Apex Legends Raiders collection event: what to expect

While Winter was rapidly approaching, Apex Legends decided to release a tropical island map. Thankfully, Winter is finally here and it’s time to jump into the Raiders collection event for some Wintertime fun! 

Hello there, Legends!

From December 7th to December 21st, the Raiders collection event will be running along with everyone’s favorite Winter Limited Time Mode, Winter Express! 

Like all collection events, the Raiders collection event brings a lot of new cosmetics to the game and to those who like to collect them all, a new Heirloom. While her pick rate is super low and she feels a bit neglected balance-wise, Wattson finally gets her Heirloom.

‘Tis the season to be jolly, mateys!

=While it’s a Christmas event, the Raiders collection event keeps up with the current theme of Season 11 and brings lots of pirate-themed skins for the Legends. Since we’re now fighting on a tropical island, everyone gets to bring out the pirate in them. From Blackbeard to a literal compass, the new skins add multiple references and a vibrant new color scheme to Apex Legends.

Along with the unlockables, there’s also an event pass where you can earn points to unlock prizes which include, but not limited to, a Ratto charm! Ash’s companion rat, nicknamed Ratto by the G-Loot writers, now appears on your weapons with a Pilot’s Data Knife in hand. Just how powerful is this rat? 

As in tradition, the Raiders collection event brings 24 new cosmetics to the game and you can get Wattson’s Heirloom by unlocking them all. 

(Image: Respawn Entertainment)

Step aside Wraith; Revenant is the new skin lord

Okay, calling Revenant a “skin lord” surely signs my own death sentence. But lately, all Revenant skins have been fan favorites. In this event, Revenant gets to be Blackbeard, the Simulacrum menace of the Seven Seas! But this doesn’t mean Wraith is not getting a cool skin. As always, Wraith receives another very good-looking skin with the Raiders collection event. 

“Yarrrrrr, skinbags!” - Revenant, probably (Image: Respawn Entertainment)

While not an entirely theme-changing skin like Revenant’s, fans are already swooning over Valkyrie’s new look. Coupled with a fitting Wingman skin, Valkyrie gets a makeover in her own style. 

Pictured: Everyone’s favorite sake-drinking & jetpacking Legend. (Image: Respawn Entertainment)

All aboard the Winter Express!

While Legends are deciding which pirate costume to put on, the Winter Express arrives to take everyone on a ride of their life. Winter Express is a limited-time game mode where three squads battle over the control of the train. It’s like a king of the hill game, but the hill is on rails and moves through World’s Edge. In this game mode, the announcer is Mirage as he cannot exist too far away from a party. Just be careful not to crash another transportation vehicle, Mirage.

In the previous iteration of the Winter Express, players picked their Legend and received random loadouts at the start of the match. This year, players get to pick a loadout before the match begins. This change might take away a bit from the randomized nature of the mode, but it will surely create a lot of jolly moments for everyone to enjoy.

“All aboard! Hahahahahahahaha!” - Ozzy Osbourne, probably not talking about the Winter Express. (Image: Respawn Entertainment)

Since the Raiders collection event will end on December 21st, the Winter Express event is also expected to end on that date. Considering the fact that this is a Christmas-themed game mode, players are already raising their voices for it to be extended into the holidays.

The Winter Express limited-time game mode will also create a sense of nostalgia for the players who got to see the older versions of World’s Edge, where a train moved through it. 

Wattson, the protector of all Nessies!

Wattson finally gets her Heirloom in the shape of a device called the Energy Reader. To be completely honest, I don’t know how it will work. Heirloom weapons almost always end up being used to hit people in the face, so this delicate electronic device might work in a different, surprising way. Hitting people on the head with the device could also feel great, but not exactly a thing that prolongs the life of said device.

The Energy Reader has Wattson’s signature cute accessories on it. (Image: Respawn Entertainment)

Wattson, we need some calibrations over here!

