Patch notes and balance changes for Season 12 of Apex Legends

[ad_1]

As with every new season of Apex Legends comes patch notes. There are big changes – Olympus looks a little different and Control Mode will shake things up a lot – but I like looking at the grainy stuff. You know, what guns do extra damage per bullet and which guns have a lower rate of fire, that kind of thing.

Probably because I enjoy watching Apex Legends esports almost as much as I’ve been playing the game, so I can predict and predict where the meta will turn with each new change. Maybe it’s because I’m always on the lookout for a new key player (sorry, Fuse) so legend and pens fans can dictate who I play next season. But in the end, the reason does not matter. Playing Mad Maggie can be fun, but even minor changes to the core materials can affect your matches more than most legends.

TODAY’S VIDEO THEGAMER

Related: Here’s what Apex Legends’ multiplayer mode actually means

TheGamer has been invited to a presentation of the upcoming changes in Apex Legends Season 12, so while we wait for the full patch notes, I’ll analyze the biggest changes and discuss what this means for the game, in terms of competitive play.

Legend Changes

Two legends are reworked in Season 12, Cryptography and Caustic. Both see a fair amount of play in the esports scene, so it will be interesting to see how things are affected by the changes.

Caustic: Barrels can now be destroyed during gas diffusion. This change means that caustic barrels will not be a more effective cover than Rampart walls, and generally reduce the effectiveness of the malicious document. Will it be less used in the competitive landscape? We’ll have to see how ruthless this nerf is, as it has been diminished before and somehow resurrected itself. John Larson, designer of live scales at Apex, says the team found the barrels to still be “very sturdy” during in-house play tests.

Cryptography: We don’t know much about the actual changes in Crypto, but it is already seeing a fair amount of play in some areas of the ALGS. However, he is very passive and not very pleasant, especially in casual matches. He’s given a choice of Drone Deploy, and he dumps his plane, Hack, while still being present on the battlefield. He’ll still be able to go into Drone View, but this gives him another option and will reduce the likelihood of him being left behind by his teammates when he’s busy with a Hack. There are also improvements to the HUD while using the Drone View. I think we’ll need more info to see how this affects Apex matches, but it definitely boosts Crypto in ALGS, as it was already seeing a great deal of play.

The team also says it’s still working on detracting from Gibraltar which will become less prescriptive on the higher levels and more fun on the lower levels, but I don’t expect that any time soon.

Weapon changes

There is a new type of weapon on the block: the crafted weapon. These weapons are similar to Supply Drop weapons in that they do not spawn as land loot, but can be crafted permanently.

Crafted Weapons: Longbow and VK47 Flatline will only be available from crafting stations this season. While many will be disappointed that the two famous weapons will no longer be found on Earth, this actually offers a reliable way to get your hands on them in every game. We don’t know how much it costs yet, but if it is fairly economical with manufacturing material costs, this change could see more guns run in matches. The change also focuses on the loot collection, which has been slowly watered down as new weapons are added to the game.

Volt SMG: The Volt moves into the Care package in Season 12. The SMG is less popular than the R-99, but an extra two damage and two rounds per magazine will turn it into a devastating weapon for any of us lucky enough to stumble across it. The alternator returns to the ground loot, without the turbulence rounds, and thus is likely to be forgotten.

Kinetic Feeder: A new leap arrives in Apex Games, in which the Kinetic Feeder is paired with a Peacekeeper and Triple Take (the latter receiving nerf damage as well). The jump does what is stated on the case, and your weapons automatically recharge as you slide. However, during the slide, it also speeds up the throttling time. That’s a big buff for the Peacekeeper, who now has the jump to rival Mastiff’s Dual Shell, but it’s likely a Triple Take ostensible.

Hammerpoint Tours: Hammerpoints are back in P2020 and Mozambique. However, in Season 12, the jump will also catch up with RE-45. If you remember, Hammerpoint Rounds deal extra damage to vulnerable enemies, so adding them to your RE-45’s rapid fire can be huge. This could be a new secondary weapon, especially if you upgrade the automatic pistol in Arenas mode. In fact, running any of these three cheap guns in the first rounds of the Arenas might be more brutal now. Will you compete against the R-99 in a battle royale? Unlikely, but you never know.

Shattercap rounds: These also receive power, and automatically switch between rifle and long range modes depending on what you’re shooting at. As long as there are no targeting issues, this would be a nice improvement, but it wouldn’t significantly affect matches.

The biggest change in Apex Legends esports will be Legend scales and weapon crafting. Much will depend on the price of the latter, but teams that land in areas with a lot of crafting materials can have an easier loot time than those that are relegated to lower points of interest. I fully expect to see more Cryptos as Split 2 takes off from ALGS, and Caustics count will likely remain the same at first, as players work to see if this is a decrement too far. If so, which defensive legend would replace him? I’m all for seeing more Lobas loot it after the Valkyrie rotation, but maybe that’s just me.

Arenas may take a back seat as non-combat royale players check control mode, but upon their return, a fully upgraded P2020, Mozambique or RE-45 could be a very economical loadout to play in the early rounds. With some tournaments like BLAST Titans competing in Arenas as well as Battle Royale, professional players should take note of this change as well. As the biggest RE-45 fan, I’m glad to see it thrive.

There are a lot of balance changes in Season 12, and we’ll have to wait to see the real impact of all of them. However, one thing never changes: the debate about the best hunting rifle is getting hotter.

Next: What can NICKMERCS bring to ALGS?

Hyper Beam in Pokemon Legends: Arceus is an overkill

If you’ve ever tangled up with the giant Parasect you found early on, you’ll know very well about its terrifying hyper-beam.

read the following

About the author Ben Sledge (89 articles published)

Ben is the features editor at TheGamer. You can read his work at Eurogamer, The Guardian, IGN, Kotaku, The Loadout, NME, VICE or on Twitter @BenSledge.

More from Ben Sledge

[ad_2]