Apex Legends Season 12 Defiance release time, patch notes, Battle Pass rewards, TRAILER | Gaming | Entertainment

The Apex Legends season 12 release date is finally here, as Defiance prepares to make its debut on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and PC. Featuring the debut of a brand new character, a huge map update and lots of new rewards to unlock, the new Apex Legends season is expected to kick off at 6pm GMT UK time. There’s no server downtime as such, although players won’t be able to jump in until they’ve downloaded the Season 12 update. With the update downloaded and installed, users can begin sampling the new season, which launches alongside a Battle Pass. You can see the contents of the Season 12 Battle Pass in the trailer below.

The Apex Legends Battle Pass costs 950 Apex Coins, and features new Legendary Skins for Loba and Seer. 

That’s on top of the usual array of cosmetics, banners and sprays, which unlock as you rise through the ranks of Season 12.

While the Battle Pass is perfect for fans looking for some extra motivation to keep on grinding, it’s the release of a brand new character that has really captured the imagination of the fans.

Mad Maggie – who will be familiar to anybody paying attention to the ongoing story – is described as a “cutthroat warlord and the Outlands’ meanest mad-lass”.

Maggie is said to have enhanced shotgun proficiency, as well as the ability to dislodge enemies behind cover. This makes her a good choice for players who like to go on the offensive.

Her passive ability temporarily highlights any characters you damage, and makes her maintain speed when wielding shotguns.

Elsewhere, Maggie’s Wrecking Ball move sees her roll out a ball that detonates near enemies and drops speed-boosting pads.

In addition to a new character, developer Respawn has made major changes to the Olympus map.

The map features a couple of new points of interest, including the Phase Driver landmark, which produces loot while alerting enemies.

Fans can also check out the Terminal, which is a new internal POI that connects different parts of the map.

As part of its efforts to introduce new locations, Respawn has been forced to expand the map outwards, which means there are lots of new platforms and small towns to battle in.

Fans will be able to experience the changes as part of a 9-v-9 limited time mode called Control, where the aim is to capture various control points on the map. The mode is only available for three weeks, so be sure to check it out during the month of February.

Needless to say, it wouldn’t be a new season without a massive update, complete with balance changes, bug fixes and general improvements. You can see highlights from the Apex Legends Season 12 patch notes below.

Apex Legends Season 12 patch notes…

Character balance changes:

Crypto

• Drone View HUD and other Quality of Life updates:

• Added gamestate (e.g. Ring information, round timers), minimap, killfeed, team status, , and ping information to the Drone’s HUD.

• Repurposed the Drone HUD’s old Crypto health/shield presentation into displaying the health of the Drone itself.

• Survey Beacon markers are now displayed in-world while piloting the Drone (same as when controlling Crypto himself).

Caustic

• Nox Gas Traps are now destroyable after detonation

 – 150hp

 – Detonated traps will expire at 11s (instead of 12.5s)

 – Gas effects linger for two seconds after barrel destruction or expiration (gas particles still linger a bit longer as they dissipate)

Weapons and Equipment Balance:

• Supply Drop Rotation

 – The Alternator SMG returns to the ground loot this season and taking its place is the powerful mid-range energy Volt SMG.

• Alternator SMG

 – Removed disruptor rounds hop-up

• Volt SMG

 – Damage increased from 15 to 17

 – Max mag size increased from 28 to 30