Alrighty, Legends! Get ready for a deep dive into Apex Legends‘ latest mid-season update! This patch is dropping alongside the Future Icons event, bringing a bunch of interesting changes we’ve seen teased and some potentially overlooked adjustments hiding in the patch notes. With our Apex Legends services, you save time and unlock your rewards instantly. Beyond the cosmetic flair of the event itself, there’s a heap of juicy details, especially for Legends, weapons, and some quality of life improvements. Let’s break it all down!
Legend Upgrades and Adjustments
This update brings some pretty sizable changes to several Legends, aiming to buff some, nerf others, and generally fine-tune the roster. Developers are often looking to make adjustments based on pick rates and gameplay performance, and this patch seems to address several characters currently sitting high or low in popularity.
Wattson
Wattson is receiving a significant set of buffs, particularly focused on her tactical ability and passive, designed to turn her into a “CEO of Zap Energy,” as one description put it!
Her Perimeter Security fences have been significantly buffed. The durability of her fence nodes has been doubled, increasing their HP to 50, and the cooldown for placing individual fence nodes has been drastically reduced to just 4 seconds (down from 15). This means players should gain access to placing fences almost constantly.
A neat new feature allows placing fences across a door to electrify it! If an enemy tries to open or kick an electrified door, they will be stunned, just as if they walked directly through a fence. Furthermore, if a door has a fence node directly behind it, opening the door will no longer cause the fence node to break, allowing for more careful and durable fence placements.
Interestingly, players who slide or jump through a fence will now be slowed. If high-mobility Legends like Ash pass through a fence, they will lose one of their tactical cooldown charges, providing a direct counter to their speedy abilities (this may also affect other high-mobility Legends like Sparrow, though not explicitly confirmed by official notes). In situations where an Ash or Sparrow is stunned by a fence, it’s expected to feel quite rewarding for the Watson player.
Wattson’s passive ability is also increased. Accelerants can now be used 50% faster, and her passive shield regeneration rate is doubled to 2 shields per second (increased tac health regen).
Her perks have seen big changes too. The Falling Stars perk (giving Arc Stars from Supply Bins) is now integrated into her base kit. A new Level One perk, “Help Is Here,” gives her all of the support class perks, similar to Alter’s ability. New Level Two perks include “Ultimate Conductor,” which converts a percentage of damage dealt to ultimate charge with a burst of 30% alt charge upon getting a knock. The “Energize Healer” perk also returns with a new function, now providing double healing from small meds (Shield Cells and Syringes). Finally, the Level Three perk “Power Pylon” will increase the ultimate’s HP, healing rate, and capacity.
Overall, these are some pretty significant changes for Watson players!
Vantage
Vantage is receiving several big changes, including a physical adjustment – her upper body hitbox has been improved to better match her character model, potentially making her feel less vulnerable.
Her passive ability, Spotter’s Lens, is improved; it now allows players to ping up to three enemies at once, see their health bars and upgrades, and ping targets beyond 50 meters.
Her tactical ability, Echo Relocation, has been massively improved. Echo will now auto-recall to Vantage when the player jumps (either off the ground or using the dash), the jump activation time to launch into the air is faster, and the max distance Echo can fly is increased by 10 meters. Critically, the bat-bounce (double jump) portion of Echo Relocation is now integrated into her base kit, no longer requiring a perk slot, and the time to redeploy weapons after an Echo jump is significantly reduced (to 0.2 seconds, down from 0.5). The FOV (Field of View) within which Echo needs to be to allow the player to jump to him has also been widened.
Vantage’s ultimate, Sniper’s Mark, has also been upgraded. The ultimate reload upgrade is now in her base kit (replenish supply arrows shot), and her laser (visible when aiming down sights) is now hidden until she actually shoots, making it much harder for opponents to spot her and pre-fire her position. The laser becomes visible for 15 seconds after a shot (refreshing with subsequent shots) and is apparently more representative of where she is actually aiming.
New perks have been added as well. Level Two perks include “Controlling My Prey” (which gives her Controller class perk quality, allowing access to Ring Consoles and Zone Overcharge) and “Improved Mark” (where marked enemy upgrades are visible through walls and briefly highlight enemies, revealing their health bar to the squad upon mark). Two new Level Three upgrades are “Tactical Cooldown,” reducing her tactical cooldown by 5 seconds, and “Sniper Cover,” which adds a gun shield generator to her ultimate when aiming down sights, similar to the Gun Shield hop-up.
