Apex Legends Winter Wipeout update live, adds hoverboards and big legend changes

Apex Legends launched its Winter Wipeout update on January 6, 2026. The patch brings hoverboards to Wildcard mode, several new Wild Cards, fresh store items, and a long list of balance and quality-of-life changes for legends and weapons.

The Wildcard mode gains a new mobility toy and a handful of Wild Cards that change how fights play out. Respawn also shipped wide-ranging legend updates – from Octane’s kit rework to Crypto’s drone improvements – plus map tweaks and performance fixes on Olympus. For more on how Respawn themed winter modes this season, see a recent write-up on the game’s holiday offerings about the Merry Mayhem event.

Patch Notes

The update centers on Wildcard hoverboards – a new Survival Item that stays with you through respawns – plus a set of new Wild Cards and large balance passes across legends and weapons. Respawn also adjusted loot spawns, Respawn Beacon behavior, and made targeted map fixes to Olympus to address performance and movement issues.

The official notes follow exactly as published by the developer.

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

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 renter drone from 0.4 to 0.2s
• Reduced animation frame that Crypto renters 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)

There’s also a long list of bug fixes, which players can read about too to see what got fixed. Follow coverage and updates about Apex Legends on X, Bluesky, YouTube, and Instagram.

Apex Legends

Developed by Respawn Entertainment

Conquer with character in Apex Legends, a free-to-play Hero shooter where legendary characters with powerful abilities team up to battle for fame & fortune on the fringes of the Frontier.

Master an ever-growing roster of diverse Legends, deep tactical squad play and bold new innovations that go beyond the Battle Royale experience—all within a rugged world where anything goes. Welcome to the next evolution of Hero Shooter.

• Genre: Shooter, Tactical
• Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch 2, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
• Modes: Multiplayer, Co-operative, Battle Royale
• Release: 2019-02-04
• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Age Rating: PEGI 16 / CERO D / GRAC 19+ / USK 16 / CLASS_IND 14 / ACB MA 15+ / ESRB T
• IGDB Rating: 75.5/100

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