Based on documents published up to Feb 9, 2026
Season 26: Showdown
Season start: Aug 5, 2025
Showdown is Season 26, live from August 5, 2025. It is the one season here where the RP formula itself was rewritten number by number: entry cost, kill points, placement points and the Challenger Bonus all moved at once. The drop became an automatic assignment via Drop Zones, and Heat Shields were switched off in Ranked.
At a glance
- Entry costs rise — Bronze from 0 to 10 RP, Platinum from 45 to 48
- Kill points are tied hard to placement: 20 RP for a kill in first, 4 RP in 16th–20th
- Placement points rise at the top and at sixth: 2nd goes 95 → 100, 6th goes 30 → 40
- The Challenger Bonus becomes stepped, reaching +50% at a four-tier gap
- Drop Zones assign the landing spot, and Heat Shields are disabled in Ranked
Entry costs go up, and Bronze stops being free
The RP taken when a match starts is raised. The one that changes in kind is Bronze, which goes from nothing to ten — every tier now costs something to enter. The notes name three tiers, Bronze, Gold and Platinum, and say nothing about the rest.
- Bronze: 0 → 10 RP
- Gold: 35 → 38 RP
- Platinum: 45 → 48 RP
- Silver and the tiers above Platinum are not mentioned
What it means if you track your rank
The same results net less per match, so the whole RP curve flattens a little. Bronze in particular could not fall before and now can — worth knowing when comparing a line drawn across this boundary with an earlier season.
Sources: Apex Legends™: Showdown Patch Notes
A kill is now worth what your placement says: 20 RP in first, 4 in the teens
RP per kill is now graded by where you finished: heavier at the top, thinner at the bottom. Only the rows the notes state clearly are listed here — the 6th–10th band is omitted rather than guessed.
- 1st place: 20 RP per kill
- 2nd: 18, 3rd: 16, 4th: 14, 5th: 12 RP
- 11th–15th: 6 RP per kill
- 16th–20th: 4 RP per kill
What it means if you track your rank
Dropping hot and dying stops paying. Four kills in 16th is 16 RP — in Platinum that does not cover the 48 it cost to enter. On an RP curve, matches you survived and matches you did not pull visibly apart. Season 27 loosens this by a step.
Sources: Apex Legends™: Showdown Patch Notes / Apex Legends™: Amped Patch Notes
Placement pays more at the top and at sixth; the Challenger Bonus goes stepped
Placement points rise at second, third and sixth — sixth by the most. The Challenger Bonus for killing someone above you is reorganised into four steps by tier gap.
- 2nd place: 95 → 100 RP
- 3rd place: 70 → 75 RP
- 6th place: 30 → 40 RP
- Challenger Bonus: +15% at one tier, +25% at two, +35% at three, +50% at four or more
What it means if you track your rank
Ten more RP at sixth does a lot to push mid-table finishes into the black. Read together with the kill-point squeeze, this is the season that settles on one answer: play to survive high. The bonus steps each go up five points in Season 27.
Sources: Apex Legends™: Showdown Patch Notes / Apex Legends™: Amped Patch Notes
Landing spots get assigned, and Hot Zones disappear
Before the match starts each squad is given a POI to land at, with a map preview to coordinate on. Loot is spread evenly across POIs and there are no Hot Zones. During the drop a warning system flags incoming squads. Heat Shields are disabled in Ranked at the same time.
- One POI assigned per squad, with no Hot Zones
- Loot is distributed fairly across the POIs
- Heat Shields disabled in Ranked — removed from core BR in Season 27
What it means if you track your rank
Early-fight frequency stops depending on where you chose to go, so per-match RP scatters less for the same player. It also removes the option of landing quiet and playing for placement by design. Two seasons later, Season 28 takes it back out.
Sources: Apex Legends™: Showdown Patch Notes / Apex Legends™: Breach Patch Notes
Amps arrive as purple-tier loot, and hop-ups get locked to weapons
Hop-ups stop dropping on their own: they come pre-fitted and locked to a weapon, unlocked by dealing damage or through Arsenal upgrades. Five purple-tier Amps are added on top, bringing effects like infinite ammo and +25 shield capacity. Evo Harvesters are retuned to be fewer but worth more each.
- Locked hop-up unlock costs: Accelerator 150, Graffiti Mod 300, Gun Shield 250, Selectfire 250, Skull Piercer 400
- The Over Armor amp adds 25 shield capacity, stacking to a 125 cap
- Evo Harvesters: 350 → 425 reward, 17–20 → 8–9 spawns
- Peacekeeper returns to the floor (magazine 5 → 6, no headshot bonus); Akimbo P2020 enters the care package
Sources: Apex Legends™: Showdown Patch Notes
Caustic gas starts to hurt, and E-District turns to daylight
Caustic is heavily reworked: his gas ticks harder and now grounds and slows anyone inside it, and the traps themselves are tougher and last far longer. Bangalore's smoke and ultimate both get faster. The rotation is Broken Moon, E-District and Storm Point, with E-District relit as a daytime map and cleaned up for readability.
- Caustic gas: 4–10 → 10–15 damage per tick
- Nox Gas Trap health 150 → 225, lifetime 11s → 22s
- Bangalore ultimate cooldown: 270s → 210s
- Ranked and Unranked: Broken Moon, E-District (daytime), Storm Point
What it means if you track your rank
Gas holds a building far better, which strengthens whoever is dug in at the end — the same direction the season's fatter placement points push.
Sources: Apex Legends™: Showdown Patch Notes
Sources
Each entry is a summary with our own commentary, not a translation of the original. The primary documents it rests on are listed at the end of the write-up.