Ash
Ash is seeing a mix of buffs and adjustments in this update.
Her tactical ability, Arc Snare (often referred to as Ash’s dash in this context), has its cooldown reduced to 8 seconds (a buff, down two seconds). However, the tether strength of her tactical has been slightly increased. While she’s still fast with the reduced cooldown, the stronger tether might make it slightly harder for opponents using movement abilities like a double jump or slide to escape the tether’s pull if they are caught.
Her perks have also been adjusted. “Dual Breach” moves to Level Two, and a new Level Two perk, “Charged Knock,” provides hp regen upon getting a knock. For Level Three, the perk “Ghost in the Machine” is removed, and both “Greedy Snare” and “Twin Snares” have been moved to Level Three.
Her ultimate, ult Ash predator’s pursuit, sees its chase portal activation delay reduced. Predator’s pursuit feels redundant with other mobility ultimates but remains unique to Ash.
Alter
Alter, a more recent Legend, is seeing her ultimate ability, Void Nexus, slightly adjusted, reportedly to make players who use it for quick resets a bit easier for enemies to punish. The warning delay that notifies enemies when someone follows them through a chase portal has been reduced from 5 seconds to 3.5 seconds. The cooldown after using Void Nexus has been significantly increased to 60 seconds (up from 30 seconds – this cooldown applies after the portal disappears from use or duration expiration).
Ballistic
Ballistic, who has been sitting at a high pick rate, is also receiving some nerfs. His tactical ability, Whistler, now deals 15 damage on activation (down from 20) and 15 from overheat (down from 30). His perk positions have been swapped, moving “Extra Bullets” to Level Two and “Lasting Bullets” to Level Three. These adjustments stem from the developers’ view that his tactical’s damage was perhaps too high given how consistently it could hit targets, especially when combined with a particularly strong secondary weapon or strong secondary weapon recently equipped. Furthermore, his Ultimate no longer extends its duration upon getting knocks.
Conduit
Conduit is receiving some small buffs. Her tactical ability’s cooldown was reduced in a previous hotfix (from 31 seconds to 21). This update further reduce recharge delay on her tactical after taking damage, from 2 seconds to 1 second (radiant transfer reduce cooldown), potentially making her shielding feel more consistent and readily available in fights.
Mirage
Mirage is getting some neat quality of life updates aimed at making his decoys even more convincing, continuing constant updates to fine-tune him. His tactical and ultimate decoys will now properly swap weapons when the player does and will also correctly holster melee weapons. These small updates aim to make Mirage decoys truly mimic player actions, potentially leading to more successful deceptions and making it slightly harder for opponents to distinguish the real Mirage.
Weapon Reworks and Balance Changes
The latest update brings some interesting adjustments to the weapon meta and specific gun mechanics. Developers seem actively focused on balancing weapon performance and providing more counterplay options against high-mobility Legends.
As part of this focus, both Arc Stars and Watson’s fences are gaining powerful interactions against specific movement abilities, particularly targeting Ash’s Tactical Dash (and potentially other high-mobility Legends like Sparrow’s Double Jump, though not explicitly confirmed by official notes).
If an enemy is hit by an Arc Star explosion, their momentum while in the air or sliding will be significantly reduced, potentially even completely halted (inconsistent sprint speeds depending on movement state), giving them less chance to escape the blast or subsequent pursuit. Additionally, Arc Star explosions will now consume the cooldown on Ash’s Tactical Dash and potentially Sparrow’s double jump. This mirrors a previous buff to Watson’s fences, where passing through them (by sliding or jumping) also kills momentum and consumes the cooldown of Ash’s dash and potentially Sparrow’s double jump. This shared counterplay effect between Arc Stars and Watson fences makes them much more potent tools for dealing with these specific mobile threats.
