Apex Legends reveals Series 1 ranked rewards, includes badges, trails

With only a few weeks left of Season 2, Respawn Entertainment announced its rewards for Apex Legends ranked play in Series 1. 

This update was first revealed at the Apex Legends Preseason Invitational. 

“Earn your rank and enjoy the spoils of battle with all-new ranked rewards,” Apex Legend’s official Twitter account declared. 

Players who competed in Series 1 will earn a weapon charm and a badge indicating their highest rank reached to date. The rank rewards also feature some skydive trails. Players who battled their way to the two highest ranks, Diamond and Apex Predator, will also be rewarded with a lightning trail, which will further set them apart from those in Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. 

Season 3’s Battle Pass, Fire and Ice, was leaked earlier this month. This gave players a glimpse of what the next season will have in store in October. Now, there’s even more hints that Season 3 will also have a much bigger focus on competitive play. 

Apex Legends Season 3 to focus on competitive

The ranked rewards appear to be motivation to perform well in ranked mode, which is a step towards Respawn’s focus on competitive going forward. 

Video game outlets have reported that Respawn Entertainment’s public relations team has sent quite a telling email to reporters looking to get their hands on the Season 3 preview. 

“Competition will be high and we ask that you send your best Champion of the Arena to battle it out with players who’ve climbed up ranked mode over the last six months,” reads the email. 

This gives fans hope that Season 3 will not only have more focus on competitive game modes, but that more official tournaments will soon begin cropping up. The battle royale title is still considered to be a newcomer on the competitive esports side of gaming.

The aforementioned Invitational is one of the first major tournaments for the game, but has already proven to be quite successful. Many major esports organizations attended the event, and Team SoloMid ended up taking home the $105,000 of the $500,000 prize pool for their victory. 

TwitchCon will also be hosting a big Apex Legends tournament as well, starting on September 27. And it looks like Season 3 will be the start of even more major competitive events, both in and out of the game. 

Right before the Invitational, 100 Thieves dropped their Apex Legends roster. No reason was given, but other organizations had also done the same leading up to the event. For a while, Apex Legend’s future in esports seemed bleak, possibly following in the fateful foosteps of Call of Duty’s Blackout.

But with these upcoming tournaments and hints at Season 3 focusing on competitive modes, it appears Respawn may have learned from Blackout’s lack of a competitive scene.