Grab your Hoverboard for the Winter Wipeout Event

Table of Contents

• Winter Wipeout Event
  • Hoverboard Wild Card
  • Legend Updates
  • Event Items
  • Reward Shop
• Patch Notes

Winter Wipeout Event

Suit up and hit the slopes, the Winter Wipeout Event is live! 

Carve across Olympus on new Hoverboards, unleash new Wild Cards, and check out big Legend updates for Octane, Crypto, and Newcastle.

The Winter Wipeout Event runs from January 6-27. (*Please note: after the event ends, items will continue to be available in the shop until 2/10)

WILDCARD: HOVERBOARDS & MORE

Drop into Wildcard and shred Olympus with new Hoverboards! Carve across cover, wall-ride out of danger, and throw down tricks mid-air for sweet, sweet EVO rewards. 

Start the match with a Hoverboard in your Survival Item slot, and keep it through every respawn, adding mobility to every fight. The hoverboard includes a bunch of abilities, including aerial tricks for EVO rewards, wall riding, and a ramming attack!

Here’s everything your shiny new Hoverboard can do:

• Double Jump - Tap jump while midair to jump again!
• Wall Ride - Ride on any vertical surface as long as you maintain a high enough speed. Jump off the wall to perform a Wall Ride trick.
• High Fall - Hit the ground from a massive drop and gain even more speed.
• Zipline Jump - Mount a zipline while on the hoverboard to move even quicker. Jump off of any zipline and get a boost of speed in any direction.
• EVO Combos - The more tricks you perform in quick succession, the higher your evo reward is. We are definitely judging your style.
• Ramming Speed - If you are going fast enough, you can ram enemy opponents to damage them. More speed means more damage and knockback.
• Slides - Slide to preserve more momentum and take sharper turns. Even more effective when going down slopes. 
• Dealing heavy damage to enemies riding a hoverboard will kick them off of it.

NEW WILD CARDS

Bury the competition with new Wild Cards: 

• Brain Freeze - Headshots do additional damage and greatly slow opponents.
• Love Potion - When using a consumable, nearby teammates receive the same health.
• Protective Launch - When taking any jump pad, players gain a small shield regen.

And some existing Wild Cards are staying in rotation: 

• Go-Go Ammo
• Fast Draw
• Burning Rubber
• Speedy Charge
• Stowed Reload
• Extra Zippy 
• The Quick and the Dead
• Get Up and Go
• Drone Support
• Smoke Out

LEGEND UPDATES

Three Legends are getting a major facelift! 

Go full speed demon with Octane’s improved passive healing and reworked Stim ability, become the ghost in the machine with Crypto’s stealthy firmware update, and pull off even more clutch revives with buffs to Newcastle.

See all the changes down in the patch notes.

EVENT ITEMS

Channel your winter sports aesthetic with Legendary Skins for Bloodhound, Alter, Fuse, Mad Maggie, Gibraltar, and Newcastle, plus matching weapons, all available as possible drops in Winter Wipeout Event Packs.

Horizon ventures into the void of space and wields the power of a quasar with the new Apex Stellaris Prestige Skin and Finisher animation.

All items will be available in exchange for Apex Coins or Crafting Metals and may also drop in Winter Wipeout Event Packs† for the duration of the event. Each Winter Wipeout Event Pack contains one event item and two standard items, and there are no duplicates of event items in these packs.

REWARD SHOP

Earn Glint throughout the event to unlock Winter Wipeout items from the Reward Shop. Earn up to 1750 Glint per day by completing daily event challenges, then check out the Winter Wipeout Reward Shop to redeem them for rewards, including an Epic Wattson Skin, Event Packs, and more. Offerings will rotate halfway through the event.

STORE TAB

Explore the limited-time Winter Wipeout Event Store to directly purchase or craft any Legendary Character Skins from the Event until February 10.

PATCH NOTES

BALANCE UPDATES

Active Gold Weapon Rotation

We cycle our gold weapons between releases to keep the loot pool feeling fresh and to showcase weapon changes. This season the rotation includes the R-301 and Rampage to highlight their balance updates and the Triple Take to celebrate its return to floor loot at the start of the season. 

