Apex Legends’ next season won’t bring a new Legend, but shocking changes are coming to modes and classes

For the first time in Apex Legends history, a new season will not add a Legend to the roster. Developer Respawn Entertainment has disclosed that it has chosen to rather improve the core experience with features that make the game much more than a battle royale. Upon the launch of Season 16: Revelry, fans will witness new character classes, Team Deathmatch, and another Energy weapon joining the loot pool. More importantly, one fan-favorite mode will be sunset in order to make room for a playlist full of LTMs.

Rather than offering a new character, Apex Legends Season 16: Revelry’s main hooks are Team Deathmatch and its Mixtape playlist. Team Deathmatch will go live alongside the incoming season on February 14, providing a 6v6, round-based experience in which players simply need to earn eliminations to win. The mode is slated to be available at all times until March 7, during which fans will see a Mixtape playlist take its place. This will contain Team Deathmatch, as well as LTMs Control and Gun Run, rotating through each — much like maps — for the remainder of the season.

In consequence, the studio broke the news that these modes are replacing Arenas, noting that the 3v3 component “has not achieved the team’s goals.” For now, it is not expected to return during the season nor has Respawn spoken on what will happen to players’ Arenas banners and progress. No matter which game mode players now hop into during Revelry, they can at least prepare to spot a brand new Energy weapon known as the Nemesis. It functions as a burst-fire assault rifle, and the more shots fired from it will reduce the delay between each burst.

Although these additions already make for a jam-packed season, all existing Legends are also in for a dramatic shake-up. The season is said to be tossing its current class structure aside in favor of a new system that features a total of five Legend classes: Assault, Skirmisher, Recon, Controller, and Support. Each group will be granting its Legends unique “perks,” though more details on these abilities will arrive later this week. Meanwhile, Respawn has hinted that a surprising six Legends will undergo major updates to their skillsets, listing only Wraith, Lifeline, and Seer among them.

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With this massive content drop, the developer is preparing to see a flood of new players coming to the game and plans on welcoming them in a few special ways. For one, all beginner Legends will be enlisted into an “onboarding” process that requires them to perform tasks and complete matches in bot-only lobbies. Additionally, to celebrate its fourth birthday, Apex is hosting an Anniversary Collection Event at the start of the season, which will reward all players Legends Crypto and Ash for free during its first two weeks.

It still remains unclear what fixes Revelry will bring to the battle royale, though most will likely be clamoring for improvements to its matchmaking process. Last month, a large amount of players reported having extremely unfair Ranked lobbies, being up against others several divisions above them. Respawn did recently showcase a new matchmaking system that was said to be kinder to all players, though a launch date for it has not yet been given.