Apex Legends Chaos Theory Patch Notes: What's new in today's update

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To find out everything there is to know about today's update, keep on reading and we'll break down all the essential info on the Apex Legends Chaos Theory Collection Event.

Apex Legends Chaos Theory release date and end date revealed

If you're wondering when is the next Apex Legends update, the answer to that question is an easy one. Respawn has already announced the Apex Legends Chaos Theory update and its release date, saying on the company blog, "The Chaos Theory Collection Event kicks off March 9th, 2021 and runs until March 23rd, 2021." So the date that you should've marked in your diary already is today, 9th March 2021.

What time is the Apex Legends update?

Respawn has taken to Twitter to confirm that the Apex Legends Chaos Theory update will go live on 9th March at 6pm GMT for players on Xbox, PlayStation and PC. Or for fans in America, it will be 10am PT. Even if you're not planning to play straight away, you'll probably want to power up your console or computer shortly after that time, so your download can begin as early as possible.

How to fix Apex Legends update slow download

Whenever a big game gets a significant update, you can practically hear the strain on the servers and networks around the globe. So if your update seems to be taking a painfully long time to download, remember all the usual tips: close any other games or apps you have open; pause or cancel any other downloads in your queue; and move your device as close to your Wifi router as you can, connecting up with an ethernet cable if you've got one handy. That should speed it up!

Are the Apex Legends servers down?

Serious server trouble does sometimes occur when games like Apex Legends undergo big changes, so it's good to know how you can check the Apex Legends server status. If you're wondering if the Apex Legends servers have gone down due to today's update, these are the places you should check: the official Apex Legends Twitter account will keep you abreast of any major issues, as should the EA Help Twitter account. And there's also the user-generated website Down Detector, where you should be able to spot any common problems, outages or downtime.

When will Apex Legends be on Switch?

Today, 9th March, is also the day of the Apex Legends Nintendo Switch release date. On Twitter, Respawn has promised that Apex Legends will arrive on the Nintendo Switch eShop at some time during the evening. We expect that they're referring to US time zones with that Tweet, so, from a UK perspective, it could well be the middle of the night (or early morning on 10th March) when we're able to play Apex on Switch here in Britain.

If you're planing to jump into the Chaos Theory content on Switch, the Respawn blog also mentions some handy benefits for players on Nintendo's current console. The blog states, "Since we’re launching [on Switch] a few weeks after the start of Season 8, Switch players will be granted 30 free levels for their Season 8 Battle Pass. For the first two weeks after launch, playing on Switch will also earn you double XP."

You'll have to wait a while longer for Apex Legends Mobile.

Apex Legends Chaos Theory Patch Notes

Detailing some of the changes that are coming to Apex Legends as part of the Chaos Theory event, Respawn shared rather a lot of detail on its official announcement blog. In the words of Respawn, here are some of differences that returning players will want to look out for:

Legend Updates

• Caustic: Nox Gas Grenade cooldown increased from 2.5 minutes to 3.5 minutes. Nox Gas damages at a flat rate of 5hp per tick instead of ramping up from 6hp → 12hp.
• Pathfinder: Removed Low Profile
• Gibraltar: Removed 15% faster heal item usage while in Dome of Protection.
• Horizon: Increased Black Hole cooldown from 2 minutes to 3 minutes
• Revenant: Revenant’s Silence now disables Mirage’s cloaked revive & respawn as well as Octane’s Swift Mend.
• Wattson: Wattson now has passive shield regen at 0.5 hp/s (half of Octane’s current health regen rate).
• Rampart: Explosives damage Amped Cover normally, instead of inflicting 200 damage. Explosives damage Sheila normally, instead of inflicting 175 damage.

Weapon Updates

• Weapon Optics: All gold AR and LMG default optics updated to 2x Bruiser.
• Mastiff: Pellet damage decreased from 13 → 11. Fire rate increased from 1.0 → 1.1.
• Wingman: +1 bullet to every magazine size, including base.
• Hemlok: Increased hip-fire spread.