Specific Weapon Adjustments
| Weapon | Type | Change Summary | Specifics |
| R301 | Assault Rifle | Hop-up Compatibility Added | Can now equip the Gun Shield Generator hop-up. |
| Havoc | Assault Rifle | Buffed | Recoil improved and damage increased to 20 (up from 19). |
| Accelerator | Hop-up | Availability Changed | Removed from Devotion, Mastiff, and Sentinel. Added to Havoc, Flatline, and Mozambique. |
| Hemlok Burst AR | Assault Rifle | Buffed | Reduced burst-fire delay (faster time between bursts). |
| 3030 Repeater | Marksman Rifle | Nerfed | Skullpiercer headshot damage reduced: Uncharged is 80 (from 86), Charged is 120 (from 130). |
| Bocek Compound Bow | Marksman Weapon | Buffed (via Hotfix) | Explosive arrow damage increased to 55 (from 40), rate of fire increased, max charge damage is 65 (from 55). Previous hotfix fixed missing models. |
| Mastiff | Shotgun | Quality of Life | New ADS firing animation helps sight return to center faster after firing. |
| Prowler Burst PDW | SMG | Buffed | Horizontal recoil improved (burst and full-auto) and burst-fire delay reduced. |
| Sentinel | Sniper Rifle | Buffed | Increased rechamber speed when energized. |
| Longbow DMR | Sniper Rifle | Buffed | Increased limb damage values. |
- The R-301 Carbine is receiving attention, potentially to bring it back into the meta. It can now use the wingman gun shield generator hop-up, which could significantly impact its effectiveness in a fight by providing extra health while firing.
- The Havoc AR has received buffs, with recoil improved and damage increased to 20 (up from 19).
- Several hop-up and attachment changes are also noted. The Accelerator hop-up is being removed from the Devotion, Mastiff, and Sentinel, and added to the weapons AR Havoc rifle, VK-47 Flatline, and Mozambique.
- The Hemlok‘s burst fire delay is slightly reduced, making the time between bursts shorter – a bit of a buff (mix slight reduction in burst pacing).
- The 30-30 Repeater‘s Skullpiercer headshot damage is reduced: uncharged shots go from 86 to 80 damage, and charged shots from 130 to 120. A hotfix for the Bocek Compound Bow that increased its explosive arrow damage to 55 (up from 40), increased its rate of fire, and increased its maximum charge damage to 65 (up from 55) is noted, alongside a previous fix for missing models during arrow replenish supply.
- The Mastiff shotgun is getting a quality of life buff with new ADS (Aim Down Sights) firing animations that help the weapon return to the center of the screen faster after firing, improving target acquisition between shots. Previously, at max fire speed, the optic might not fully return to center, making follow-up shots trickier (accelerated weapon screen effects smoothed).
- The Prowler SMG’s horizontal recoil is improved in burst and full auto, and its burst fire delay is reduced.
- The Sentinel increased limb damage and rechamber speed is increased when energized. Similarly, the longbow increased limb damage values.
Understanding the Gold Weapon Rotation
In the Gold Weapon Rotation, the R301, Flatline, R99, Akimbo Mozambiques, and Spitfire are expected to be included. This includes the Mozambique, potentially fitting a remark made in one of the previews about Mozambique getting buffs.
System, Quality of Life, and Firing Range Updates
- The playable map pool for Pubs and Ranked is updated to Kings Canyon, World’s Edge, and Broken Moon.
- Weapon Arsenals on the map are getting a quality of life update with an increased interact size for the consoles. This seemingly small change is aimed at making it less likely for players to accidentally pick up a new weapon while attempting to enhance their current one – a frustrating issue for many due to the previous tiny interaction area! This should make interacting with weapon arsenals feel a lot smoother, especially when managing your current weapon battle loadout.
- The general “hold to use” system across the game has been rewritten to improve its accuracy. This change aims to prevent accidental weapon swaps that can occur when players try to hold down the interact button for other actions (like opening Supply Bins). By making the system more precise, holding the button down should no longer mistakenly register as a quick press for swapping weapons, reducing chaotic moments.
- The VFX (visual effects) for Thermite Grenades are being updated. Changes include adding detonation effects and new elements to update visuals. Smart materials are updated, with a “hotter bottom” to better see the Thermite’s Area of Effect (AoE). Assets dissolve faster, and the number of particles and overdraw are reduced (reduced volume of visual noise). Updated sparks are added to enhance the field. These changes, particularly reducing particles and improving AoE clarity, are aimed at improving visibility and potentially performance.
