Apex Legends Season 27: AMPED launched November 4, 2025, at 19:00 CET as a free update across PC and consoles. Respawn Entertainment skipped adding a new Legend this season, instead focusing on major reworks for Valkyrie, Rampart, and Horizon.
The update also brings a complete Olympus redesign, new movement mechanics for all Legends, and weapon balance changes that push the meta toward close-range combat. Brief server downtime accompanied the patch deployment.
Valkyrie Gets Complete Kit Overhaul
Valkyrie's pick rate has struggled throughout 2025, and Respawn thinks she hasn't lived up to her potential. The Season 27 buffs aim to fix that. Legend Designer Ian Holstead said Valkyrie "should feel dangerous in motion again - with a modernised jetpack."
VTOL Jets Rebuilt for Speed
The jetpack system got completely reworked. Recharge delay drops from 8 seconds to 2.5 seconds, and total recharge time falls from about 10.9 seconds to 3 seconds. The catch? Fuel won't start recharging until Valkyrie hits the ground, and EMP effects now drain jetpack fuel.
Speed changes reward longer burns. Horizontal fly speed and strafing get major increases, while vertical speed also improves with extra bonuses when flying straight up. The initial 0.5-second speed boost decreases from roughly 25% faster to about 5% slower. Total fuel duration drops from 8 seconds to 6, with slightly higher initial fuel consumption.
Missile Swarm Becomes More Reliable
The tactical ability lost its most frustrating aspects. Self-damage and stun effects are gone completely. Missiles now scan hit targets for 1.5 seconds and put movement passives on cooldown like other EMP effects. Base cooldown drops by 5 seconds from 30 to 25.
Firing restrictions disappeared. The vertical clearance requirement that prevented indoor use is removed, and missile pathing works better under bridges and in tight spaces. Maximum range extends from roughly 100 meters to 125 meters.
Skyward Dive Launches Faster
The ultimate got serious improvements. Launch height increases by 15% (Afterburners upgrade now baseline). Cooldown drops by 30 seconds from 3 minutes to 2.5 minutes. Takeoff delay shrinks from 2 seconds to 1.5 seconds, and the slow rising phase drops from 1.83 seconds to 1.33 seconds.
Self-canceling no longer adds a cooldown penalty, and the damage cooldown penalty falls from 54 seconds to 30 seconds. Players can fire tactical abilities while skydiving (except from the dropship) and land faster with reduced slow-fall time near the ground.
Rampart Shifts from Static Defense to Dynamic Pressure
Rampart's pick rate and effectiveness dropped to extremely low levels recently. Respawn delivered a full refresh to make her more viable as a Controller pick. Holstead noted that "Rampart is now less static and much more dynamic. Her defence becomes a means to build offensive pressure."
Battle Modder Passive Adds Scaling Health
The new Battle Modder passive builds on the old Modded Loader ability. Cover walls permanently gain health as Rampart advances through Evo levels. Wall health increases by 200 per Evo level (400 to 800 at max), and shield health increases by 25 per Evo level (175 to 225 at max).
Amped Cover Gets Roofs and Speed Boosts
Walls now have an amped shield roof for overhead protection. A new charge system lets walls store damage and convert it to speed boosts when teammates vault over them. Walls store up to 300 damage for a 15-second speed boost at full charge. Boost duration scales with stored charge.
Damage to walls stores at 25% efficiency, while damage dealt through the amped shield stores at 100%. Speed boosts only work when sprinting and are exclusively for teammates, not Rampart. Each teammate uses stored charge individually, and boosts auto-distribute to nearby teammates when walls break.
Counterplay adjustments include reduced health while building (120 to 100), removed arc star damage multiplier on amped shields (1.5x to 1.0x), and increased frag grenade damage multiplier on walls (1.0x to 2.0x).
Horizon Regains Power for Vertical Mobility
Horizon hit her lowest pick rate ever despite maintaining a strong encounter win rate. Respawn is restoring some previously nerfed capabilities to make her more attractive. They'll continue monitoring her performance in live matches.
Gravity Lift Gets Speed and Cooldown Buffs
Lift speed increases from 300 to 375, and hover time at the peak extends from 0.5 seconds to 1.5 seconds. Base cooldown drops by 5 seconds from 25 to 20, and the delay before cooldown starts plummets from 10 seconds to 2 seconds. Total cooldown effectively falls from 35 seconds to 22 seconds.
Black Hole Gets More Durability
The ultimate's cooldown drops by 30 seconds from 3.5 minutes to 3 minutes. Health increases from 175 to 225.
Holstead said Horizon "reprises her role as the master of verticality, with sharper, more fluid tools for aerial dominance and quick re-entry."
Mantle Boost Gives All Legends Advanced Movement
All Legends now have Mantle Boost, a new ability granting forward velocity after mantling ledges or walls. The system requires timed input after completing a mantle, introducing an advanced movement technique accessible to all players while maintaining a skill requirement for effective use.
