Season 1 of Apex Legends launched on March 20 and, alongside the first wave of cosmetic items for players to grind out as part of the Battle Pass, developer Respawn Entertainment also introduced a new character called Octane. While most assumed that Respawn was planning to release one character per season, it seems that isn't the case and another Legend will be made available before Season 1 is over.

That's according to a listing for the Apex Legends Season 1 Battle Pass on the PlayStation Store, which references a second new character and a weapon. "Two new characters will launch over the course of the season," it reads. "But in the meantime, look out for a new weapon set to launch as the season progresses. Best of all, each new Legend and weapon will launch with a full set of cosmetics to unlock. Two new items will be introduced during the season that will offer something new and innovative to the strategic mix."

The first of the two new characters mentioned in the PlayStation Store listing is Octane, who is available now. Thus far, the only new weapon introduced is the Havoc assault rifle, which became available in February. Currently, there are no further details on what the new weapon is. Although the same can be said for the second new character, dataminers may have given us some indication of who's next. They found the names of a number of characters in Apex Legends' code and among them was Octane, indicating that Respawn may be picking from this pool of Legends.

Following the datamining leak, however, Respawn took to Reddit to advise the Apex community not to believe everything they see. "There's lots of stuff that has been datamined from Apex since launch and is swirling around the Internet," said community manager Jay Frechette. "We know this stuff is fun to dig up and speculate about, but you should not treat any of that info as a source of truth.

"There's stuff in there that is very old, or things we've tried in the past and cut--remember our design process is to prototype and play lots of ideas--and some of it may be things we're still building for Apex Legends. Finding this stuff by no means confirms that it'll ever come out. At best you should treat any posts about this as a rumor and the real info will come from us when we’re ready to show off what’s coming next."

With the release of Season 1: Wild Frontier and its optional battle pass, you're no may be thinking about sinking some money into the game. However, there is a way to get the Apex Legends Battle Pass for half off, and it's pretty easy to do.

The first new addition to Apex Legends' character roster is here along with its first season and its first battle pass. There are a lot of cool things coming with the battle pass, but the biggest addition to the game is Octane, its newest character. Octane changes up the game with a focus on adrenaline--he's a character who benefits from moving fast, sacrificing health for speed. He can also change up the battlefield by getting characters into places they couldn't previously reach, and when facing him, expect to be looking up, since he can help enemy players descend on you from above. As with all the other characters, Octane also comes with a batch of cool skins.

Octane is an aggressive character, so if you're going to use him, expect to be in the fight a lot. He should operate similarly to Wraith, Bangalore, and Mirage, allowing you to close distance quickly with his speed abilities. It sounds like while Wraith and Mirage are positioned more as flanking characters who distract enemies, Octane operates more like Bangalore as a front-line fighter. His abilities should make him tougher to hit, and when you do take damage, you'll likely be able to deal with it more easily.

Like other characters, Octane packs three abilities: one passive, one activated by a button push, and one ultimate that takes a long time to charge up. Octane's active ability lets him boost his speed at the cost of his health, increasing his movement speed by 30% for six seconds. That allows you to jet around the battlefield, drawing fire or flanking enemies while being much tougher to hit. To counteract the fact that Octane is the only character who sacrifices his own health for his abilities, his passive ability slowly regenerates at a rate of one health point every two seconds. That should also help in tough battle situations if you're able to hide or get to safety, but you're short on healing items.

For an ultimate, Octane's ability should change a lot of battles. He can drop a launch pad on the ground that springs players through the air, allowing you to send your teammates flying in on enemy positions, or giving you a chance to bounce out of the battle and back to safety. The verticality is going to mean players will need to get used to looking up more when Octane is on the battlefield, since you never know when death might be descending from above.

We'll have more coverage of Octane coming soon, including a full guide on how to use him most effectively. Until then, check out our other character guides, as well as our Apex Legends pro tips and a rundown of things the game doesn't tell you.

