Apex Legends Season 18 – Revenant’s New Abilities, No More Skydive Trails, And Double XP

TL;DR

  • Season 18 launches August 8 with major Revenant ability overhaul
  • Revenant gains horizontal climbing and enemy tracking below 40 health
  • Free Revenant access all season plus new battle pass and events
  • Strategic focus shifts to aggressive flanking and finishing wounded targets
  • No new legend but significant meta changes expected from rework

Apex Legends Season 18: Resurrection represents a dramatic departure from the traditional seasonal structure, introducing what could become the most transformative update in the game’s recent history. This season focuses entirely on revitalizing existing content rather than adding new characters.

The upcoming Resurrection season arrives with substantial gameplay modifications that will impact the competitive landscape. Beyond the anticipated battle pass refresh and animated web series, players can expect fundamental changes to core mechanics through the comprehensive Revenant overhaul. Our analysis covers critical details about map rotations, the removal of prestigious Ranked Mode rewards, and exclusive previews of the next Heirloom Weapon collection.

Mark your calendars for Tuesday, August 8 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET when Apex Legends Season 18 becomes available. While Respawn Entertainment hasn’t confirmed an exact conclusion date, historical patterns indicate seasons typically span approximately twelve weeks, suggesting Resurrection will likely conclude in late October or early November.

Following the successful blueprint established in Season 16, Resurrection continues the trend of prioritizing legend refinements over new character introductions. This strategic shift aligns with developer statements about slowing legend releases to focus on game health and balance. The approach proved successful previously—Season 16, despite lacking a new legend, emerged as one of Apex’s most prosperous periods, whereas Season 17 underperformed financially despite introducing new content.

Revenant receives unprecedented accessibility in Season 18, available to all players without purchase throughout the entire season duration, alongside his comprehensive mechanical overhaul.

With the Resurrection update, Revenant undergoes what developers term “Revenant Reborn”—a complete transformation encompassing visual redesign, vocal alterations, and most importantly, a fundamentally reworked ability kit. The decision stems from analytical data showing Revenant consistently maintained one of the lowest selection rates across the legend roster, prompting this extensive revitalization effort.

The redesigned Revenant ability set introduces several groundbreaking mechanics:

Revenant retains his signature enhanced crouch-walk mobility and superior climbing capabilities but gains revolutionary horizontal traversal options. This vertical and horizontal mobility combination creates unprecedented flanking opportunities that skilled players can leverage for tactical advantages.

His augmented passive now incorporates another tactical dimension: the ability to detect and pursue enemies with health below 40 points within a 30-meter radius. When Revenant personally inflicts damage that reduces an opponent below this threshold, the target becomes visible to his entire squad through environmental obstacles, functioning similarly to reconnaissance legends’ tactical awareness abilities but with specific activation conditions.

“We intentionally preserved the rapid crouch movement and enhanced climbing mechanics because they represent iconic elements of his original identity,” explained game designer Evan Funnell during a recently published demonstration featuring 100 Thieves competitor iiTzTimmy evaluating the updated Revenant kit.

Mastering the reworked Revenant requires understanding several advanced tactical considerations. His new horizontal climbing capability enables creative approaches to urban combat situations—particularly effective on maps like Olympus and Kings Canyon where vertical structures dominate the landscape.

Strategic Positioning: Utilize Revenant’s enhanced mobility to access unconventional angles that opponents rarely check. The horizontal climb allows you to traverse entire buildings without touching the ground, creating unpredictable attack vectors.

Health Tracking Utilization: The passive enemy detection below 40 health transforms Revenant into an exceptional finisher. Coordinate with teammates to focus fire on weakened targets, then use the wallhack effect to secure eliminations through cover.

Common Mistakes to Avoid: Don’t overcommit with horizontal climbs in open areas where you become vulnerable. The ability works best when transitioning between cover points or initiating surprise attacks from unexpected elevations.

Team Composition Synergy: Pair Revenant with legends like Bloodhound or Seer for overwhelming tracking capabilities, or with Gibraltar and Caustic for aggressive area denial combinations.

Optimization for Advanced Play: Practice the timing between crouch-walking and climbing transitions to maintain momentum. The silent movement combined with vertical mobility makes Revenant exceptionally dangerous in close-quarters final circle scenarios.

