'Apex Legends' Raiders Collection Event start date, time, skins, and patch notes

Apex Legends has a new Collection Event running December 7 through December 21. If you love pirates, then you’re going to love the wintry Raiders Event festivities. Below, we outline everything we know about the event including its start date, start time, skins, and details about its included update.

When does the Apex Legends Raiders Collection Event start?

The Apex Legends Raiders Collection event runs from December 7 through December 21. Provided the event follows the same trajectory as most other Collection Events in Apex Legends, we expect it to start around 1 p.m. Eastern on December 7. At that time a patch will be released that includes a bunch of fives as well as brand-new cosmetics.

Is there a Raiders Collection trailer?

Of course! Apex Legends’ developers at Respawn Entertainment posted a trailer for the event following its official reveal on December 2. You can watch that trailer below. The two-minute clip shows a wide variety of new weapons and character skins for the likes of Wattson, Pathfinder, and much more. Perhaps most importantly, the trailer ends with a brief look at Wattson’s long-awaited Heirloom.

The Apex Legends Raiders Collection Event trailer

What skins are included in the Apex Legends Raiders Collection Event?

As stated above there's a wide variety of skins viewable in the trailer. You can see them all in slow motion courtesy of this excellent breakdown from garret on YouTube. Not everything has names and most of these will be sold in bundles paired with weapons, but this is still a solid recap of everything players can expect to see.

A recap of the skins appearing in the Apex Legends Raiders Collection Event

An Epic skin for Ash
A Bloodhound skin
A Valkyrie skin
A Wattson skin
Legendary Charge Rifle skin
Revenant skin
A Rare skin for Crypto
Legendary Flatline skin
Legendary pathfinder skin
Legendary CAR SMG
Hemlock skin
A Wraith skin

This official screenshot illustrates which skin bundles will be released over the first two weeks, with some returning favorites mixed in to balance out the new additions. If you ever wanted another chance to get Sonic Boom, Killing Joke, or Breach and Clear, for example, that time has finally arrived.

Here are all the planned skin releases coming to the shop during the Raiders Collection Event.Respawn Entertainment/EA

What rewards are featured in the Apex Legends Raiders event?

Just like other Collection Events in Apex Legends, the Raiders Event has a free prize track where players can accumulate in-game points to unlock a small collection of earnable rewards. This time players will be able to get a skull weapon charm, a rat weapon charm, skins for the Alternator and Hemlock, and a themed character skin for Crypto.

Here’s the Prize Track for the Raiders Collection Event that starts December 7.Respawn Entertainment/EA

The most premium reward, of course, is the Wattson Heirloom. It appears to be some sort of energy reading device. This is what it looks like.

Here’s what Wattson’s long-awaited Heirloom looks like.Respawn Entertainment/EA

What is Winter Express in Apex Legends?

Winter Express is a returning limited-time mode that will be featured during the Raiders Collection Event. In this mode, three Squads fight to take over the moving train in the northeast section of World’s Edge. Each round lasts just 90 seconds, so you’ll need to work quickly to commandeer the vehicle.

In Winter Express 2021 squads will be able to pick their own loadouts.Respawn Entertainment/EA

As a new change for the Raiders Event, squads will be able to handpick their loadouts before boarding the train.

What’s in the Apex Legends Raiders Event patch notes?

This update arrives alongside a brand-new update that makes key changes to the meta. This includes a buff for Seer, a nerf for the Arc Star, and custom reticles for accessibility and customization. You can read the list of tweaks here or via the official blog post. The update will presumably be listed as version 1.84 on PlayStation.

LEGENDS

Wattson: Fixed the issue with fences “sticking” when trying to place a node near a fence.
Wattson: Fixed bug for cases where Wattson’s Fence nodes ignored player collision.
Wattson: Fixed bug with the blueprint line not showing up to signify where the fence will be created.
Wattson: Fixed issue where Caustic’s Ultimate isn’t zapped by the Interception Pylon.
Wattson: Fixed bug where Arc Stars could stick to and damage the Interception Pylon
Ash: Based on feedback we’ve increased the audio presence of Ash’s Ultimate.
Ash will no longer “bleed” when shot and now displays sparks [like Pathfinder and Revenant].
Ash: fixed cases where a grid pattern would show on some rare and common skins.
Valkyrie / Revenant: Fixed a bug where using a Skydive with Death Totem at a specific time caused Valkyrie’s skydive to enter a bugged state.
Valkyrie: Fix for Birthright Skin where Valk’s jetpack control clips into her hands in first person.

ARENAS

Arenas: Fixed bug where Seer could continuously charge his tactical after it’s reached zero uses.
Arenas: Reduced reconnect times since the matches are shorter than a Battle Royale match.
Arenas: Fix for missing ammo UI on the common, rare, or epic, CAR.
Arenas: Fix for missing horizontal black bars while spectating.
Arenas: Fix for cases where the Death Tab is missing from the shop window.

ADDITIONAL BUG FIXES

Fixed issue with a spot on Storm Point where players could camp in unintended areas near Command Center.
We also addressed multiple minor bugs around the map ranging from misplaced kill triggers and holes in geo.
Bocek Compound Fracture Legendary skin bug: Fixed an issue where players would still see iron sights when aiming even if another sight is equipped.
R-301 Dynastic Cycle Legendary skin bug: Fixed an issue with the gun using a mix of two different skins.
Fixed bug for cases where the Loba Edition displays “No Price Found” when viewed in the store tab.
Based on feedback we’ve reduced the SFX on reactive skins for the Volt.
Fixed bug where players were unable to scroll downwards when looting a death box or black market.
Fixed bug that was preventing players from getting Rampart’s Heirloom even after buying all 24 event packs.
Fixed bug where players could skydive faster after spamming Ping.
Fixed issue with players seeing the 888 Elite Mode Badge constantly unlocking.
Fixed bug where dive trails were not rewarded properly.

BALANCE CHANGES

Seer

Decreased Focus of Attention detonation delay from 1.6s to 1.4s

Arc Star

Sticks

Base stick damage lowered from 30 -> 10
Shield Damage Multiplier increased from x3 -> x4 (stick on shielded enemy will now max out at 40 instead of 90)
Sticking an enemy now applies a slow debuff (reverting Legacy update change)

Non-Sticks

Slow duration is now driven by distance to the center of Arc Star detonation

Splatter Rounds

Removed increased magazine capacity

Crafting

Shotgun ammo, sniper ammo, and arrow crafting output reduced to a single stack

PRIVATE MATCH

Observer Mode - UI and Scoring Improvements for in-game stats menu.
Observer Mode - Reduced opacity on Loba’s Back Market for map & mini-map.
Observer Mode - Added toggle option to show next ring location.
Added [Team] Eliminated text in kill feed for Private Match Anonymous mode.
Admins now have the ability to end matches in either Observer or Player positions.
Fixed issue for real-time API delay after running consecutive games.
New real-time API events including Shots fired, Kill awarded, Line by line formatting, Unique player IDs

QUALITY OF LIFE

New Custom Reticle Color System

Custom Reticles are here! The new UI can be opened under Gameplay Settings by selecting the Customize option under Reticle.

Once in the new Custom Reticle UI you’ll be able to: