As an Apex Legends veteran who's grinded every season since launch, I'm staring at Respawn's new battle pass structure feeling utterly bamboozled. What used to be a straightforward \u201cpay once, earn coins for next season\u201d system has morphed into a labyrinthine monetization maze that'd make a Wall Street broker sweat. Two battle passes per season now? A mysteriously named \u201cpremium plus\u201d tier? And why the hell can't I use earned Apex Coins anymore? It's like they took a perfectly balanced Wingman and turned it into a goddamn Mozambique overnight.
Let's cut through the corporate jargon jungle. Respawn\u2019s splitting each season into two battle passes, synced with ranked splits. Each costs £8.99 💷 - same sticker price as before, right? Wrong. Previously, 950 Apex Coins covered it, and grinding the pass would net you enough coins for the next season\u2019s unlock. Now? That safety net\u2019s gone poof 💨. You\u2019re coughing up real cash every single split. So functionally, we\u2019re paying double the annual cost for what amounts to\u2026 roughly the same loot? Respawn claims there are \u2018more rewards,\u2019 but let\u2019s break it down:
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Two reactive weapon skins per season (but are they fresh designs or lazy recolors?)
-
Slightly more Apex Packs & crafting materials
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Exotic shards for heirloom crafting (big whoop if you already have 3)
Is this worth £18 per season versus the old £9? Hell nah. Steam reviews are already blowing up with \u201cpay-to-lose-morale\u201d memes.
Then enters the \u201cpremium plus\u201d pass 🤯 - a £17.99 per split abomination that \u201cskips 10 levels\u201d and dangles \u201cexclusive cosmetic variants.\u201d Respawn\u2019s blog spins this as a \u201c29% value increase\u201d over old bundles. Absolute malarkey. The math doesn\u2019t math:
| Tier | Old System (Season) | New System (Season) | Real Cost Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | £8.99 | £17.98 | +100% 💸 |
| Premium Plus | £26.98 (bundle) | £35.98 | +£9 😤 |
Why obscure costs with AC conversions? If this was truly player-friendly, why not shout transparent pricing from the rooftops? And that line about \u201crefunding 1,000 AC if you unlock after buying\u201d? Sounds like Schrödinger\u2019s battle pass. Does anyone at Respawn even playtest their own economy?
The real kicker? Respawn insists this chaos is \u201cbased on player feedback.\u201d Cue my spit-take. In 2025\u2019s cost-of-living crisis 🏚️, with groceries and rent bleeding wallets dry, who exactly begged for doubled gaming expenses? My squad\u2019s already canceling Netflix subscriptions, and now we can\u2019t even offset Apex costs by playing daily? It\u2019s tone-deaf af.
A colleague argued there\u2019s upside\u2014\u201cstreamlined rewards,\u201d quicker progression. But stripping away free earnability? That\u2019s the soul of live-service gaming, man. Respawn\u2019s arbitrarily slapping \u201cvalue\u201d tags on cosmetics (like claiming Premium Plus offers \u201c6100+ AC value\u201d) while ignoring that we decide what\u2019s worth cash. Legendary skins aren\u2019t groceries; their \u201cvalue\u201d tanks when forced down our throats.
For loyalists who played to fund the next pass, costs just exploded from £0 to £36 annually. That\u2019s a whole damn indie game! In an era where Helldivers 2 nails fair monetization, this feels like a slap wrapped in a \u201cwe\u2019re listening\u201d PR bow 🎀. Maybe the gun skins will be fire. Maybe I\u2019ll main Flatline again. But as the ring closes on player goodwill, I\u2019m left wondering: is this evolution or just EA squeezing blood from a battle royale stone?