• R-99 SMG, R-301 Carbine, Mastiff Shotgun, Triple Take, and Rampage LMG

GAME UPDATES

Respawn Beacons

Dev Note: Over the years we have worked towards making respawning more accessible in the BR. We feel like this change will address a major pain point that has been felt in the respawning loop, “Why is the closest respawn beacon on the other side of the map?” Mobile Respawn Beacons remain unchanged (single use).

• Map placed Respawn Beacons can now be used once per team (previously once per game).

Extended Supply Bins & Weapon Supply Bins

Dev Note: We previously increased the spawn rate of extended & weapon supply bins when we removed the icons from the map so that they still felt consistent. Now that the icons have returned, we are seeing a few too many, so we are bringing that number back down.

• Reduced the spawn rate of extended and weapon supply bins.

LEGENDS

OCTANE

We did not forget! Since his release, movement in Apex Legends has become more dynamic with dashes, jumps, glides and jets. Octane needed something special to be the "run and gun" icon that he is meant to be. As Octane is a risk taking adrenaline chaser, we did not want to just throw away his health cost either. Instead we wanted to add a payoff by enabling his abilities to be stronger the less health he has. Octane is all about going fast and living dangerously - so go get 'em Octane mains!

Passive

• Swift Mend now heals more the less HP you have. 
  • Swift Mend base healing increased from 1.5 HPS to 3.0 HPS
  • Swift Mend max healing heals for 9 HPS

TACTICAL - STIM SURGE

• Added a new ability for Octane Stim Surge: If Octane uses his tactical again, while stim is already active, he uses a new mixture which grants him Fortified, triggers Swift Mend, and allows Swift Mend to continue healing through damage.

• Stim Surge lasts 6s

• Costs 0 HP to use

• Reapplies Stim effect for entire duration

• Has a 20s cooldown but does not put Stim on cooldown

• Fortified reduces damage by 15% and grants immunity to bullet slow

• Players can hold tac button to automatically buffer Stim Surge

Dev Note: It's very easy for Octane to run into danger faster than he should. Stim Surge gives Octane more agency to survive in those situations so he can hold W confidently.

TACTICAL - STIM

• While stimmed, Octane can sprint and use consumables.
• Reduce the time before Octane can reuse his Stim from 1.8s to 0.7s
• Stim speed increased by 5%

Dev Note: Going slow is for everyone else, not Octane. Healing while sprinting lets Octane maintain his tempo at the cost of consumables and gives him elusiveness in close quarter fights.

ULTIMATE

• Incorporated Mad Hops and Aerial Agility into the base kit.
  • JumpPad now has two charges
  • JumpPad has improved handling when double jumping
• JumpPads are useable immediately after hitting the ground

UPGRADES

Four new upgrades to replace all the base upgrades 

• Thick Skin: Stim costs 10 less health to use
• Squad Rush: Everyone who uses your JumpPad gains Stim on land
• Daredevil: Gain fast reload on shield cracks and increase Stim Surge duration the less HP you have
• Triple Jump: Gain a third jump from JumpPads

Dev Notes: Octane was previously a fairly selfish pick. With the Ultimate changes, Squad Rush and Triple Jump, Octane can flex into strong team-wide mobility for coordinated teams comps.

NEWCASTLE

Newcastle is in an interesting spot right now. He's chosen rarely in matchmaking but in ALGS, he is a top tier Legend. We wanted to make him more enticing without making him over powered in coordinated play. By incorporating all his speed upgrades into his base kit, it opened up space to create new upgrades that give him stronger rez plays. It felt right that in a season where the OG pub stomper Octane is coming back that a "pub savior" be around to protect the team.

