Apex Legends Season 25 started off with many near-surprises for fans of the Outlands.
First, Sparrow was unlocked for free for everybody for a limited time at the very start. You don’t have to waste legend tokens on him; instead, finish the Prodigy launch challenges within the first two weeks, and voilà, you will have unlocked Sparrow.
It feels like Respawn actually cares for new or returning players, because normally, you’d grind dozens of tokens, but not this time.
If that wasn't enough, there are plenty of other stealth tweaks and surprise updates waiting for you to discover in this season. Keep on reading to know the most important ones!
Apex Legends Season 25 Changes Highlights
Here are the most important changes that will affect your Apex Legends Season 25 experience:
1. Ranked reset and rewards unlock requirements
In the Apex Legends latest patch, Ranked got two major tweaks. First, they place you at a rank based on last season’s performance, rather than shoehorning everyone into Bronze. It cuts down on the grind for veteran players. Second, you must complete 25 ranked matches to unlock season rewards, so casuals who only play a handful won’t get ranked badges or skins.
2. Weapon and legend challenges to give out free cosmetics
There are two sides to these new Prodigy challenges, the weapon side and the legend side. Weapon challenges are simple: deal 1,000 damage with the Bocek and the G7 Scout, then rack up 3,000 damage total with any marksman weapons. Rewards are the “Silent Disruption” epic Bocek skin (it’s blue, white, yellow – looks sporty), and matching Noble Bandit Sparrow trackers.
Legend challenges make you play Sparrow or Pathfinder, and you earn a “Friendly Discouragement” Pathfinder emote plus 10 battle-pass stars, the Groundbreaker and Skyward Strike badges, and a free Death by Design event pack. If you knock all them out, you get Sparrow permanently. So it’s a really good deal.
3. Death by design milestone collection event
Apex Legends Season 25 Milestone Collection
In the Apex Legends New Season, one of the legend challenge rewards is a Death by Design pack – part of Apex’s milestone collection event. That pack draws from 30 possible cosmetics, including the super-rare Pathfinder heirloom recolor (under 1% drop chance) and a G7 Scout reactive recolor (2.5%). The rest are Apex packs or exotic shards.
Odds aren’t great, but hey, it’s free, so why not try for heirloom? Also, the second part of the Prodigy launch challenges gives you another free pack, so you might get two chances without spending a dime.
4. Legend locker revival & store updates
They updated the Legend Locker this season, too. Old event skins that you missed are now buyable again for 1,800 Apex Coins each, marked with a little orange “Recently Added” tag. There’s also a green “Also Available in Store” tag so you know if it’s in a bundle elsewhere. It takes away any FOMO, since you can just buy what you missed instead of waiting months or forever.
5. Exotic shop reactive skins
Reactive Skins in Apex Legends Exotic Shop
Big change in the Exotic Shop: all Level 100 reactive battle-pass skins from Season 11 onwards are now there for 50 exotic shards each. Doesn’t include level 110 variants, but you get the original reactive versions. Since you can earn exotic shards through battle passes and events, this gives you more ways to grab rare skins without waiting ages.
6. Arenas return and tracker reactivation
They brought Arenas back as a limited-time mode, which reactivates your Arena damage, kills, and wins trackers. Those were frozen after Arenas left, so now you can build those stats again. Plus, private matches now only need six players, making mini-tournaments on maps like Overflow Encore and Drop Off actually doable. Love that tweak.
7. Pathfinder’s rework
Pathfinder got one of the biggest gameplay tweaks this season. His grapple cooldown is now variable – short swings give a 10-second cooldown, long ones up to 30 seconds. It’s so much smoother than the flat 30-second timer from before. And they gave him new level-3 perks: either a second tactical charge or an extra ultimate charge. So you can double-grapple or double-zipline, depending on your playstyle. Adds nice flexibility to his kit.
His ultimate now includes Zipline Zen, meaning everyone riding his zipline takes 50% less damage. Previously, using ziplines felt risky, but now it’s safer for rotations or escapes. But note Skirmisher weapons no longer refresh tacticals on knockdowns, so you can’t abuse that old combo. Overall, Pathfinder feels self-sufficient and resilient, which is cool but also a bit OP if you ask me.
8. Spitfire inspect animation
Tiny polish here: the Spitfire’s inspect animation got updated. Instead of a quick two-spin, you now get a proper close-up of the gun. Doesn’t change gameplay, but makes weapons feel more premium.
9. New bundles: Sparrow & Wraith
Sparrow Bundle in Apex Legends
Two fresh bundles dropped, too. First, the Sparrow Launch Bundle includes the Noble Bandit Sparrow skin, matching Bocek, a skydive emote, and a banner frame for 3,500 coins. Pricey, I know, but it’s thematic, so some collectors will love it. Second in the Apex Legends Season 25 skins line up is the Rift Hunter Wraith Bundle – pink superhero vibes, a reactive crossbow, and a universal banner. This one’s also optional splurge territory, won’t break the game if you skip it.
10. Animation lock-in & future updates
Lastly, select animations are now skin-locked. If you equip the “Untouchable” Pathfinder skin, you can’t use the original select animation, and vice versa. It’s frustrating to mix your favorite clips, but it fits Respawn’s approach to make each bundle feel unique. They say more universal animations will come later, so maybe it will get better.
Season 25’s hidden tweaks are a mix of player-friendly and monetization moves. Free legend unlocks and cosmetic challenges reward everyone, while new bundles and skin locks keep coins flowing.
Major balance patches are saved for the mid-season split on June 23, but these under-the-radar changes already shape how you jump into Season 25.