The Death Dynasty Collection Event provides strategic XP farming opportunities through rotating double XP bonuses. During the initial week (August 8-15), standard battle royale matches grant double experience points, while the following week (August 15-22) shifts the bonus to Mixtape Mode engagements. This structured approach allows players to maximize their Resurrection battle pass progression by focusing on specific game modes during their respective bonus periods.

While this event doesn’t include a traditional free loot shop, it features an extensive reward track containing valuable progression items. Players can earn holosprays for tactical positioning, exclusive legend skins, battle pass stars for accelerated progression, and Crafting Metals for custom cosmetic creation. The reward structure emphasizes consistent participation rather than random loot acquisition.

Mixtape Mode receives significant map diversity improvements with full integration of Broken Moon locations. Gun Run and Team Deathmatch sessions now occur at The Core, a high-intensity POI featuring vertical combat opportunities and close-quarters engagements. Meanwhile, Control matches utilize the expansive Production Yard area, offering strategic capture points and vehicle access for coordinated team play.

This strategic placement of different game modes across distinct POIs creates varied combat experiences while maintaining map familiarity. Players should adapt their loadouts accordingly—close-range weapons dominate at The Core, while versatile mid-range options excel in Production Yard’s larger spaces. Understanding these location-specific dynamics provides competitive advantages in each mode.

Respawn Entertainment is implementing substantial Ranked Mode revisions following community feedback about Season 17’s accessibility issues. The primary concern identified was rank inflation, where approximately 20% of the competitive player base achieved Masters status—a tier intended to represent the game’s elite performers. The upcoming Season 18 patch notes will detail specific adjustments aimed at restoring prestige to higher ranks.

Common mistakes from Season 17 included over-reliance on placement points and insufficient emphasis on combat performance. Advanced players should focus on balanced aggression—securing strategic positioning while maintaining consistent engagement metrics. The developers’ comprehensive blog post outlines their data-driven approach to creating more meaningful rank progression.

“We’ve identified problematic gameplay patterns where ranked dive trails created unfair tactical disadvantages,” developers explained in their recent communication. “Top-tier rewards shouldn’t compromise competitive integrity during critical match phases, which prompted replacing dive trails with Epic Banner Frames for Diamond+ achievements.”

This controversial change addresses the tactical imbalance where multiple squads would either aggressively pursue or deliberately avoid players displaying elite skydive trails. The new reward structure maintains prestige recognition while eliminating the gameplay distortion that previously occurred during initial descent phases.

Concurrently, Valkyrie’s Prestige Skin Set introduces the first Mythic-tier skydive trail, potentially signaling a shift toward monetized rather than skill-based trail acquisitions. Players reaching Diamond rank or higher will now receive distinctive Epic-tier banner frames alongside traditional weapon cosmetics, holosprays, and banner badges. For comprehensive ranked strategy insights, consult our Class Guide for optimal loadout configurations.

The Charge Rifle undergoes its most significant transformation since its Season 3 debut, shifting from continuous beam emission to charged projectile mechanics. This redesign mirrors the weapon’s functionality in Titanfall 2, requiring strategic charge management rather than sustained tracking. Damage now scales with both charge level and travel distance, creating unique sniping opportunities.

The revamped weapon introduces penetration capabilities, allowing single shots to eliminate multiple aligned opponents. Equipping the Extender Sniper Magazine further enhances its battlefield utility. Optimal usage involves pre-charging during peeks and targeting enemy formations for maximum collateral damage potential.

Advanced tactical applications include using the penetration feature to counter shield-sharing strategies and disrupt coordinated team positions. This fundamental rework transforms the Charge Rifle from a spam-friendly tool to a precision instrument requiring calculated timing and positioning. For comprehensive weapon mastery, explore our Weapons Unlock guide for comprehensive armament strategies.

Action Checklist

  • Practice Revenant’s horizontal climbing in firing range to understand distance limitations
  • Develop communication protocols for highlighting low-health targets with your squad
  • Experiment with weapon combinations that complement Revenant’s aggressive finisher playstyle
  • Analyze map rotations to identify optimal structures for horizontal climbing advantages
  • Farm double XP in BR matches August 8-15, then switch to Mixtape August 15-22
  • Adapt Mixtape loadouts: close-range for The Core, versatile for Production Yard
  • Practice Charge Rifle charge timing in Firing Range before competitive use
  • Adjust ranked strategy to balance placement and engagement metrics
  • Master Charge Rifle penetration shots against grouped enemies for maximum efficiency

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