Apex Legends

Overclocked is locked and loaded and ready to go! In Season 29 of the Apex Games we are not only focused on delivering exciting, new seasonal content, but addressing key feedback from our player-base. A brand new Legend, Axle, joins the fray and this combat racer is bound to shake things up. Vantage, Conduit and Ash are getting buffs to keep up with the breakneck pace. We’re introducing Deathbox Respawns and Chained Healing to get you and your teammates back into the fight sooner. The starting line approaches, so get ready to roll in Apex Legends: OVERCLOCKED.

To get a quick overview of some of Overclocked’s main updates, check out our Highlights blog from last week. For a deep-dive into meta balancing, check out our seasonal Designer’s Notes. Read on for all the details about what’s happening this season!

MATCHMAKING

Solo-Queueing Adjustments

We’ve heard the continued feedback on solo queueing difficulty. Later this split, we’ll introduce a system where solo players matchmake against opponents of a slightly lower skill tier in both Ranked and Unranked matches. This is aimed at reducing the advantage of full premade squads and tightening win rate gaps between solos and three-stacks.

Queue Time Tuning in High-Skill Lobbies

Late in 28.1, we began rolling out longer max queue times for higher-skill players. We’re keeping these changes in place to help create tighter skill bands and reduce mismatched games (e.g. Plats vs. Masters), leading to more competitive matches overall.

The majority of players will see no difference at all. If you matchmake into smaller pools, for example during off-hours, then you may have to wait up to a few minutes longer than before

Bots in Unranked Modes

We’re continuing limited testing of bots in select regions and skill ranges in Unranked modes (Trios, Duos, Wildcard). The goal is to improve match quality by reducing extreme skill mismatches and avoiding excessively long queue times, particularly if there are lower-population scenarios. Bots are used only to fill gaps in these scenarios, not replace full matches, and you will never matchmake with an Apex Bot on your team.

IN-GAME AUDIO

This season, as a quality of life update, we have improved voice chat clarity and added the ability to adjust voice chat volumes for each member of your squad individually.

We are continuing our work to resolve existing audio issues and improve in-match audio quality so that you can consistently rely on these systems to inform your situational awareness. We are aware that audio issues increased during the recent Gundam Event and we are continuing to work on methods to avoid similar situations in the future. We pushed various stability improvements over the latter half of Season 28 that have improved the situation, pushing us towards cleaner audio experiences. We appreciate the reports we received - they greatly helped our ongoing investigations.

PATCH NOTES

GAME UPDATES

Deathbox Respawns

Respawn dead teammates directly from their Deathbox.

High Risk: Respawning at a Deathbox is loud, visible to nearby enemies, and takes 7 seconds. Be sure to clear the area before attempting it.

Respawn with Your Gear: When respawned from your Deathbox, any weapons and gear that still remain unlooted are added to your inventory automatically.

Lockout Timer: Each additional death increases the time before teammates can use Deathbox Respawn again. Stay alive to reset the timer.

Respawn Beacon Dropship