Quality of Life Changes

• Kings Canyon Loot: we’ve done a pass on the loot to bring up the quality across the map, while also maintaining a certain amount of loot after Mirage Voyage has flown away.
  • The wooden shacks across the map should have a few more pieces each, and generally be a little higher quality.
  • Spotted Lake has been reduced to Medium Quality from High.
  • Crash Site has redistributed the loot in the area slightly. The amount stays the same, but the higher quality loot should be in the ship.
  • Caustic Treatment has more loot than Water Treatment, and it remains Hiqh Quality.
• Locked Weapon Optic Swapping: For guns with fully locked attachment slots, like fully-kitted gold weapons and most crate weapons, you can now remove the optic and replace it with a different sight. This does not apply to the Kraber sniper rifle.
  • Assists have been added to the in-game HUD, next to kills. This was already present in Ranked and now has been added to unranked. Assists still don’t contribute to XP. This has replaced the Spectator “eye” icon.
  • Assists and Knocks have been added to your squad’s banners and will show at the end of a match.
  • Club names now appear on Match Summary and Champion screen if all players are part of the same club.
  • Items will no longer “stick” to Crafting Replicator when dropped on the Replicator.
  • Badge Progress - for badges that have longer amounts of progress, hovering over the badge will show you more information. For example, if you’re trying to get 50 wins as Lifeline, you’ll now see that you have 45 instead of somewhere between 15 and 50.
• Ping My Deathbox: While respawning on a dropship, you can now ping your own deathbox to help locate it easier.
• Gold Backpack: Players being revived by a gold backpack will have a crackle of energy—based on the tier of armor they wear—while the revive is taking place. They will also display the armor heal FX when the revive is finished. This change should help players prioritize pushing a revive in progress.
• Players on PC can now go back to the title screen from the lobby to allow switching of data centers without restarting the game.
• Added numbers to the Advanced Look Controls. This should help people experiment and easily revert back to their favorite settings.
• When scanning a beacon for Ring 6, you should now be able to see the location where Ring 6 finishes.
• Inspect Weapon: Since the Survival Slot took its button on controller (we only have so many buttons!), Inspect Weapon has been moved to the emote wheel by default. It can be bound to any key on PC.

Bug Fixes

• Gibraltar: Corrected an issue with Gibraltar not getting hit registrations when simultaneously releasing ADS and shooting while his Gun Shield was up
• Wraith: Wraith players can no longer cancel Into the Void by jumping at a wall. The New Skydive Emote will now work with Legendary Skins
• Caustic: Fixed a bug that was causing Nox Gas to flicker for some players affected by it
• Octane: Repeatedly using the same jump pad no longer disables double-jumps. Players are no longer allowed to “glide” along a wall after using the jump pad
• Crypto: Crypto’s animation to bring out his Drone is no longer skippable by throwing a holospray. Crypto can no longer teleport to a replicator. Reloading the Mastiff and 30-30 will no longer be faster while in Crypto’s drone
• Loba: Fixed a few areas Loba could teleport into that would get her stuck
• Rampart: Players can no longer use Sheila to get under the world when placed too close to the Phase Runner in Olympus
• Horizon: Fixed the Gravity Lift falling through the floor when used on the train tracks in World’s Edge’s Sorting Factory. Using a zipline after a Gravity Lift will no longer increase accuracy
• Fuse: Motherload will now damage and destroy jump pads. When under a small enclosure, players will no longer be pushed out after using Motherload. Players can no longer double their grenades after looting a dead Fuse’s deathbox
• Mastiff: Dropping and picking up the Mastiff will no longer cause it to be reloaded
• 3030 Repeater: Dropping and picking up the 30-30 will no longer cause it to be reloaded. 30-30 will now have spread deviation when ADS firing and jumping

Misc

• Fixed a bug preventing Steam users from sending friend requests to each other
• Usernames now update when a user swaps between the Origin Client to the Steam Client
• Fixed a bug preventing players from creating or joining clubs due to their EA Account already being associated with another platform

Apex Legends Chaos Theory New Content

The Respawn blog post gave us a whole load of details about the Apex Legends Chaos Theory event's new content, explaining how exactly the game will change as part of this update. In the words of Respawn, then, here's what you can expect:

Caustic Town Takeover

"When life gives you lemons, you can count on Caustic to turn it into toxic lemonade. Breathe it in at the all-new Caustic Treatment; a new dominant mousetrap with lots of high quality loot that beckons all Legends who seek the glorious cheese. Where Water Treatment once stood, the new Caustic Treatment was constructed to prevent the Crash Site fuel spill from reaching the ocean. Or was it?

"Forever the scientist, Caustic has set out an experiment that requires “test subjects” to drain the toxic liquid from the center of the facility. Doing this temporarily grants access to four gold loot items locked in cages. Players must be quick though, as greed can be deadly.

"If you happen to notice that the Mirage Voyage is missing, you can put the blame on Caustic. The polluted fumes from Caustic Treatment really killed the vibe, so Mirage set sail to take the party elsewhere. No one’s spotted it yet, but that party boat tends to show up in an arena when you least expect it."

Ring Fury Escalation Takeover

"Ring Fury is a new Apex playlist takeover that follows regular BR rules, but each round, one or more Ring Flares will appear on the map within the current ring. Ring Flares are slowly expanding pockets of the Ring within the Arena! Maggie sure does know how to start a party.

"Those who get caught in a Ring Flare will take damage equal to the damage dealt by the current round’s Ring. You’ll be given a short warning on the map and minimap before the Ring Flare appears. Legends will call out if they are in direct danger or if there’s one opening up nearby.

"So how do you deal with Ring Flares? Well, two ways. First, try not to get caught in them, silly. Failing that, you can drop a new item we’re introducing called Heat Shields."

