Apex Legends Season 20 introduces major changes to gameplay, including how shields work. Shields have gone through many changes throughout the life of Apex Legends, and I think the changes in Season 20 could have a major impact on the game.
All shield changes in Apex Legends Season 20
Apex Legends Season 20 introduces Legend Armor, Shield Cores, and major EVO Shield changes to the Battle Royale modes. Starting in Season 20, EVO Shields cannot be looted from the ground and can only be upgraded through earning EVO points. Along with being removed from ground loot, EVO Shields have been replaced with Shield Cores in death boxes.
What is Legend Armor in Apex Legends?
Legend Armor is the EVO Shield that you can upgrade throughout matches. Legend Armor is upgraded by earning EVO points. In previous seasons, EVO points were earned to upgrade armor, but starting in Season 20, the ways to earn EVO points have expanded. Upgrading your Legend Armor will level up your shield from White to Blue to Purple to Red, much like previous seasons. Here are all the ways to earn EVO points in Apex Legends Season 20.
How do shields work in Apex Legends?
Shields can be upgraded by performing certain actions during the match. You will start the match with a white shield and zero EVO points. Throughout the match, you can earn EVO points to upgrade to the next tier of your shield. Here are the ways to earn EVO points during matches:
- Player Actions:
- Damage
- Knocks and Knock Assists
- Knocks against a legend of higher level will net an underdog XP bonus
- Finishers
- EVO Cache (Care Packages, Vaults etc.)
- Team Actions:
- Squad Wipes
- Revives
- Respawns
- Class Interactions (Survey Beacons, Ring Consoles, etc.)
- World Interactions (Wildlife, Trials Completions, etc.)
- EVO Harvesters
EVO Harvesters and EVO caches are new to Apex Legends and can be found throughout a Battle Royale match.
- EVO Harvesters spawn in each ring and can be accessed by any Legend to grant a large EVO point bonus to the whole squad.
- EVO Caches are very rare items that grant a full EVO upgrade and are found in vaults and supply drops.
What are Shield Cores in Apex Legends?
Shield Cores will now drop in death boxes instead of EVO shields. Shield Cores fuel shields, so you can swap Shield Cores in death boxes. However, if you swap with a higher Shield Core than you have, you will only be granted an Overcharge, which boosts your shield for 30 seconds before returning your shield to your current max.
Overall, the shield changes in Season 20 make early-game fights more balanced and early-game looting will not require players to search everywhere for better armor. However, with the introduction of EVO Harvesters and EVO Caches, players may find themselves scouring the map for EVO upgrades.
For more on Apex Legends, check out Does Apex Legends have cross progression? here on Pro Game Guides.
Bishop Lister is a writer and sports data analyst covering video games since 2019 after graduating from Arizona State University with a bachelor's in Sports Business, minoring in Digital Media Literacy. Bishop enjoys covering RPGs, sports, fighting, strategy titles, and FPS titles, with a focus on Apex Legends.