Apex Legends Kicking Off Bonus XP Limited Time Event for Battle Pass Owners

It's not like Apex Legends is in trouble or anything, but since the lackluster Battle Pass released in March, it's been relatively quiet around the battle royale shooter. Luckily, with today's 1.1.1 Patch, some excitement is returning to Apex Legends, if even for a short time.

Starting today at around 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET, Apex Legends will be introducing a new Bonus XP event for Battle Pass owners. Until 10 a.m. PT on April 18 (Thursday), players who land in the Top 5 squads of a match will be rewarded with one full Battle Pass level, which translates to 29,500 BPP. It's not for every match where you place in the Top 5—sorry to you pros out there—and only qualifies for your first match placement of that height of the day. When accounting for the three day event, that means you can leap three tiers if you place high at least once every day.

If you miss out on the short window for the Bonus XP event, Respawn assures players that more will be coming in the future.

The patch notes also outline a few big changes. Defense-minded heroes Caustic and Gibraltar are both getting a bonus passive perk called Fortified, which will reduce all damage taken by 10% to account for the common complaints against the large boys' hitboxes. Caustic's gas is also more powerful, with its damage tick increased from one to four, while, Gibraltar's gun shield has been boosted from 50 to 75. This all leaves me with a new question: Will I finally start seeing Gibraltars on squads again? Is my dude viable now?

The patch also introduces a smattering of weapon balancing, as well as some adjustments to the gold Wingmans, R-301s, and Havocs you may find in a supply drop somewhere. The jump ship speed has also been sped up by 50% to account for the patient players who don't like to plummet to their probable death immediately, so now they don't have to wait as long. You can read the full Patch 1.1.1 notes here on Reddit, and find the abbreviated changes below.

Legend Balancing

Caustic

• Fortified Passive Perk added: reduces damage taken by 10%
• Gas Damage per tick increased: 1 -> 4
• Ultimate Throw distance increased: 28 meters -> 33 meters

Gibraltar

• Fortified Passive Perk added: reduces damage taken by 10%
• Gun Shield health increased: 50 -> 75

Weapon Balancing

G7 Scout / Triple Take / Longbow DMR

• Lowered leg shot damage reduction: 25% -> 10%
• Reduced base weapon sway by about 33%
• Reduced base sway speed by about 25%

Longbow DMR

• Increased fire rate 1.2 -> 1.6
• Increased magazine size:
• Base mag increased: 5 -> 6 rounds
• Common mag extender increased: 6 -> 8 rounds
• Rare mag extender increased: 8 -> 10 rounds
• Epic mag extender increased: 10 -> 12 rounds

Havoc

• Increased base magazine size: 25 -> 32 rounds
• Charge Beam:
• Reduced cost per shot: 5 -> 4
• Increased close range damage: 55 -> 60
• Increased damage at range: 45 -> 50
• Close range damage falloff increased: 35m -> 75m
• Ranged damage falloff increased: 75m -> 125m

Wingman

• Reduced magazine size:
• Base mag reduced: 6 -> 4 rounds
• Common mag extender reduced: 8 -> 6 rounds
• Rare mag extender reduced: 9 -> 8 rounds
• Epic mag extender reduced: 12 -> 10 rounds

Spitfire

• Reduced base damage: 20 -> 18
• Magazine extender attachments reduced:
• Common mag extender reduced: 45 -> 40 rounds
• Rare mag extender reduced: 55 -> 45 rounds
• Epic mag extender reduced: 60 -> 55 rounds

Gold Legendary Weapon Adjustments

Gold Havoc

• Now has Turbocharger
• Now has 1x-2x variable holo site

Gold R301

• Now has 1x-2x variable holo site

Gold Wingman

• Now has digital threat

Battle Pass XP Bonus Event

• From approximately 10AM PST 4/16 through approximately 10AM PST 4/18, your first Top 5 of the day (your squad places 5th or better in a match) will grant you 1 full bonus Battle Pass Level (29,500 BPP), up to a max of level 110. You can earn this once per day.

Additional Changes

Jump Ship Speed

• Increased the speed of the ship by about 50%

Bug Fixes

• Fixed UI bug where the wrong percentage would be displayed for all boost badges.

We're still playing and enjoying Apex Legends, despite the lackluster Battle Pass offerings. As Respawn has teased though, there may be more surprises to come in Season One. Our Jumpmaster boots are ready to leap in, as always.