- Audio changes are also being made to help players better prioritize sounds. Friendly zipline audio will be deprioritized so enemy ziplines are always clearly audible (reduced volume for non-critical sounds). Similarly, non-threatening enemy footsteps (like downed players) will be less prominent to ensure potentially threatening enemies are always heard, although this aspect might be surprising for players used to hearing everything. Experimentation with lowering the volume of audible friendly footsteps when under significant threat is also mentioned. Fine-tuning audio remains an ongoing process for the developers.
- Ranked Play is seeing a change to the tier display in the lobby, which will now show the tier distribution per squad (based on the highest RP in the group) rather than per individual player. This aims to provide more clarification on the composition of pre-made squads in matchmaking, showing the leading member’s rank for the entire squad base, though it doesn’t change skill value ranked ladders or normal ranked challenges. The Ladder Champion dive trail reward is confirmed to remain earnable.
- Various bug fixes are also included in the update, addressing issues like arrows no longer getting stuck in Arenas barrier walls, Weapon Arsenals no longer stealing ammo from inventory, Artemis in the firing range no longer spamming ‘spawn meow’, and arrows can’t be picked up across firing range instances. A bug where holding Akimbo pistols could accidentally use a Tactical ability during an Ultimate has been fixed. Alter’s Void Nexus no longer cancels incorrectly, and Ash’s Greedy Snare now deploys correctly after the first hit. Mirage’s cloak consistency while healing is improved, and Sparrow’s tactical interactions with Revenant’s Shadow Shroud are fixed. Rampart can now interact with more objects while holding Sheila, such as banners. Death Recap now includes Gibraltar’s Arm Shield and Gun Shield Generator info. Battle Pass gifting has returned. Fixes for misprediction hitches when taking ring damage are also noted. Texture streaming enabled fixed pop-in issues, and removed doors in Production Yard Gun Run maps were addressed. Submit in-game reports now include clearer categories.
Introducing: Arenas: Duels Limited Time Mode
A brand new Limited Time Mode (LTM) is coming alongside the event called Arenas: Duels! This mode takes inspiration from community requests and brings back the spirit of Arenas with a focus on 1v1 combat. This mode takes place in lobbies with up to 30 players and features a series of fast-paced duels across Arena maps (including Encore, Habitat, Party Crasher, and Skull Town).
When players duel, they are assigned matching Legends, loadouts, and spawn locations, ensuring a mirrored fight centered purely on player skill with guns and movement. Each duel is quick, lasting only 5 minutes. A leaderboard tracks performance over the course of the match.
Interestingly, the mode will have two phases. Initially, for a set period (until July 15th), abilities will be turned OFF in Arenas: Duels (extremely limited access to abilities), putting the spotlight on core gun skills. However, excitingly, after that initial period (July 15th – August 5th), abilities are planned to be re-enabled, adding a new exciting strategic layer to the 1v1 format for the remainder of the mode’s run.
This mode sounds like a fantastic way for players to warm up and practice aiming and movement in mirrored scenarios (life firing range intensity), with the added layer of abilities coming later! It is expected to have its own reward track separate from the main event’s cosmetics, potentially including a ladder champion dive trail or ladder champion placement challenge cosmetics. Some wish it included a world hunt target PvE variant.
Looking Ahead
It’s important to remember that all of this information comes from the initial look at the patch notes and active window dev notes. Developers continue to actively monitor testing and feedback as the update is rolled out and throughout its lifespan. More tweaks and adjustments are always possible based on how the changes play out in the live game and how players adapt.
Performance optimizations have also been made in this patch, including improved GPU uploading and reduced CPU multithread overhead on high-core machines. The adaptive resolution fps target system for settings storm point may see further refinements in the future.
That’s a bit of a roundup on the many interesting changes coming in this Apex Legends mid-season update, dropping alongside the Future Icons event! From aiming to shift the weapon meta and provide new counterplay to movement Legends, to specific Legend buffs and nerfs, the exciting new Arenas: Duels LTM, and quality of life improvements, there’s certainly a lot to explore. Keep an eye out for the update dropping soon to experience these changes firsthand!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the name of this Apex Legends update?
This major patch is officially known as the 25th Mid-Season Apex Update. It serves as a detailed overview covering the changes implemented at this point in the season.
What event is happening alongside this update?