With this event, some bug fixes and balance changes were also announced. Here are some of the important changes this patch will bring:

Legend Fixes:

• Wattson: Fixed the issue with fences “sticking” when trying to place a node near a fence.

• Wattson: Fixed bug for cases where Wattson’s Fence nodes ignored player collision. 

• Wattson: Fixed bug with the blueprint line not showing up to signify where the fence will be created.

• Wattson: Fixed issue where Caustic’s Ultimate isn’t zapped by the Interception Pylon.

• Wattson: Fixed bug where Arc Stars could stick to and damage the Interception Pylon

• Ash: Based on feedback, we’ve increased the audio presence of Ash’s Ultimate.

• Ash will no longer “bleed” when shot and now displays sparks [like Pathfinder and Revenant].

• Valkyrie / Revenant: Fixed a bug where using a Skydive with Death Totem at a specific time caused Valkyrie’s skydive to enter a bugged state.

Once again, Wattson gets many bug fixes about her abilities. The Interception Pylon not intercepting incoming projectiles is a timeless classic, and it’s apparently still there. While Ash players, including myself, were generally uncomfortable with how difficult it is to see the target indicator for Ash’s ultimate ability, it doesn’t seem to be addressed in this patch. Instead, Ash’s ultimate gets the volume of its sound effect increased to prevent sneak attacks. She also no longer bleeds due to being a Simulacrum. Then again, Ash bleeding when damaged had some symbolism around it.

The Apex shop will have some new and some returning skins during the event. (Image: Respawn Entertainment)

General Fixes:

• Fixed issue with a spot on Storm Point where players could camp in unintended areas near Command Center.

• Based on feedback we’ve reduced the SFX on reactive skins for the Volt.

• Fixed bug where players could skydive faster after spamming Ping.

Mainly, these issues solve some of the general balance problems that currently exist in the game. I’m sure there were times you wondered how those teams managed to reach the ground so faster than you, looks like we have our answer to that question.

Balance Changes:

Seer will receive a small buff where the detonation time of his Tactical Ability, Focus of Attention, is decreased from 1.6 seconds to 1.4 seconds. Seer was quickly nerfed to put him in a more balanced position among the other Legends, but he currently has one of the lowest pick rates. So a small buff might push him higher in the pick rate ladder.

Arc Star is being nerfed. As it’s a bit too overpowered as an opener if you manage to stick it on an opponent, the Arc Star’s damage is getting nerfed while some of its previous functions are returning. The stick damage is lowered from 30 to 10, while the shield damage multiplier is increased from 3x to 4x. So now, when you stick an Arc Star on an opponent, the maximum shield damage they will take is 40. When the Arc Star explodes, it deals its regular damage; no nerfs on that. To balance this, sticking an Arc Star on an opponent once again applies a slow debuff. This is a buff on two different functions. If you’re the one throwing the Arc Star, the slow effect will help you take down opponents easier. If you’re the one that got hit with the Arc Star, the slow effect will help you realize the situation you’re in. Since the slow debuff was removed, a lot of players were unable to realize they had an Arc Star stuck on them during the heat of battle.

And the last but definitely not the least change of all: the New Custom Reticle Color System

You can now customize the color of your weapon’s reticle to be able to see it easily. Under the gameplay tab of the Options menu, you can customize your reticle to fit your needs. The new customization option presents a huge variety for players, allowing you to set the RGB and brightness rates for your reticle. This way, you can create the perfect reticle for your playstyle. You can also test your reticle on four different backgrounds provided in the customization screen.

No more being unable to see your reticle means one less excuse not to improve yourself. (Image: Respawn Entertainment)

Conclusion

The Raiders collection event looks like one of the best cosmetic events in recent Apex Legends history. On the 7th of December, prepare to change the colors of your Legends and your playstyle. And while you can attend Apex Legends events to improve your style, you can always use the G-Loot app to improve your performance to climb the ranks and become the Apex Predator.

See you on the hunting grounds, Legends.