Apex Legends' upcoming Imperial Guard Collection Event was announced today via a trailer uploaded to the game's official YouTube channel. But this Collection Event's ultimate reward is like no other--instead of a Prestige Skin, an Heirloom Weapon, a set of Heirloom Shards, or a mind-bogglingly expensive reactive weapon skin, players who collect all 24 Imperial Guard event cosmetics will unlock a new version of Wraith's kunai knife.

　　In addition to the premium cosmetic collection, a series of free rewards will be available to players who earn the 5,000 challenge points required to complete the reward track. But the most exciting feature of the event isn't just event-exclusive--it's sticking around. As mentioned in Season 16's patch notes, Mixtape Mode is set to launch alongside the Imperial Guard Collection Event, and the feature is here to stay even after Imperial Guard ends.

　　Starting with the launch of Imperial Guard on March 7, Team Deathmatch will be replaced with Mixtape Mode, a permanent new playlist featuring three popular modes that were previously only accessible as part of limited-time events. Mixtape Mode includes TDM, Control, and Gun Run, with each mode rotating every hour. Sadly, Arenas appears to be gone for good, and Respawn has given no indication that players will see the 3v3 mode return to Apex anytime soon. On a brighter note, all modes available via Mixtape will be added to the Private Lobby feature, allowing players to host their own tournaments. The number of players needed to start a match in each mode is as follows:

　　Battle royale: 30 playersTDM: 12 playersControl: 6 playersGun Run: 6 playersPlayers will also be pleased to learn that Wraith's new Heirloom Weapon recolor, Hope's Dawn, isn't quite as pricey as previous Heirloom Weapons. While players will still need to unlock all 24 battle-themed Collection Event cosmetics to unlock it, the price of crafting each item has been halved (though direct-purchase Apex Coin prices remain the same). This means that the 12 Epic-tier items in the collection will only cost 400 Crafting Metals each, while the more expensive Legendary-tier items will only cost 1,200 Crafting Metals.

　　Additionally, just like the Fourth Anniversary Collection Event, Imperial Guard's free reward track features three free Apex Packs, two of which are Event Packs, each of which will instantly unlock a random item from the Imperial Guard Collection. This means that if you play your cards--er, Crafting Metals--right, you can unlock Wraith's new Hope's Dawn Heirloom Weapon for free (or close to it). First, craft all 12 of the cheaper Epic-tier items, which will cost you 4,800 Crafting Metals. Then open your two Imperial Guard Event Packs, which will unlock two Legendary-tier items (since those are the only ones left after all Epic-tier items have been unlocked).

　　This will leave you with 10 Legendary-tier items, which can be crafted for a total of 12,000 Crafting Metals, unlocking the entire collection and the Hope's Dawn Heirloom cosmetic set for free. The Imperial Guard will cost a total of 16,800 Crafting Metals to unlock if you use this method. But if you're low on Crafting Metals, you can purchase those last 10 cosmetics--just make sure you do it by purchasing 10 Event Packs--they're only 700 Apex Coins ($7 USD) each, whereas directly purchasing all 10 remaining Legendary cosmetics will cost you 18,000 Apex Coins ($180 USD).

　　Despite rumors, developers have confirmed Wraith cannot dual-wield her Heirloom weapons.Note that despite some footage uncovered by dataminers, Wraith does not dual-wield both weapons--players can choose to equip either her original Heirloom or the new Hope's Dawn Heirloom. Interestingly, players who complete the collection and don't already own Wraith's original kunai will be allowed to choose which version of her two Heirloom Sets they wish to unlock. It's unclear if Respawn has any current plans to release recolors of other legends' Heirlooms, or if Hope's Dawn is a one-time occurrence as a part of Apex's ongoing fourth anniversary celebration.

　　The Imperial Guard Collection Event runs from March 7-21. For more information, check out Respawn's latest developer blog post.

　　Apex Legends is free to play on console and PC. A mobile version of the game, Apex Legends Mobile, is available to play on Android and iOS devices, but will be sunset on May 1.

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