This significant game update is being released concurrently with the Future Icons event. This event is noted for bringing its own distinct cosmetic flair to the game, complementing the gameplay-focused adjustments introduced by the patch itself.
Which Legends received changes in this update?
The update brings quite sizable changes across the Legend roster. Developers have targeted several specific characters, including Wattson, Vantage, Ash, Alter, Ballistic, Conduit, and Mirage. These adjustments aim to provide buffs to some, nerfs to others, and generally fine-tune the overall balance of the Legend pool, often driven by analysis of pick rates and gameplay performance to address characters high or low in popularity.
What are the key buffs for Wattson’s Perimeter Security fences?
Wattson’s Perimeter Security fences received substantial buffs. Their durability has been doubled, increasing their HP to 50, and the cooldown for placing individual nodes is drastically reduced from 15 seconds to 4 seconds, allowing for near-constant placement. Fences placed across doors now electrify them, stunning enemies who open or kick them. Nodes placed directly behind a door no longer break if the door is opened. Fences also now slow sliding/jumping enemies and consume tactical cooldowns of high-mobility Legends like Ash (and potentially Sparrow, though not explicitly confirmed).
How did Wattson’s passive ability change?
Wattson’s passive ability, Spark of Genius, has also seen enhancements. She can now utilize accelerants 50% faster than before. Furthermore, her passive shield regeneration rate has been doubled, increasing her shield recovery from 1 shield per second to a more impactful 2 shields per second (noted as increased tac health regen).
What are some of Wattson’s new or changed perks?
Wattson’s perks saw major changes. The Falling Stars perk (giving Arc Stars from Supply Bins) is now integrated into her base kit. A new Level One perk, “Help Is Here,” grants her all of the support class perks. New Level Two perks include “Ultimate Conductor,” which converts damage dealt into ultimate charge and provides a burst of 30% charge on a knock. The “Energize Healer” perk returns as a Level Three option, now providing double healing from small meds like Shield Cells and Syringes. The “Power Pylon” Level Three perk also increases her ultimate’s HP, healing rate, and capacity.
What major improvements were made to Vantage’s Tactical, Echo Relocation?
Vantage’s tactical ability, Echo Relocation, was massively improved. Echo will now auto-recall to Vantage after she performs a jump (either off the ground or using her dash). The jump activation time is faster, and Echo’s max fly distance is increased by 10 meters. The bat-bounce (double jump) is now integrated into her base kit and no longer requires a perk. Weapon redeploy time after an Echo jump is significantly reduced to 0.2 seconds (down from 0.5). The Field of View within which Echo needs to be for Vantage to jump to him has also been widened.
How did Vantage’s Ultimate, Sniper’s Mark, change?
Vantage’s ultimate, Sniper’s Mark, has also been upgraded. The ultimate reload upgrade is now integrated directly into her base kit, ensuring she can replenish supply arrows shot without occupying a perk slot. Furthermore, her laser sight, which is typically visible when aiming down sights, is now hidden until she actually fires the weapon. This change makes it much harder for opponents to spot her and pre-fire her position. The laser becomes visible for 15 seconds after a shot (refreshing with subsequent shots) and is apparently more representative of where she is actually aiming.
What are some of Vantage’s new Legend perks?
Vantage has gained several new Legend perks to enhance her playstyle. At Level Two, two new options are available: “Controlling My Prey,” which grants her the benefits of the Controller class perks, including access to Ring Consoles and Zone Overcharge; and “Improved Mark,” which makes marked enemy upgrades visible through walls and briefly highlights enemies while revealing their health bar to her squad upon marking them. At Level Three, players can choose between “Tactical Cooldown,” which reduces her tactical cooldown by a solid 5 seconds, or “Sniper Cover,” which adds a gun shield generator to her ultimate when aiming down sights, similar to the Gun Shield hop-up.
How did Ash’s Tactical, Arc Snare, change?
Ash’s tactical ability, Arc Snare, received a mix of adjustments. Its base cooldown has been reduced to 8 seconds (down from 10), which is a buff. However, the tether strength of her tactical has been slightly increased when used on high-speed targets. While the reduced cooldown keeps her fast, the stronger tether might make it slightly harder for opponents using movement abilities like a double jump or slide to escape the tether’s pull if caught.
What nerfs did Ballistic’s Tactical (Whistler) receive?
