EA has announced Apex Legends Season 1, titled Wild Frontier, will launch tomorrow alongside the battle royale game's first battle pass and new playable character, Octane. And, much like Fortnite, you can earn enough in-game currency by completing the battle pass to buy the next one for Season 2.
The Season 1 battle pass costs 950 Apex Coins. You can also buy a bundle for 2,800 Apex Coins that includes the battle pass and gives you a head start by advancing you through 25 levels of battle pass progression (and unlocking the corresponding rewards). The pass itself includes a variety of rewards--such as weapon skins, stat trackers, Legend voice lines, and Apex Coin and XP drops--with rewards unlocked by earning XP. You can actually earn 1,000 Apex Coins in total through the battle pass, which, EA notes in a blog post, can be "put towards unlocking the next Battle Pass." Alternatively, you could put it toward unlocking a character, such as the new Legend, Octane.
EA hasn't announced just how long that will take, though. The battle pass FAQ states the Apex Coin rewards are unlocked at levels 7, 11, 17, 21, 31, 37, 41, 47, 57, 63, 67, 87, and 97. The FAQ doesn't list how large the reward is at each level, but considering the battle pass contains 100 levels, you probably need to complete most of it--reaching level 87 or 97--to earn the necessary Apex Coins to buy the pass for Season 2. By comparison, Fortnite's battle pass, which seems to have served as the inspiration for this, takes anywhere from 75-150 hours to complete by Epic's estimates.
Whatever the case, the battle pass essentially gives players a second set of rewards to earn alongside those you get by leveling up your player profile. Whether or not you buy Octane or Apex Legends' new battle pass, Season 1 lets you unlock some rewards for free: 18 new stat trackers, five Apex Packs, and a new skin for Octane. Although your battle pass level is separate from your player level, they are both increased by playing matches and earning XP. There are no Fortnite-style challenge to complete, although Respawn has suggested that future seasons may work differently and that it's open to feedback from players.
Octane, the ninth and newest Legend to join Respawn's battle royale game, also releases tomorrow. Octane is not a part of the battle pass though, and you'll need to buy him with additional Legend Tokens or Apex Coins. Much like Mirage and Caustic, Octane will cost 12,000 Legend Tokens or 750 Apex Coins.
If you're playing Apex Legends on PC or Xbox One, you might have a cheaper option for picking up Octane or the battle pass. Origin Access and EA Access, respectively, provide subscribers with 1,000 free Apex Coins in addition to a few other rewards. As such, if you aren't already a member, you can subscribe for one month and get that bonus for less money than you'd spend on 1,000 Apex Coins.
Apex Legends is available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. In our Apex Legends review, Phil Hornshaw gave the game a 9/10, writing, "Apex Legends is a mix of smart shooter ideas that makes for a competitive, team-based game that gets at all the best parts of battle royale while addressing a lot of the weaknesses. Respawn's intense focus on team play makes Apex more than just a worthy addition to the genre; it's an indicator of where battle royale should go in the future."