PASSIVE

• Incorporate Heroes Hustle into base kit
  • Movement speed penalty reduced from 25% to 75%

TACTICAL

• Incorporate Swift Shield into base kit
  • Movement speed increased from 160 to 250

UPGRADES

Two new upgrades to replace Swift Shield and Heroes Hustle

• Stronghold moves down to replace Heroes Hustle
• Ready To Rumble: Reviving a player auto loads Newcastle's weapons and triggers full regen. (Replaces Swift Shield)
• Defensive Line: Tactical and Revive Shield knocks back enemies once (Replaces Stronghold)

CRYPTO

Crypto's pick rate tells us he's in a spot where he needs our attention. There were many quality of life buffs we found to make him feel better, help him catch up to his squad, and give him more play potential.

PASSIVE

• Crypto gains long range Threat Vision while piloting his drone
• Satellite Imagery incorporated into base kit
  • Increase duration of scan by 1.5s
  • Receive a short scan on EMP

Dev Note: We wanted to emphasize Crypto's recon class while actively piloting his drone. Information is very valuable so with more scans and callouts, we are hoping your team will appreciate you being in the drone more.

TACTICAL

• Reduced time to launch drone from 1.3 to 0.7s
• Reduced time to reenter drone from 0.4 to 0.2s
• Reduced animation frame that Crypto reenters drone from 7 to 2
• Drone can collect EVO Harvesters
• Crypto can now enter and exit drone while using Ziplines
• Off the Grid Incorporated into base kit
  • Crypto cloaks while piloting his drone

Dev Note: With these changes Crypto should have less "dead time" where he is either locked out of his drone or stuck in it. It should feel more seamless to enter and exit your drone making it less cumbersome overall. Lastly, giving Crypto more freedom to enter the drone, and incorporating Off the Grid into the base kit, unlocks some pretty sneaky tech for him!

UPGRADES

Two new upgrades to replace Off the Grid and Satellite Imagery.

• Ally.MoveTo(): Crypto can Trailblaze to all allies. (Replaces Off the Grid)
• Power Coupling: Crypto gains Ultimate charge from using scan beacons and scanning enemies with his drone (Replaces Satellite Imagery)

REVENANT

Small adjustment to Revenant so that victims have a little more time to react to being cracked before an ulted up Rev lands them.

TACTICAL

• Increased max charge duration from 1.3 to 1.7s

ULTIMATE

• Increased Ult time 2.0 to 2.2s (10% slower to deploy)

LOOT & ATTACHMENTS

AMPS

Infinite Ammo

Dev Note: Infinite Ammo was underused compared to its counterparts, so we are giving it some love to bring it into the conversation.

• Infinite Ammo Amp now applies to Care Package weapons

WEAPONS

AR

The R-301 and the Flatline are the bread and butter of Apex weaponry. And for a long time, that was all anyone ordered. After a while, though, we all want some spice. So while R-301 and Flatine have remained classics, other weapons have become more powerful and eclipsed them. These changes to the R-301 and Flatine, while small, should get them back on the menu.

VK-47 Flatline

• Damage increased to 20 (was 19)

R-301 Carbine

• Damage increased to 15 (was 14)

LMG

Rampage

The Rampage Revved state drained a tad fast when not firing. This change should allow you to hold that charge a little longer while you get to the fight.

• Increased energize duration to 120 seconds (was 90 seconds)
• Total number of shots while Revved slightly increased

LSTAR

• Increased initial projectile size
• Increased projectile size over distance

PISTOL

RE-45 Burst

• Improved recoil
• Increased projectile size at close range

SHOTGUN

Mozambique

• Increased projectile size at close range

SMG

The adjustment to the burst delay last season hit the Prowler a little harder than intended, so we are rolling that back. Additionally, we feel the reward for unlocking the Selectfire Receiver just doesn’t hit quite hard enough, so we are boosting the weapon’s power while using Selectfire.

Prowler PDW

• Decreased burst delay
• Damage increased to 17 while using Selectfire (was 16)

MAPS

Olympus

We’ve been monitoring your feedback on Olympus, and have found several opportunities for targeted QOL improvements. Players experiencing FPS drops on Olympus should see improvements in this update. We’ve also heard your feedback around Elysium’s new location creating a forced contest with Somers University, and are investigating a solution for a future release.