Ballistic, noted as sitting at a high pick rate, received nerfs to his tactical ability, Whistler. The direct hit damage on activation is reduced from 20 down to 15. Additionally, the damage from overheat caused by the smart bullet is also reduced significantly, dropping from 30 down to 15. These adjustments stem from developer views that his tactical’s damage was perhaps too high given how consistently it could hit targets.
Did Conduit receive any buffs?
Yes, Conduit received some small but impactful buffs related to her tactical ability, Radiant Transfer. Its base cooldown was previously reduced in a hotfix from 31 seconds to 21 seconds. This update further enhances the ability by reducing the recharge delay on her tactical after she takes damage, decreasing it from 2 seconds down to just 1 second. This change is intended to make her shielding feel more consistent and readily available during engagements.
What Quality of Life changes were made to Mirage’s decoys?
Mirage has gained neat quality of life updates specifically aimed at making his decoys even more convincing. Both his Tactical and Ultimate decoys will now properly mimic Mirage by swapping weapons when the player does and will also correctly holster melee weapons. These seemingly small updates are designed to make Mirage decoys truly mimic player actions, potentially leading to more successful deceptions and making it slightly harder for opponents to distinguish the real Mirage from a fake.
How do Arc Stars and Wattson fences specifically counter Ash and potentially Sparrow’s mobility?
The update brings powerful counterplay options against high-mobility Legends. If an enemy is hit by an Arc Star explosion or passes through a Wattson fence (by sliding or jumping), their momentum while in the air or sliding will be significantly reduced, potentially even completely halted (resulting in inconsistent sprint speeds). Additionally, these interactions will now consume the cooldown on Ash’s Tactical Dash (and potentially Sparrow’s Double Jump). This shared counterplay effect between Arc Stars and Wattson fences makes them much more potent tools specifically for dealing with these highly mobile threats.
Which hop-up was added to the Havoc, Flatline, and Mozambique?
As part of the hop-up and attachment changes in this patch, the Accelerator hop-up has been added to the Havoc AR, Flatline, and Mozambique weapons, potentially altering their effectiveness and desired loadouts.
Which weapons had the Accelerator hop-up removed?
Conversely, the Accelerator hop-up has been removed from the Devotion, Mastiff, and Sentinel weapons in this update, changing the available hop-up options for these firearms.
What is the new Limited Time Mode (LTM) called and what is its focus?
A brand new Limited Time Mode (LTM) is being introduced called Arenas: Duels, arriving alongside the event. This mode takes inspiration from community requests and brings back the spirit of Arenas with a strong focus specifically on 1v1 combat. It features lobbies with up to 30 players participating in a series of fast-paced duels across various Arena maps, including Encore, Habitat, Party Crasher, and Skull Town. When players duel, they are assigned matching Legends, loadouts, and spawn locations to ensure a mirrored fight centered purely on individual player skill with guns and movement. Each duel is quick, lasting only 5 minutes, and a leaderboard tracks performance throughout the match.
How does the Arenas: Duels LTM handle abilities?
The Arenas: Duels LTM features an interesting approach to abilities, phased over its run. Initially, for a set period from launch until July 15th, abilities will be turned OFF (described as extremely limited access), specifically putting the spotlight on core gun skills and movement. However, excitingly, after that initial period (from July 15th through August 5th), abilities are planned to be re-enabled, adding a new and exciting strategic layer to the 1v1 format for the remainder of the mode’s availability.
What QoL change was made to Weapon Arsenals?
Weapon Arsenals found on the map are receiving a quality of life update. The interact size for their consoles has been increased. This seemingly small change is specifically aimed at making it less likely for players to accidentally pick up a new weapon while they are trying to enhance their current one – a frustrating issue for many due to the previous tiny interaction area. This should make interacting with Weapon Arsenals feel a lot smoother, especially when managing your current weapon battle loadout.
What was changed regarding the “Hold to Use” system?
The general “hold to use” input system used across the game has been completely rewritten. This update aims to improve its overall accuracy. The core goal is to prevent accidental weapon swaps that could previously occur when players tried to hold down the interact button for other actions, such that as opening Supply Bins or interacting with other objects. By making the system more precise, holding the button down should no longer mistakenly register as a quick press for swapping weapons, thereby reducing frustrating and chaotic moments in gameplay.
