of “The Broken Ghost”, a mysterious artefact that everybody wants to get their hands on. Starting from Tuesday, 19 May (so you have a week to collect you first five treasure chests), there will be nine weekly hunts in total which will allow you to “uncover a secret that the Outlands might not be ready for”. Apex Legends lore master Tom Casiello explains:

Caught between the Apex Games and Hammond Robotics, Loba is spinning a web of lies and deceit in her personal quest for vengeance… but how far is she willing to go? How does the Broken Ghost fit into her plans for Revenant? And what happens when one Legend stumbles upon the truth? See a side of the Legends’ lives you’ve never seen before… outside of the Games! Alliances will be formed, friendships will be tested, vendettas will be born, and when the dust settles, nothing will be the same again in a mystery that has far-reaching consequences for them all.

On top of all of this, there will be the usual new Battle Pass with loads of new cosmetics and items to unlock. The other big change though is that Skull Town is no more, sorry gang! The fan favourite drop location has been destroyed and has been replaced by some kind of… reactor thing? It’s not clear what it is but it seems like players will be able to interact with it in some way. Which is super cool and exciting and I honestly can’t wait for tonight! Barring a disappointing first season of content, Respawn Entertainment has been knocking it out the park with Apex Legends and I can’t wait to see what other surprises they have in store for us as the season progresses.

Last Updated: May 12, 2020