Now that Respawn has shared more details on the new character, Octane, and the first Apex Legends battle pass, it's confirmed that the battle pass doesn't feature any Fortnite-style challenges. In a blog post, Respawn said it might consider adding challenges or quests in future battle passes, but not in the first one because the studio wanted to instead give players more time to learn and experiment with the initial roster of characters.

"You'll notice the first version isn't built around a complex quest system where you need to do a 720 backflip off of Watchtower Artemis and get two Wingman headshots before hitting the ground," Respawn said in a sentence that appears to be referencing Fortnite. "While we think there’s really cool design space in quests and challenges for future Battle Passes, we wanted the initial version to allow our players to just play and learn the game."

While there are no challenges in the first Apex Legends battle pass, which is called the Wild Frontier Battle Pass, there is a progression system that rewards players who try out a number of different characters. "This season is about exploring the new meta and variety of team comps driven by the launch of our first new Legend, Octane," Respawn said.

Respawn also confirmed that almost everything in Apex Legends' first battle pass will be forever exclusive to Season 1. The only exception is that Apex Packs will be available every season, and their content won't be exclusive to any one season.

Looking ahead, Respawn said you can expect future Apex Legends battle passes to include more "improvements, updates, and tweaks." The studio teased that it has a "lot of cool ideas in the works," and you can expect those to release over time.

Apex Legends' Wild Frontier Battle Pass arrives on March 19, marking the start of the game's first season. Just as in Fortnite, the Battle Pass costs 950 Apex Coins--roughly $10--and allows you to unlock a wide range of skins, cosmetics, and other rewards as you level it up throughout the season. 

Even if you don't want to shell out money for it, however, you'll be able to unlock some items for free.

As EA confirmed on the Apex Legends website, all players will be able to earn a handful of free rewards during Season 1. These include one Wild Frontier Legend skin, five Apex Packs, and 18 Wild Frontier stat trackers. If you do decide to spring for a Battle Pass partway through the season, you'll also retroactively unlock any items you would have earned, so you won't need to worry about missing out on the rewards.

Of course, those who do purchase the Battle Pass will have access to even more goodies. Respawn is offering 100 tiers of rewards to unlock throughout the season, ranging from character and weapon skins to XP boosts, banner frames, and other cosmetic items. You'll also earn up to 1,000 Apex Coins through the Battle Pass, which would allow you to get Season 2's pass for free.

If you want to get a head start on the rewards, EA is also selling a Battle Pass bundle for 2,800 Apex Coins, which will automatically unlock the first 25 tiers. You can also get some free Apex Coins by signing up for EA/Origin Access, effectively giving you a discount on the Battle Pass. You can read more about how the Apex Legends Battle Pass works here.

Alongside the Season 1 Battle Pass, Respawn is releasing Apex Legends' newest playable character, Octane, on March 19. However, he's not included as part of the Battle Pass, but rather needs to be purchased separately from Legends' in-game store. Like Mirage and Caustic, he can be unlocked for 12,000 Legend Tokens or 750 Apex Coins.

Respawn is kicking off the first season of its new battle royale game, Apex Legends, tomorrow on March 19 with the release of the Season 1 Battle Pass. That's also the day when the game's newest playable Legend, Octane, will arrive--but you'll need to purchase him separately if you're hoping to try him out.

Despite being promoted heavily alongside Apex Legends' Season 1 Battle Pass, Respawn has confirmed that Octane will not be included as part of it. Rather, like Mirage and Caustic, he'll be sold through the in-game store for 12,000 Legend Tokens or 750 Apex Coins. The former currency can be earned through gameplay, while the latter is purchased using real-world money. However, you can get some free Apex Coins by signing up for EA/Origin Access.

Ahead of Octane's release, Respawn has shared some more details about the new Legend on the PlayStation Blog. Outfitted with metal legs after blowing his off during a "record-breaking gauntlet speed-run," Octane is a thrill-seeker who uses "death-defying moves." With his Adrenaline Junkie ability, Octane is able to exchange health for speed, and his Ultimate--Launch Pad--can send the squad flying through the air.

