Over the past five years, Apex Legends has seen numerous changes, but if I had to highlight one of the best upgrades to the gameplay experience, it would undoubtedly be the introduction of EVO Shields.
Initially introduced as an event item in Season 4, EVO Shields quickly became a staple, eventually replacing normal body shields in Season 6. This transition was solidified in Season 9 with the “Starter Kit” update, where players started with a white EVO Shield, white helmet, white knockdown shield, two shield cells, and two syringes.
EVO Shields Get Massive Overhaul
Despite this change, you could still find the same or higher-level armor on the ground, giving you an upper hand in fights right from the start. However, things are changing with Apex Legends Season 20. The first major change in the upcoming season is that armor will no longer spawn as floor loot.
Every player will now start with a white EVO Shield, which they will need to upgrade as they progress through the game. One of the main reasons for this change is the introduction of the new “Legends Upgrade” system in Season 20. Additionally, Respawn believes that removing shields as lootable items will reduce the randomness (or RNG) in the early game, which is crucial in a battle royale game like Apex Legends.
You might be wondering how this change will affect your gameplay. Will upgrading EVO Shields be more challenging? During the virtual briefing, I had similar concerns, but the dev team quickly addressed them.
Although the EVO XP requirement for each armor tier has been significantly increased, the game now introduces new methods to earn EVO points aside from dealing damage to other players. These non-combat methods include using new EVO Harvesters, finding EVO Caches in drops, assisting teammates, and performing actions such as scanning beacons or opening bins in-game.
This shift is going to significantly alter the gameplay experience, especially since players will need to actively work to upgrade their armor and unlock perks. With the basics covered, let’s address the most pressing question that sweaty Wraiths and movement players might have.
As per the official blog post, “Legend Upgrades and Armor will only affect Battle Royale modes (Pubs, Ranked, and Comp). Mixtape modes will not feature upgrades and will continue to use Body Shields this season.”
Now, with armor no longer available as floor loot, how does shield swapping function in Apex Legends Season 20? Here’s the answer.
Shield Cores and Overcharge in Apex Legends
Armor swapping is still a feature in the game, but it has undergone some changes. Body shields have been replaced with a new lootable item called Shield Core. Your in-game armor is now “powered by a Shield Core.”
When looting a body, you will now see these Shield Cores instead of body shields. They will indicate the charge of a player’s armor, which is essentially the same concept as before. The color of the Shield Core corresponds to the amount of damage it can absorb. For example, a blue Shield Core can absorb 75HP damage, and so on.
In the current version of the game, you can select armor swaps based on the remaining EVO needed for the next tier, indicated by small red and green arrows. However, this no longer applies in Season 20.
In Season 20, if you pick up a Shield Core with the same or lower level as your current armor, it will bring your shield to that player’s charge level. However, if you pick up a Shield Core with a higher level than your current armor, a new feature called “Overcharge” will come into play.
Think of the Overcharge feature like the temporary shields you get from Conduit’s Tactical ability. It provides a temporary shield pool that will decay over time (lasts for 30 seconds), bringing the armor back to its maximum capacity. To match the core’s level, you’ll need to gain EVO. While this may seem confusing at first, it should start to make sense once you try out these changes.
Moreover, Shield Cores can be dropped or exchanged for other cores at any moment. This means you can still collect cores instead of shield swaps to gain an advantage over your enemies in-game. What are your views on these EVO changes? Do you think they’re good or bad? Let us know in the comments below.
0 Comments