Respawn said they were "inspired to add Mantle Boost by our players' exploration of the unique momentum-based movement of Apex Legends." Players get customizable input options for key or button mapping, character movement ability remapping, and UI footprint reduction settings. Visual indicators show when and how the ability activates, helping players learn the timing.
Olympus Gets Major Redesign
Season 26's Ranked Split showed Olympus looking outdated compared to other maps. Senior Level Designer Michael Shannon said the team "focussed on turning the open areas of Olympus into exciting new POIs."
Four New POIs Replace Old Locations
Somers University replaces Orbital Cannon. Built by Horizon to explore universal mysteries and honor her son Newton, the location features bold architecture and soaring lifts. Crash relics provide insight into Olympus secrets.
Gravity Engine Abyss becomes Olympus's new heart, replacing Energy Depot. This location harnesses Branthium power to keep the city aloft, merging lifts, zip-lines, and vertical structures into a central hotspot.
Stabilizer replaces Docks as a sky platform ensuring Olympus maintains proper alignment. Floating rocks from the planet below form pathways to the outer ballast structure.
Dockyards near Hydroponics gets a massive upgrade combining nostalgic elements from original Olympus with new vertical gameplay focus.
Major Cover Additions and Rotation Changes
Large amounts of cover got added to open rotation spaces around Phase Driver, Oasis, Clinic, Hammond Labs, and Estates. Hammond Labs specifically receives terrain transformation with new tunnels protecting players and providing more attack options for the waterfall high ground. Cover from Control mode integrated into the base map, including home base structures. A jump tower now sits behind Hammond Labs.
Rift gets a new central camp reducing open space with more cover throughout. The Rift teleporter's vacuum behavior got replaced with a Horizon Lift preventing accidental entry. A large camp between Rift and Gardens helps players contest high ground while addressing large open spaces.
Grow Towers sees the third tower replaced with buildings and tunnels helping players safely rotate when teams hold tower positions. A jump tower got added here too.
Tridents 2.0: Complete Vehicle System Overhaul
Tridents receive a fundamental redesign introducing destructibility, new movement options, and improved responsiveness. The update transforms them from indestructible cover into dynamic tactical tools with meaningful counterplay.
Foundational Changes and Destructibility
Tridents now feature updated models and textures with tightened collision for smoother rides and the ability for occupants to take damage. Each vehicle starts with 800 health and can be damaged and destroyed. Occupants and vehicles take damage independently, no longer splitting damage between passengers.
Tridents can damage enemies when hitting them at high speeds. Camera and controls have been tuned for improved responsiveness and precision. A Boost Meter replaces the previous single-use boost system.
New Movement Capabilities
Pressing jump causes Tridents to leap from the ground. Holding jump activates glide mode when airborne, during which the vehicle slowly loses altitude while maintaining directional steering and forward boost capability.
Respawn noted that Tridents no longer provide movable indestructible cover during firefights but feel safer for large rotations since damage no longer splits between occupants.
Weapon Meta Shifts to Close-Range Combat
Season 27 deliberately pushes the weapon meta toward close-quarters through major changes to long-range dominant weapons and introduction of close-range attachments and hop-ups.
LMGs Lose Reverse Hipfire
All LMGs except the L-STAR EMG lose the reverse hipfire mechanic that provided serious close-quarters power. Hipfire spread decreases to compensate, and reticles update to the original plus design. Respawn said they want "to give some room for our true close quarters weapons to shine."
Marksman Rifles Get Hit Hard
All Marksman weapons take reductions to projectile size and scaling, decreased projectile launch speed, and reduced headshot damage multipliers. Respawn acknowledged that "The Marksman meta has been reigning strong for a few seasons now" and aims to hit long-range consistency while removing damage spikiness from landing one or two headshots.
Double Tap Returns for Alternator
The Alternator SMG gets damage increases from 18 to 19 per bullet. Magazine sizes adjust with blue mags dropping to 26 (from 27) while purple and gold mags increase to 30 (from 29).
The Double Tap Trigger locked hop-up (375 Locked Hop-Up Points to unlock) lets both barrels fire simultaneously. Unlike previous versions, shots fire exactly at the same time rather than with delays, providing exactly double damage output. Fire rate reduces, and damage per bullet drops to 15 when using this attachment.
Gold Laser Sight for Close-Range Weapons
A new gold-tier laser sight works with all SMG and Pistol weapons. It greatly improves ground and aerial hipfire spread while introducing reverse hipfire mechanics where continuous firing tightens hipfire spread.
Care Package and Floor Loot Rotation
The C.A.R. SMG enters the Care Package with a new Hop-Up called Galvanic Gavel, allowing magazine swaps between Disruptor and Hammerpoint Rounds. Upon first pickup, the weapon begins on Disruptor Rounds. Magazine size increases to 30 (from 28) with improved mag swap reload speed.
