Apex Legends‘ biggest update to date is due to go live in just a few short hours and to say fans are giddy with excitement is an understatement.
For the first time since the battle royale’s launch earlier this year, players will finally be waving farewell to Kings Canyon and heading for colder climates in new map World’s Edge. The fresh location alone represents a massive shake-up of the meta, as veterans and newcomers alike will all be setting foot on new soil at the same time, but that’s far from the only big change inbound with Season 3: Meltdown.
As is usually the case with meaty content drops such as these, a wealth of balance adjustments will coincide with the arrival of World’s Edge that will undoubtedly shine a light on currently underperforming (or overperforming) aspects of the sandbox. With that being the case, weapons and attachments previously considered weak could become an integral part of Apex‘s ever-evolving meta while top-tier heroes or gear could fall out of favor – you just never know.
Not until Respawn releases the full list of patch notes for Season 3 will fans have a clear picture of the developer’s intentions, but thanks to early access periods and previews, several YouTubers have already noted a handful of major changes due to arrive shortly. See below for a brief summary (thanks, Game Rant).
- The Longbow sniper rifle has received a rate-of-fire reduction.
- Shotgun archetypes have received a general buff to pellet size.
- The L-Star has received a projectile size increase.
- New hop-ups, the Anvil Receiver and Double Tap, have been added for the R-301 and Flatline respectively.
- Base damage for the Longbow and Wingman have been increased to account for the removal of Disruptor Rounds and Skullpiercer hop-ups.
- Activation times on Pathfinder’s grapple ability have been adjusted.
- Players entering a friendly Gibraltar shield will receive a buff to action skill cooldowns.
- Gibraltar and Bangalore’s Ultimate abilities have received a damage buff.
- Wraith will no longer be immune to damage from the Storm when using Phase.
An already impactful list of changes, then, and that’s despite the fact that what’s been revealed so far is but a fraction of what Season 3 will have to offer. We’ll be keeping a close eye on official channels for the full patch notes later today but until then, now would be a good time to brush up on your knowledge of Apex Legends‘ next new hero, Crypto. See here for all the details.