Apex Legends System Override Collection Event: When it starts and what you can earn

The Apex Legends System Override Collection event is coming next week with new modes, a new kind of shield, and your first chance to earn an heirloom for everybody's favorite non-hedgehog speedster.

System Override begins on March 3 and will run through March 17. The main event is a new limited-time mode called Deja Loot. It makes loot spawns permanent, so if you find an R-99 in one spot in one game, you'll also find it there every other game (assuming nobody else gets there first).

Deja Loot also makes the path of the plane and the circle locations consistent from day to day, giving you the chance to strategize on where you want to have your final showdown/hide in a closet until the last circle. Deja Loot will be played solely on World's End for the first week then head to Kings Canyon for its second.

While you're playing Deja Loot, you'll be able to find a new piece of gear called the Evo Shield. It starts off with less protective power than a white shield, but as you damage non-downed players it will steadily become stronger. It can become even more powerful than a purple shield, and its progress will persist between players. Evo Shields will appear in increased quantities in Deja Loot at first, and Respawn will decide if and how it wants to add them to the rest of the game based on player feedback.

Then there's what makes this a collection event: the loot. System Override brings in a new-and-improved version of the Event Prize Track from the Grand Soiree Arcade Event in January, giving players more ways to earn points toward a set of rewards. There are also 24 limited-time cosmetics that will be available for direct purchase or in Event Apex Packs. If you get all 24, you'll also unlock Octane's heirloom set.

His heirloom weapon is a butterfly knife that doubles as a syringe full of Stim juice. So practical! Even if you're not after Octane's heirlooms, you'll soon have an easier time finding them for your character of choice; Respawn is removing direct heirloom drops and replacing them with heirloom shards: you're guaranteed to get enough shards to craft your own heirloom set after opening 500 Apex Packs.

Check out our Apex Legends tips to make the most of every drop.

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.