Apex Legends Season 26: Showdown – Full Patch Notes Breakdown ⇒ ALegends

Season 26 is officially here, and Apex Legends: Showdown is one of the most ambitious updates yet. Respawn has introduced major overhauls to Ranked, a brand-new loot system, massive legend reworks, a new permanent mode, and tons of quality-of-life fixes.

Let’s go over everything that just dropped in Season 26: Showdown.

Ranked Rework: Drop Zones, New Auras, and XP Accolades

Respawn is shaking up Ranked in a big way this season.

Key Changes:

Drop Zones:
- The drop ship is gone
- Every squad drops from small individual ships directly over randomized POIs
- Each POI offers fairly balanced loot
- Improves pacing and eliminates early contesting
Ranked Auras:
- New cosmetic effects that display your current rank
- Visible during skydives, revives, finishers, and more
- Can be equipped regardless of your actual rank
Accolades System:
- Earn XP through mini in-game achievements (e.g. long-range kills, revives, etc.)
- Max XP from accolades is 2,200 per day
- Tracks daily progression and gives players more to work toward
Challenge Rework:
- Most Battle Pass challenges now count across all modes, not just BR
- Mixtape, Wild Card, and BR all contribute to progress

New Permanent Mode: Wild Card

Wild Card mode is now permanently available
Smaller lobbies (30 players), faster gameplay
Reworks core mechanics like looting, revives, and gear
Includes legend stacking, auto-loot, and wild card abilities like wall running

Loot System Overhaul: AMPs and Elite Weapons

AMPs (Replaces Helmets):

These purple-tier items grant passive bonuses and now fully replace the helmet slot.

Infinite Ammo Amp – Unlimited ammo for 2 inventory slots (doesn’t work with care package weapons)
Bottomless Bats – Unlimited shield batteries if you have at least 2
Overarmor – +25shield HP (stacks with controller passive up to 125)
Heal Overflow – Heals over time after using a syringe or cell
Power Booster – Faster cooldowns and resets tactical after knocking enemies

Elite Weapons:

Introduced as temporary reworks of existing guns
First weapon: RE-45 Burst (Energy, burst-fire, with spin-up mechanic)
Replaces standard RE-45 for this season

Locked Hop-Ups & New Boosters

Hop-ups are no longer on the floor
Select weapons now come with locked hop-ups
Unlock them by:
- Dealing damage
- Picking up hop-up boosters
- Boosters are found in supply bins (legendary/weapon bins)
- They cannot be removed or transferred

Examples:

Gunshield Generator – R301, Hemlock, Rampage
Skullpiercer – Wingman, 30-30, Longbow
Graffiti Mod – Volt, EVA-8, Spitfire
Select Fire Receiver – Prowler, Charge Rifle

Weapon Updates

LMGs:

Devotion:
- Mag size reduced to 48
- Hipfire spread widened
- Barrel/stocks scale removed
Spitfire & Rampage:
- Reverse hipfire spread widened

Pistols:

Akimbo P2020 now in care package
- Damage buffed
- Kinetic Feeder added
RE-45 Auto removed temporarily

Shotguns:

EVA-8:
- Damage increased
- Fire rate adjusted
Mozambique:
- Tighter spread
- Increased fire rate (both modes)
Peacekeeper:
- Floor loot again
- No longer deals headshot damage
- Mag size up to 6

Legend Changes

Bangalore:

Passive speed increased by 5%
Tactical:
- Smoke now breaks doors
- Projectile speed buffed
- Pullout and cooldown time reduced
- Smoke is now reactive (grenades can clear it)
Ultimate:
- Cooldown reduced by 1 min
- Faster projectile activation
New Upgrades:
- Electric Smoke – Destroys deployables
- ECM Payload – Electrifies ult, adds damage
- Medal of Honor – Faster revives and passive when running toward allies

Caustic:

Gas damage buffed (now 10–15 per tick)
Gas now grounds enemies, drains mobility abilities
Gas traps:
- Radius and activation range increased
- Health increased
- Lasts 22s (up from 11s)
- Traps now take ring damage
- Can be damaged mid-deploy
Ultimate:
- Cooldown reduced to 2 minutes
- Projectile speed increased
- Lasts longer
New Passive:
- Field Research – Gain points to unlock unselected upgrades during match

Map Updates

New Ranked/Unranked Map Rotation:

E-District (Daytime)
- Improved lighting
- New building rotations
Broken Moon
Storm Point

Vendor Machines:

Paintball weapons removed from Big M
Now offer blue/purple kitted weapons
Faster unlock time

Loot Bins:

Extended/Weapon bins now guarantee AMPs or hop-up boosters after reset
Mini-map icons for supply bins removed

Quality of Life & Bug Fixes

Lifeline’s Care Package ring is now color-coded
Newcastle’s ult can be placed over portals
VFX improved: Less smoke/blood on hit for visibility
Bots have improved behavior
Audio fixes for impact and directional clarity
Replicator UI reworked (now blue)

Creator Codes Are Live

Starting this season, you can support your favorite creators
Use a code (e.g. “grrt”) in the EA App or Apex web store
Works with Apex Coin purchases

Final Thoughts

Season 26: Showdown is packed with meaningful content. Between the Ranked overhaul, AMP system, elite weapons, and massive legend reworks, Respawn is clearly pushing Apex into a fresh new era.