[Update]: The new patch has now arrived with even more changes in tow!

Apex Legends' very first Battle Pass arrived a few months ago, and as I mentioned even back then, it's not a very good one. There's only four unique and interesting items in the entire Battle Pass, there are no fun challenges or event game modes to participate in, and worst of all, the whole thing takes well over 100 hours to fully finish, and that's if you're taking advantage of all the experience boosts.

Thankfully, it would appear that Respawn is well aware of all the flaws as they have just now announced a whole bunch of improvements to the current Battle Pass, as well as Apex Legends itself. Best of all, these changes and additions will be coming next week, so unlike the previous update, we won't have to wait for long in order to get our hands on the shiny new stuff.

Speaking of which, the first big addition will be the Apex Elite Queue. It will be a separate, opt-in game mode that is only available to those that have reached Top 5 in a previous match. The catch, as you might imagine, is that in order to keep playing in the Elite Queue you'll need to keep placing in the Top 5, otherwise you're getting kicked out and sent to the normal mode. As of right now the details are still few and far between, but expect to see some sort of cosmetic reward for those that are willing to fight against the best of the best.

There will also be time-limited challenges that offer new Rare, Epic and Legendary skins, as well as a variety of new Legendary skins to grab from the shop itself. Additionally, current Battle Pass owners will be given two new Legendary skins: one for Wraith, and one for the R30 (pictured above)!

You'll also be able to earn this Epic-quality Bloodhound skin through one of the challenges

You can also expect to see a double EXP weekend from June 7th until June 10th, as well as a one-per-day challenge that awards you a full Battle Pass level whenever you reach Top 5. Respawn doesn't seem to have specified when the latter challenge will be going away, so I think it's safe to assume it'll be here for the entire duration of the Legendary Hunt event.

As for the future, you'll be glad to hear that Season 2's Battle Pass will be a lot less disappointing, and a lot less grindy. There will be three additional Legendary skins added to the item track, you'll be able to earn enough Crafting Material to create any Legendary item you want, while the time required to gain level 100 will be greatly reduced. 

Badges and stat trackers will be getting removed from the paid Battle Pass in favor of three entirely new categories, though Respawn hasn't said what exactly these might be. What they have said, however, is that there will be daily and weekly challenges to help you progress through the Battle Pass, which should hopefully make the whole thing a much more pleasant and enjoyable experience.

More details will be coming on June 8th, but until then you can read a little bit more about Respawn's plans over at the Reddit announcement post.