Respawn Announces New Celestial Sunrise Collection Event Featuring New Hardcore LTM

Respawn Entertainment just released a trailer announcing the next event scheduled to hit Apex Legends: the Celestial Sunrise Collection Event. This will mark Season 15's third consecutive collection event (the first one being December's Wintertide Collection Event). It's also the first time the game has unveiled two collection events in one month, with Celestial Sunrise set to launch one week after the currently active Spellbound Collection Event comes to an end.

Like all collection events, Celestial Sunrise features 24 premium cosmetic items, most of which feature aesthetic references to Chinese New Year. This includes a rabbit skin for the notoriously bouncy Octane, who has an affinity for rabbits after receiving one as a pet in his youth. But the skin's appearance is also a reference to the Chinese Zodiac, as 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit. Other characters getting a themed makeover include Ash, Pathfinder, and Wattson.

Reactive Peacekeeper

Unlike previous Collection Events (all of which have rewarded players who collect all 24 cosmetics with either an Heirloom Weapon or a Prestige Skin), players who complete the cosmetic collection will be receiving something different this time around: a reactive Peacekeeper skin.

Reactive skins are normally Legendary-tier (as opposed to Mythic-tier, like Prestige Skins and Heirloom Weapons), and have historically only been included as rewards for reaching level 100 and 110 of each season's premium battle pass. The introduction of the Jadeite Retribution reactive Peacekeeper skin will mark the first time a reactive weapon skin has been released outside of a battle pass--and the first time Collection Event has lacked a Mythic-tier reward.

Free rewards

In addition to the standard set of 24 premium cosmetics, the Celestial Sunrise Collection Event also features a free reward track. Two weapon charms, two holosprays, an Apex Pack, two sets of stat trackers, and an R-99 weapon skin. Players who rack up 5,000 event points by completing event-specific challenges will unlock all free rewards. Additionally, a set of free banner badges can be earned by performing specific feats over the course of the event, like killing a specific number of enemies in Hardcore Royale.

For players with a little more cash on hand, however, the standard mix of event item bundles and returning cosmetics from previous events will rotate through the in-game store for the duration of the event.

Hardcore Royale

The event trailer also confirms the event will feature the debut of Hardcore Royale, a punishing new LTM that was uncovered by dataminers back in December. Hardcore Royale features a nearly nonexistent HUD that--based on what was shown in the trailer--only displays the state of the player's legend abilities, indicating when those abilities are available for use. Other than that, no part of the HUD is visible, including how much ammo players have and when they need to reload their weapon. Challenging though it may be, the new mode seems certain to be a crowd-pleaser, especially among highly-ranked and competitive players who have grown tired of the standard battle royale format.

In addition to a naked HUD, players will also have no EVO body shields or helmets, nor will there be any on the ground for players to make use of via shield-swapping when things get sticky mid-firefight. Additionally, the ring starts off at maximum damage right from the beginning, so any loot goblins who habitually cross the ring's deadly border to loot deathboxes will soon find themselves leaving behind one of their own.

But while you're counting up your Apex Coins and Crafting Metals in anticipation of the new cosmetic collection, you might want to consider hitting the firing range for a little practice at counting something else: bullets. When Hardcore Royale goes live, the spray-and-pray method just won't cut it, especially if you've run out of ammo without realizing it. Thus you may wish to check out the Firing Range and practice taking down some target dummies without glancing at your ammo count, just to get a feel for the flying-blind style of gameplay innate to Hardcore Royale's design. It's also worth noting that the mode will be restricted to players who are level 20 and above, so if you're new to the game, make sure you level up your account in time to access the LTM when the Celestial Sunrise event goes live on January 24 (and remember to finish up the Spellbound Collection Event's free reward track before it expires the same day).

Date Night

But if you're a lover, not a fighter, don't worry--shortly after the collection event officially ends on February 7, a new LTM called Date Night will launch. This is a duos-only mode with a unique twist: Using any healing item during a match will create a visible aura around you. If your duos partner steps into your aura (or vice-versa), they will experience the same healing effects of whatever item is currently in use. Date Night also includes a new limited-time weapon: a variation of the Bocek compound bow called the Heart Stealer. Dealing damage with the Heart Stealer will heal you, and just like all other healing items, you partner will also benefit if they're standing close enough.

The Celestial Sunrise Collection Event runs from January 24 - February 7. The Date Nite Duos Takeover begins on February 7, but no end date has been announced by Respawn. Further details regarding the new event and both new LTMs can be found on Respawn's official blog.

Apex Legends is free to play on console and PC. A mobile version of the game, Apex Legends Mobile, is available for download on Android and iOS devices.