Apex Legends’ season 5 launch trailer explained

Apex Legends’ season five launch trailer set the stage for the battle royale’s next season, Fortune’s Favor.

The animation evolved the storyline between Loba and Revenant, gave more details on how simulacra work, and showed the destruction of Skull Town. It’s a significant advancement leading up to season five.

Here’s everything you need to know about Apex’s latest trailer.

Loba

The main character in the trailer is Loba, the next competitor to join the Apex Games and a long-anticipated figure in Apex. Fans got a first glimpse at her childhood self in the Revenant character trailer, in which the simulacrum murdered her parents.

Loba followed in the footsteps of her parents and became the self-proclaimed best thief in the Outlands. But she was never able to look past her thirst for revenge against Revenant. When the opportunity to destroy the simulacrum presented itself, she was quick to grab it.

The trailer likely showcased some of Loba’s abilities. She throws her bracelet to teleport to its location, a skill that may translate to her kit. Loba also used her cane to steal an R-301 from the hands of a Stalker in the secret facility, another trick that could make its way to Apex gameplay. Her kit is reportedly focused on mobility and obtaining loot, according to data-mined findings, and the abilities showed in the cinematic are compatible with that information.

The facility in Kings Canyon

Early season five teasers pointed to a secret facility in Kings Canyon accessible through the Singh Labs—and the launch trailer finally revealed what secrets it held. Respawn scattered three keycards in World’s Edge, all with the logo of ARES Division, which is one of the branches of Titanfall‘s Interstellar Military Corporation (IMC), related to Hammond Robotics.

Another Loba teaser allowed players to briefly visit the facility if they interacted with her bracelet. Players were warped to a different spot, not unlike Loba herself, and entered a metallic walkway surrounded by Titanfall‘s Stalkers. The minimap changed to a location below Skull Town, giving away a location for the upcoming map update.

The hints showed that whatever the facility held was of importance to Loba, for unknown reasons. The teasers confirmed her plans to destroy the simulacrum beyond repair or resurrection and that Loba was exploring the premises. The cinematic kicks off from that point—and goes on to provide key information on how Revenant works.

The facility is essentially an operations center dedicated to keeping Revenant functional and is protected by an army of Stalkers. The premises house several copies of his chassis, which allows him to get a fresh new body after every resurrection. More importantly, the facility is also the key to why Revenant can’t be killed—and it’s a gruesome reason.

Revenant’s head

The launch trailer revealed that Hammond Robotics is still in possession of Revenant’s head and it’s an integral part of his functioning. His neural system is connected to the rest of the facility, which allows his consciousness to be uploaded into his chassis several times. His head is likely the “source code,” a surprisingly sterile euphemism for what it is in reality.

Simulacra are essentially a human’s mind uploaded to a synthetic body, as seen in the Titanfall franchise. But Respawn hadn’t gone into too much detail about them until this trailer and it was unclear that Revenant’s “source code” was his actual head.

A previous teaser showed a conversation between Hammond Robotics’ Cheryl Amacci and the Syndicate’s PR representative, Jacob Young. Young mentions that the Syndicate couldn’t access Revenant’s “source code” because the “security system” actually “works a little too well.” This is likely a reference to the Stalkers, which prevented the Syndicate and Hammond from getting Revenant’s head back.

After Loba shot at the glass, Revenant’s head is teleported to another Hammond facility in Psamathe—the home planet of Octane, Lifeline, and Loba. It’s unclear what this means for the story over the next few seasons, but some fans speculate that it could lead to a new map in season six. Respawn hasn’t confirmed it, however, and will likely save that reveal for the appropriate time—if it ever happens.

What happened to Skull Town?

Kings Canyon is the starting map for the first six weeks of Ranked Series Four, but it’s in need of an overhaul. The latest updates to the map came during Apex‘s second season when a mysterious hacker destroyed one of the containment towers and unleashed wildlife on the map. The arena also saw the addition of Singh Labs as part of Wraith’s Town Takeover. It’s time Kings Canyon saw some changes—and that’s just what Fortune’s Favor might deliver.

Related: Is Apex Legends really getting rid of Skull Town?

The facility is located below Skull Town in Kings Canyon and the POI vanishes off the map when Loba explodes it. One of its trademark skulls takes a plunge into a nearby river, likely signaling that the area will vanish for good. It’s still unclear what’s going to take its place, however, but it’s possible that players may get a chance to dive into the ruins of the Hammond Robotics facility.

More details on the upcoming map update and Loba’s skillset will come in the following days as Respawn releases more information ahead of season five’s official debut, scheduled for May 12.