Apex Legends Update Adds Level Cap Increase, Buffs Wattson

After a brief delay, Apex Legends Update 3.2 is now live across all platforms. Respawn released the full patch notes for the update on Reddit. Below, we go through a breakdown of everything that's new and how those changes affect the overall game.

The major component of the update is the changes to in-game progression. For the first time since launch, the in-game level cap is being increased, going from 100 to 500. The necessary XP to reach level 100 has also been reduced. While leveling, there are more opportunities to earn Apex Packs. The full breakdown is below--all rewards are retroactive, so you'll automatically earn 14 Apex Packs if you're already level 100. You will also now earn a new gun charm every 100 player levels.

Apex Legends New Progression System

• Level 2 - 20: One pack every level
• Level 22 - 300: One pack every two levels
• Level 305 - 500: One pack every five levels

The more notable adjustments are in all the quality-of-life changes. The update adds a button prompt for you to cancel a finisher halfway through the animation--allowing you to immediately return to the fight if you're ambushed. The legendary armor spawn rate has also been reduced, so it's less likely you'll have to worry about running into squads completely outfitted in Gold body shields near the end of a match.

There have also been game-changing adjustments made to knockdown shields and Wattson's Ultimate ability, Interception Pylon. Common and rare knockdown shields are significantly stronger now. Wattson's new Interception Pylon is now more effective at locking down a zone and allowing her squad to launch an offensive against enemy teams--as it now only intercepts grenades and explosives being thrown in, not out.

Additionally, there's now an option to toggle whether you want the option to automatically exit out of looting death boxes when an enemy team shoots at you. Final circle locations have also been changed to account for setting up even playing fields at the end of a match, as well as a greater variety of locales for final circle confrontations. The overall color of helmets and armor have also been adjusted to be easier to discern for players with colorblindness.

Update 3.2 also implements dozens of bug fixes too, which are listed below.

Apex Legends Update 3.2 Bug Fixes

Bug Fixes

• Fixed bug where other players would appear to be in the wrong Rank (e.g. they are actually Apex Predator but appear Bronze IV)
• Bunch of bug fixes to World's Edge related to collision, geometry, supply bins spawning in bad areas, and cases where loot couldn’t be picked up in certain areas near Geyser.
• Fixed bug where sometimes the Respawn Dropship would be silent when arriving.
• Fixed bug where Bangalore would reference the Skullpiecer hop-up when pinging a Wingman.
• Fixed issue where player banner would appear off-center in the match summary/squad eliminated screens.
• Fixed a visual bug where the progress bars for Shield Cells and Phoenix Kits appeared desaturated and hard to read.
• Fixed bug where players were able to instantly revive in certain locations.
• Fixed bug for rare cases where a player was unable to revive a teammate while outside the Ring.
• Fixed bug where the visual FX for the knockdown shield would remain visible after being destroyed by an enemy.
• Fixed bug where equipping the EVA-8 Auto Shotgun Double Tap hop-up would remove the rate of fire increase from equipped shotgun bolt.
• Fixed bug where some Legends would relay incorrect "ability not ready" sound FX when trying to activate an ability that was still on cooldown.
• Fixed a visual bug where sometimes when a Legend starts using a Shield Cell it causes their weapon to appear to be briefly floating past their arm.
• Fixed bug where sometimes the Train's lead car would detach from the rest of the Train after a player stops and then starts it back up.
• Fixed bug for cases where players could get crushed by the Train while standing near the back of the front car.
• Fixed bug where Legend’s faces would appear distorted in third person during matches and while browsing inventory.
• Fixed issues with corrupted graphics and frame drops that we found were related to detonating ordnance in certain locations causing object to trigger bad pixels.
• Fixed bug for cases where flying Crypto's Drone near the Train can cause Crypto to move around without player input.
• Fixed a bug where Crypto’s tactical hud looked like it was stuck recharging until you used it.
• Fixed bug for cases where a deathbox would not come to rest on stairs and players were unable to retrieve the player's Banner Card.