The Triple Take returns to floor loot with damage reduced to 22 per bullet (from 23), increased choke charge time, and increased fire rate while hipfiring.
The P2020 moves to the Care Package with increased fire rate and magazine size increasing to 26 (from 22).
Ranked Mode Rewards Combat Performance
Season 27 introduces scoring changes designed to make eliminations more rewarding while keeping placement important.
Kill Points Worth More
Kill Points across all placements got increases. 1st place awards 22 RP (from 20), 2nd awards 20 RP (from 18), 3rd awards 18 RP (from 16), 4th awards 16 RP (from 14), 5th awards 16 RP (from 12), 6th through 8th award 14 RP (from 10), 9th and 10th award 12 RP (from 8), 11th through 15th award 8 RP (from 6), and 16th through 20th award 6 RP (from 4).
Challenger Bonus percentages also increase. One tier difference grants +20% bonus (from 15%), two tier difference grants +30% bonus (from 25%), and three tier difference grants +40% bonus (from 35%).
Respawn said throughout Season 26, feedback consistently showed eliminations felt undervalued compared to placement. Strong combat performance wasn't translating to meaningful progression in mid-to-high-tier lobbies. The adjustments aim to better recognize player impact in every match by rewarding risk-taking and combat performance without overshadowing strategic play and survival.
Drop Zone Loot Gets Balanced
Loot spawning across all Drop Zone POIs got made more equitable. Variance between POIs still exists but at way lower levels. The system keeps the same total spawns across the map for each loot item while changing spawn likelihood distribution to avoid inflation or deflation. These changes apply only to Ranked mode, not Unranked.
Wishlist Feature Targets Cosmetic Drops
A new Wishlist system lets players influence cosmetic drops from select packs based on preferred Legends and loadouts.
How It Works
Players select 5 Legends and 2 Weapons for their Wishlist. Depending on the pack, Wishlist may only impact items of certain rarities (with specific rarity tiers noted). When a pack drops a Wishlist-enabled item, at least one item from chosen Legends is guaranteed.
All selections must be valid for Wishlist to stay active. Selections are valid when players don't own 100% of items for that Legend or Weapon Class from the Apex Pack Pool. If a Wishlist is inactive or unavailable when opening a Wishlist-enabled pack, items draw from the generic Apex Pack pool instead.
Players get 5 Wishlist edits per season (refreshed each new season). Extra edits cost 500 Legend Tokens per edit.
Amped Seasonal Pack
A new Amped Seasonal Pack available all season long is Wishlist-enabled and offers chances to unlock the new 'Bird of Prey' Mythic R-99 Weapon, new Legendary cosmetics, and Wishlist activation for Epic-tier drops relevant to chosen Legends or Weapons.
Players can earn up to 5 Amped Seasonal Packs throughout the season via challenges and free Battle Pass tracks.
Wildcard Mode: Supersonic Event
The Wildcard mode gets a major update from November 18 to December 16 with the Supersonic event featuring a new map variant, mythic weapons, and better upgrades.
Event Content
An exclusive Olympus variant includes more ziplines, gravity cannons, and vertical mobility options. A Mythic R-99 fires Valkyrie's Missile Swarm ability while providing movement and zipline speed bonuses. This weapon's available in Rampart Care Packs.
New Wildcard Upgrades
Burning Rubber leaves fire trails that incinerate enemies. Extra Zippy replenishes shields and provides speed boosts on ziplines and ziprails. Eyes in the Sky and Quick and the Dead mark opponents in the air or on the ground. Get Up and Go grants speed boosts after crucial revives. Along for the Slide ensures faster and longer slides.
Wild Cards Now Permanent
Wild Cards are now permanently activated in Wildcard mode even without active events, bringing extra chaos and unpredictable gameplay to every match. Available Wild Cards include Extra Ordnance, Drone Support, Smoke Out, High Velocity, Status Report, Speedy Charge, Recharger, Fast Draw, and Monstrous Strength.
Audio System Overhaul
Respawn has developed new audio systems addressing community feedback and improving reliability. A new "Focused" mix option provides control over how players prefer to hear action. A new threat system adds dynamic contextual awareness to the mix.
Multiband sidechain compression helps enemy footstep audio be heard more clearly. Environmental audio improvements offer smoother blending between indoor and outdoor spaces. Improved telemetry now enables more accurate discovery of audio failure causes.
Anti-Cheat Progress Report
As part of continued efforts to combat cheaters, Respawn launched a new detection model in early October to investigate possible third-party bots. Within two weeks, over 1,000 bot accounts were banned, with 71% on Windows PC and 21% on Switch.
Detected bot infection rates spiked after rollout as expected, indicating successful bot identification, then tapered off as accounts were banned. Player reports for AFK and abandoned match behavior on Switch decreased meaningfully, with reports per user declining for both PC and Switch over the subsequent 28 days.