• Adjusted collision on pipes at Gravity Engine for smoother movement
• Adjusted arsenal placement at Somers University
• Adjusted arsenal placement at Gravity Engine and added additional arsenal
• Added arsenal to Elysium
• Adjusted ramps at the MAZE zipline exits for smoother interactions with movement tech
• Increased amount of loot at center of Somers University
• Added additional cover and loot on the upper platforms at Dockyard
• Added additional ziplines to reach the upper platforms at Dockyard
• Added beacon and ring console to Stabilizer
• Fixed inaccurate floor collision at the outer bridge at Stabilizer
• Optimized performance in several areas of the map
• Added and adjusted cover in several areas of the map
• Adjusted the Ranked drop zone location for Turbine to drop players inside the POI instead of the exterior

Pubs

•  Olympus
•  Storm Point
•  Kings Canyon

Ranked

• Olympus
• Storm Point
• E-District

Mixtape

• 1/6/26 - 2/9/26
  • TDM: Skull Town, Thunderdome, Fragment, Estates
  • Control: Barometer, Labs, Thunderdome, Lava Siphon
  • Gun Run: Wattson Pylon, Skull Town, Zeus, Thunderdome

WILDCARD

January 27th, 2026 - February 9th, 2026

• Olympus Wildcard Winter
• Active Wild Cards
  • Extra Ordnance
  • Drone Support
  • Smoke Out
  • High Velocity
  • Status Report
  • Speedy Charge
  • Recharger
  • Fast Draw
  • Monstrous Strength

RANKED

Ranked Ladders (coming later this split)

BUG FIXES

• Fixed an issue where weapons without a Gun Shield Generator hop-up could get a shield
• Fixed some inconsistencies with Heirloom holster speeds
• Fixed supports having to go through a mobile respawn pickup animation before entering their teammates deathbox

LEGENDS

• Mad Maggie
  • The Fortified buff from Mad Maggie's Wrecking Ball repulsors now reduces some other types of damage (like explosive damage) to match how it works on characters who naturally have Fortified.
  • When using the Wrecking Ball’s repulsors, we no longer show a "Fortified" hint when characters who are naturally Fortified (since they were not given additional damage reduction).
• Valkyrie
  • Fixed issue where tactical could be interrupted by melee
• Vantage:
  •  Fixed the tactical range finder (blue dot surrounding the crosshair) not working

KNOWN ISSUES

The following are known bugs that we anticipate will be resolved approximately a week after the release of 27.1.

Octane

• When Octane performs a two-handed action while using Stim Surge, a small, ghostly green bar from his syringe will remain on-screen (ex: reviving a teammate).
• When Octane interrupts his Stim animation by mantling, the Stim Surge syringe model may be displayed.
• Octane’s Stim Surge syringe is overlapped by base Stim syringe.
• While equipped with akimbo weapons, Octane is able to constantly refresh his Stim without cooldown while riding on a zipline. This will result in draining HP at an accelerated rate.
• If Octane attempts to activate Stim Surge while climbing an object, he will be locked out of using Stim Surge until the next activation of base Stim.

Crypto

• Crypto will not gain Ult charge from scanning enemies if they remain inside the scan. Instead, Ult charge is currently only awarded if an enemy leaves and reenters the scan or if Crypto leaves and reenters his drone.

QUALITY OF LIFE

• Inbox Update
  • We are adding to the usual gifting messages in your Inbox
  • Inbox will now include:
    • Anti-cheat update messages
    • Messages for login rewards or grants
    • Urgent message communication on bugs / updates for impacted players
  • In the future we'll be moving other pop-up reward messages to the inbox as well (e.g., EA Play rewards, Twitch Drops, etc.)
  • With the improved Inbox
    • There will be more context on why certain items were received
    • Items received can be viewed and equipped from the Inbox
    • Messages automatically delete after 30 days

AUDIO

• Fixed a bug that prevented the dedicated ‘landing’ sound from playing when an enemy hits the ground after using an Octane Jumppad.
• Fixed a high pitch ringing sound that could be heard around Phase Driver on Olympus

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