Heat Shields

"During the Ring Fury Escalation Takeover, all players will start with a Heat Shield in their inventory on drop. Throw down your Heat Shield to avoid damage from Ring Flares (or from the ring itself!) and remember that you can always find more. The loot pool for this event has been tuned to spread Heat Shields out throughout the map.

"Heat Shields cast a protective dome, pouring the deadly effect of the ring over the barrier for a short time, enabling Legends to loot, revive and generally make some amazing plays outside of the Ring. Plus, when you’re inside the dome, the use of healing items is sped up by 50% and the speed of Revives is increased by 25%. This bonus is ONLY given by Heat Shields that have been activated by the ring. Heat Shields on standby in the safe zone are conserving energy, and don't grant this bonus.

"But watch out: The Heat Shield will slowly degrade in power as it’s damaged by the ring. The damage of the Ring is reflected in the duration of the Heat Shield, so don’t expect it to last very long in the final rounds. After the Ring Fury Escalation Takeover concludes, the Heat Shield will remain in the game as general ground loot."

Survival Slot

" You’ll notice that the Heat Shield doesn't take up any of your normal inventory slots—instead, it resides in the brand new 'Survival Slot'. The Survival Slot aims to eliminate the choice between normal loot and situational utilities like a Mobile Respawn Beacon or a Heat Shield. Now, there’s no reason not to carry one of these around. Coordinate with your team, and the possibility for more survivability tactics soars! Like the heat shield, the Survival Slot itself will continue to be available in the game even after the Ring Fury Escalation Takeover ends."

Escalation Takeovers

"Like previous playlist takeovers, Ring Fury will replace regular Duos and Trios playlists for the two-week duration of the Collection Event. Ranked will not be affected.

"However, unlike previous takeovers, Ring Fury is an “Escalation Takeover,” which means that every few days during the event, we’re going to turn some knobs to crank up the prevalence, timing, and size of Ring Flares. By the end of the event, you can expect five different stages of escalation. Exciting!"

No-Fill Matchmaking

"No-Fill Matchmaking is a new way to play the game as a solo Legend. [...] In the lobby, you’ll now see a checkbox entitled 'Fill Matchmaking'. This means the matchmaking system will attempt to fill your squad to Duos or Trios, whichever you queued for. This is how the game has worked up to this point, and will be the default setting after every match you play.

"Unchecking this box and clicking Play will send your party into your selected playlist without filling your team with other players. So, if you solo queue into Trios, with 'Fill Matchmaking' unchecked, you’ll go in alone. You’ll be on a team of one, against teams of three."

Apex Legends Chaos Theory Rewards Track

Revealing the Chaos Theory Rewards Track in its blog, Respawn explained, "You can earn 1,000 points per day and challenges refresh daily. There are also stretch challenges that reward four unique badges if you complete them during the event. All of these challenges also stack with your Battle Pass, so you can complete multiple at once." The Kraber and EVA-8 weapon skins were singled out in the blog as particularly cool collectables that you can unlock on the Rewards Track.

Apex Legends Chaos Theory skins, items and weapons

Respawn teased in the blog, "Chaos Theory also introduces a brand new set of 24 themed, event-limited cosmetics. Inspired by the warriors of the Frontier, our Legends are donning fierce new looks as they drop into the arena. All 24 items will be available through direct purchase (for Apex Coins or Crafting Metals) and in Event Apex Packs for the entire duration of the event. If you collect all 24 event items, you’ll unlock the Bangalore Heirloom set."

"All 24 items will be available through direct purchase (for Apex Coins or Crafting Metals) and in Event Apex Packs for the entire duration of the event. If you collect all 24 event items, you’ll unlock the Bangalore Heirloom set. Bangalore took this Pilot’s knife off a cold-blooded opponent. Since that day, she’s made it her own. After the event ends, the Bangalore Heirloom will become available via heirloom crafting."

The blog also mentions a Legendary Pathfinder skin, called P.A.T.H., which will be available "as a free reward for players who boot up Apex Legends on Switch between the game’s launch and the end of Season 8 - Mayhem (May 4th, 2021)."

Apex Legends Chaos Theory trailer

If all that information wasn't enough for you, Respawn also shared the following trailer for the Apex Legends Chaos Theory Collection Event. Give it a watch and get yourself hyped for its arrival on 9th March.

When is Apex Legends Season 9?

The Chaos Theory Collection Event is part of Apex Legends Season 8, but some fans will already be thinking further ahead into the future. Although Respawn hasn't officially started talking about Apex Legends Season 9 just yet, we can hazard a decent guess as to when it will begin. The Season 8 content should come to a close on 3rd May 2021, which suggests that Apex Legends Season 9 will begin on 4th May 2021 or some time shortly after that. Of course, we'll keep you updated as and when a firm date is confirmed.

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