Updated Apex Battle Pass can no longer be bought with Apex Coins

Apex Legends have announced a huge swathe of updates to its Battle Pass, starting in Season 22. These changes are the first major change to the Battle Pass format since Apex Legends released back in 2019.

Starting in Season 22, there will now be a Battle Pass for each 'Split', rather than just one per season. The order at which you get Reactive Weapon Skins is changing from 110 to 60, and rewards are being refreshed and updated.

EA say that they want the Battle Pass to be shorter, making things more approachable and realistic for players. They want the Battle Pass to be attainable and represent value for the time and money invested.

Here is a breakdown of what you can expect from Battle Passes in Apex Legends from Season 22.

Perhaps one of the most controversial updates to the Battle Pass revealed today is the cost. Since the game released, the Battle Pass has always cost 950 Apex Coins, with a more expensive Premium Bundle that unlocked some levels to give you a head start.

Now, the Battle Pass will no longer be able to be purchased with Apex Coins. You will have to use real life money. The pass will cost £8.99/$9.99 , or £17.99/$19.99 for the Premium version.

This is a big change. For a lot of players, the Battle Pass always paid for itself. The coins you got from competing the Battle Pass covered the cost of next seasons. That meant once you purchased one Battle Pass, the rest were free for life if you completed them.

However moving forward players will always have to purchase the Battle Pass out of their own pocket. EA admit that "the decision to move from AC to real world currency is not one that we made lightly, but it does allow us to decrease the price of Premium+ for our community."

There is an offering from EA when Season 22 drops though. All players will be able to earn the first split’s Premium Battle Pass at season launch by logging in and completing a set of challenges within the first two weeks. If you purchase it and then unlock it, you will get a 1000 Apex Coins refund. That is the same amount of AC that your $8.99/$9.99 buys you.

Moving forward, EA are essentially dividing the Battle Pass into two parts. Each part has 60 levels to unlock, which makes a total of 120 levels per season. It seems that you will have to purchase both halves separately. Of course, you are getting significantly increased rewards in return for the higher cost.

The Apex Battle Pass changes roughly double a lot of the previous rewards. Players get the same amount of Apex Coins per half season that they did from the old season-long Battle Pass. There is also a big increase in the amount of Crafting Metals that you now get too.

However, one thing that is not doubling is the amount of Reactive Weapons. You get one per half, which means the same two per season. Additionally, these are no longer always going to be the same Weapon. This seems like a good change, with more weapons getting Reactive Weapon skins.

The Premium+ Track adds some extra rewards beyond just level skips. There are extra Exotic Shards, as well as extra Legend Skin Variants.

Despite this large Battle Pass overhaul, the Free track does remain for players and will also be two half season passes. That means you are getting double the free Apex Coins and Apex Packs per season. Additionally, the Free Battle Pass will have 1 Epic Character Skin, 1 Epic Weapon Skin and 1 Epic Standing Emote. These additional free rewards should soften the blow at the increased cost of the Battle Pass following these updates.

There is one casualty from the Free track from Season 22. The season specific legend Trackers will not be returning. The fully designed Legend art Trackers will still be avaliable, but "Kills in Season 22" will no longer be avaliable. EA say that these were under used, and that is why they are being retired as part of these big Apex Battle Pass updates.

Additionally, EA say that Tracker art will become agnostic—meaning you can take any art and put it on any Legend’s banner card.

What are your thoughts on these huge Apex Legends Battle Pass changes?

Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest Apex Legends Season 22 news.