While this marks the first time Octane has officially been confirmed, players have known about him for several weeks now. The character's existence had been previously been leaked, most credibly when an image of him appeared on the Origin website. Respawn also teased his impending arrival by placing his jump pads in the game near Market.

Like Fortnite's Battle Pass, the Apex Legends Season 1 Pass costs 950 Apex Coins (roughly $10). Through it, players will be able to unlock 100 tiers of cosmetic rewards, including character and weapon skins, banner frames, and more. You'll also be able to earn enough Apex Coins to pay for Season 2's Battle Pass. You can read more about how the Apex Legends Battle Pass works here.

Since its release in early February, Apex Legends has already exploded in popularity with player counts in the millions, and the free-to-play battle royale game from Respawn is about to hit its next milestone: the release of its first season and optional battle pass. Season 1: Wild Frontier will release March 19 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET, and you'll be able to pick up its battle pass immediately. Everyone who plays during the first season will also be able to unlock the Wild Frontier skin, five Apex packs, and 18 Wild Frontier stat trackers for free.

The standard battle pass will cost you 950 Apex Coins. There's also a battle pass bundle available for 2,800 Apex coins, which instantly unlocks your next 25 levels of rewards. However, if the regular battle pass is enough for you, there's a way to get it for way cheaper: by signing up for one month of EA Access (Xbox One) or Origin Basic Access (PC), which each cost only $5 per month. There's currently no equivalent option for PS4.

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.

Respawn surprise-launched Apex Legends, which quickly rocketed to higher player counts than many competitors in the battle royale genre. From the start, though, the studio acknowledged it was planning to produce regular seasons with an optional battle pass, and now that launch is about to arrive. The studio has released some details, and accidentally leaked others, giving us an altogether pretty clear idea of what to expect. And as of March 15, it even seems to be teasing one of its major additions--the new character Octane--in the game.

Apex Legends is doing very well for itself as the newest contender in the battle royale space, and now you can parlay those battlefield skills into a college education. Becker College has announced a scholarship program tied to an upcoming esports event, which will allow top-performing players to receive $5,000 for schooling.

Becker has partnered with Team Genji and Helix Esports for the program. Helix is hosting an Apex Legends amateur tournament in New Jersey in early April, and Team Genji will be on-site to perform analytics. Those who score among the top players at the tournament can claim the one-time scholarship at Becker, if they apply and are admitted to the college. Eligible finalists will be invited to apply, so there will be no ambiguity whether or not you made the cut.

Apex Legends is doing very well for itself as the newest contender in the battle royale space, and now you can parlay those battlefield skills into a college education. Becker College has announced a scholarship program tied to an upcoming esports event, which will allow top-performing players to receive $5,000 for schooling.

Becker has partnered with Team Genji and Helix Esports for the program. Helix is hosting an Apex Legends amateur tournament in New Jersey in early April, and Team Genji will be on-site to perform analytics. Those who score among the top players at the tournament can claim the one-time scholarship at Becker, if they apply and are admitted to the college. Eligible finalists will be invited to apply, so there will be no ambiguity whether or not you made the cut.

Scholarship recipients will also be given a try-out for Becker's own Apex Legends team, which will begin competing in Fall 2019. You can read more details and sign up through the official site.

Respawn is planning to launch the first Apex Legends battle pass in March, though it hasn't given a release date yet. We did get an apparent sneak peek at what it will consist of, though, given an accidental update to the Origin site. That showed a new hero named Octane, and suggested the battle pass will be priced at 950 Apex Coins (roughly $10). Respawn acknowledged that the leak was legitimate, but warned against putting too much stock in information gleaned from data mining.

Meanwhile, the studio banned hundreds of thousands of cheaters, and said it has no plans for a reconnect feature--in part because of its potential for abuse by cheaters.