EA began teasing it a couple weeks ago, but tomorrow marks the official launch of Apex Legends’ “Defiance” update, which will include the new character Mad Maggie, changes to the Olympus map, the Control limited-time mode, the usual battle pass, and more. First, do check out Mad Maggie in action, and some of the goodies included in the battle pass, below.
Need to know more about what Respawn Vancouver has been cooking up? Here’s the full rundown on Defiance’s Mad Maggie, the Olympus refresh, and Control mode…
New Legend
Mad Maggie, cutthroat warlord and the Outlands’ meanest mad-lass, is back and she’s coming into the Apex Games like a wrecking ball with an offensive playstyle. With enhanced shotgun proficiency, the ability to dislodge enemies behind cover, and a crushing Ultimate, aggressive players are going to love playing as Mad Maggie.
- Passive: Warlord’s Ire – Temporarily highlight enemies you’ve damaged. No movement speed penalty when wielding Shotguns.
- Tactical: Riot Drill – Fire a drill that attaches to an obstacle and burns enemies on the other side.
- Wrecking Ball – Throw a ball that releases speed-boosting pads and detonates near enemies.
Olympus Map Update
Someone or something has hacked into Olympus’ Phase Runner, sending the floating city crashing down and creating destabilizations across the city that change the face of the map: perhaps forever. Experience a malfunctioning Olympus, with new terrain exposed and more POIs than ever. And that’s not all!
- An expanded map, spreading squads out more so the map’s center area (Labs/Estates) isn’t the only go-to combat zone each game and reducing the frequency of spontaneous 3rd-parties.
- Better rotational options to help players get around and out of dangerous chokepoints
- New interactive map toy and play spaces to help attract players into the new areas, creating fresh new experiences for Olympus
New Limited-Time Mode: Control
Defiance kicks off with Control, a brand-new limited-time mode that delivers an adrenaline-fueled 9v9 experience where two teams fight to capture and control points on the map. Featuring the largest team sizes in Apex Legends to date, players will pre-select their loadouts, drop in, and for the first time ever have the opportunity to experience the rush of having the same Legends fighting side by side, creating thrilling moments that can only happen in Control. In this mode, death is not the end, as throughout the match players will be able to respawn and carry on the fight until one team earns enough points to be declared the winner.
Of course, the Defiance update also contains the usual array of fixes, balance tweaks, and other small changes. You can get the full, unabridged patch notes, right here.
Apex Legends is available now on PC, Xbox One, PS4, and Switch, and is playable via backward compatibility on Xbox Series X/S and PS5. The Defiance Season kicks off tomorrow (February 8).
