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The full patch notes for Apex Legends’ Chaos Theory event–which is now live–have been released. There are a lot of substantial changes in this update, including a brand-new option to queue into Trios or Duos without filling in random squadmates. So, if you want, you can now solo-queue into Apex Legends.
The really big stuff coming in Chaos Theory is outlined in the event’s trailer: Caustic’s town takeover is replacing Kings Canyon’s Water Treatment, Heat Shields are being added as a solution for temporarily surviving outside the ring, Bangalore is getting an heirloom, and a new Ring Fury limited-time mode will replace standard Trios and Duos. But there are tons of quality-of-life changes beyond these ones which will have significant impacts on Apex Legends’ in-match meta.
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Now Playing: Year 2 Of Apex Legends: Highs, Lows, And Biggest Changes
Changes To Characters
This update takes a stab at reworking the defender class, with balance changes for Wattson, Caustic, Gibraltar, and Rampart. The change to Wattson–she now passively regenerates shields, similarly to how Octane regenerates health–is an interesting one. As the smallest defender, Wattson is the only one to take extra damage on account of her Low Profile perk. Assumedly, this update is to address that weakness, stacking on top of the shield regeneration provided by her Intercept Pylon to further solidify her as someone who always bunkers down. She’ll likely now be able to survive just a little bit longer, passively healing between fights as she reestablishes her defenses.
Beyond the defenders, Pathfinder, Horizon, and Revenant will be changed too. The adjustments to Horizon and Revenant are pretty small (she gets a small nerf, he gets a tiny buff) but Pathfinder mains will likely rejoice at his changes. Pathfinder is undergoing the same transformation that Revenant did back in Season 4: he’s losing the Low Profile passive. Both robots are tall, skinny bois, so losing Low Profile just makes them hard-to-shoot targets that don’t take extra damage. This change did wonders for Revenant back in Season 4; it stands to reason the same will apply for Pathfinder here.
Changes To Weapons
This update takes a much needed stab at nerfing some of the weapons that have become far too dominant in recent seasons. Most notably, the Mastiff shotgun’s pellet damage is being decreased from 13 to 11 and the fire rate is being increased from 1.0 to 1.1. So it’s (thankfully) both weaker and slower. “The goal of these changes are to place this weapon’s identity between the fast fire EVA-8 and the heavy hitting Peacekeeper,” Respawn writes in the patch notes. The Hemlock is also getting an increase to its hip fire spread which should decrease the assault rifle’s dominance in close quarters, shifting the gun back to a mid-range option.
Gold weapons are also being changed. All gold assault rifles and LMGs are changing so their default sight is the 2x Bruiser–which is one of the best scopes in the game. It’s a far better option to have than the previous default: the 1x – 2x Variable Holo Sight. On top of that, you’ll now be able to (finally) remove and change the sights for gold weapons and most crate weapons. The Kraber is the one exception–even though pros can use it as a close-range shotgun, it doesn’t mean Respawn wants folks to regularly do so.
Changes To Maps
Mirage Voyage is blasting off again. This fan-favorite landmark used to be on World’s Edge before settling into the crater on Kings Canyon where Skull Town once stood. Its departure makes me a little nervous. Mirage Voyage acted as a major draw, helping to spread squads off the initial drop. Alongside the new landmarks added at the start of Season 8, Mirage Voyage helped make Kings Canyon feel bigger and less crowded. Without it, the map may feel too small again.
Chaos Theory Collection Event Update Patch Notes
Legend Updates
Caustic Nox Gas Grenade cooldown increased from 2.5 minutes to 3.5 minutes.Nox Gas damages at a flat rate of 5hp per tick instead of ramping up from 6hp → 12hp.Dev note: Caustic is brutally effective at slowing down engagements. The entirety of his kit revolves around gas with a large area of effect, slow, vision obstruction, and direct health damage. It’s proven to be too oppressive in too many scenarios especially considering teammates can play in gas relatively unimpaired. Significantly reducing gas damage (without taking it away completely or having it affect armor instead) seems like a fair compromise that stays true to the character while making him less oppressive on the receiving end. We will be monitoring the data and gameplay closely. If these changes hit Caustic’s appeal or effectiveness too hard we will revisit accordingly.Pathfinder Removed Low ProfileDev Note: Low Profile has been used as a balancing tool for both mobile and/or small legends. Although Path is still mobile, his hitbox is large. While his overall win rate and encounter win rate is by no means low, it’s hard to justify keeping Low Profile on a hitbox of his size.Gibraltar Removed 15% faster heal item usage while in Dome of Protection.Horizon Increased Black Hole cooldown from 2 minutes to 3 minutesRevenant Revenant’s Silence now disables Mirage’s cloaked revive & respawn as well as Octane’s Swift Mend.Wattson Wattson now has passive shield regen at 0.5 hp/s (half of Octane’s current health regen rate).Rampart Explosives damage Amped Cover normally, instead of inflicting 200 damage.Explosives damage Sheila normally, instead of inflicting 175 damage.Dev Note: Walls should be beefy and powerful once built. Before Rampart shipped, we were worried that her nests would be too oppressive and so we gave enemy players the option to quickly clear them out with grenades. This wasn’t necessary, as it turns out, so we’re removing increased damage from grenades against Amped Cover and Sheila.
Weapon Updates
Weapon Optics All gold AR and LMG default optics updated to 2x Bruiser.Mastiff Pellet damage decreased from 13 → 11. Fire rate increased from 1.0 → 1.1.Dev Note: The goal of these changes are to place this weapon’s identity between the fast fire EVA-8 and the heavy hitting Peacekeeper. The Mastiff has consistently been dominant in close quarters combat given its forgiving spread pattern and high damage spikes with each shot. This change reduces that high damage potential in order to limit the amount of two pumps players experience on the receiving end.Wingman +1 bullet to every magazine size, including base.Hemlok Increased hip-fire spread.Dev Note: The burst damage from the Hemlok’s hip-fire was feeling a little too consistent for an AR that should excel at medium range. This change mitigates the Hemlok’s close quarters damage spikes that felt bad on the receiving end.
Quality Of Life Changes
Kings Canyon Loot – we’ve done a pass on the loot to bring up the quality across the map, while also maintaining a certain amount of loot after Mirage Voyage has flown away. The wooden shacks across the map should have a few more pieces each, and generally be a little higher quality.Spotted Lake has been reduced to Medium Quality from High.Crash Site has redistributed the loot in the area slightly. The amount stays the same, but the higher quality loot should be in the ship.Caustic Treatment has more loot than Water Treatment, and it remains Hiqh Quality.Locked Weapon Optic Swapping – For guns with fully locked attachment slots, like fully-kitted gold weapons and most crate weapons, you can now remove the optic and replace it with a different sight. This does not apply to the Kraber sniper rifle.Assists have been added to the in-game HUD, next to kills. This was already present in Ranked and now has been added to unranked. Assists still don’t contribute to XP. This has replaced the Spectator “eye” icon.Assists and Knocks have been added to your squad’s banners and will show at the end of a match.Club names now appear on Match Summary and Champion screen if all players are part of the same club.Items will no longer “stick” to Crafting Replicator when dropped on the Replicator.Badge Progress – for badges that have longer amounts of progress, hovering over the badge will show you more information. For example, if you’re trying to get 50 wins as Lifeline, you’ll now see that you have 45 instead of somewhere between 15 and 50.Ping My Deathbox – While respawning on a dropship, you can now ping your own deathbox to help locate it easier.Gold Backpack – Players being revived by a gold backpack will have a crackle of energy—based on the tier of armor they wear—while the revive is taking place. They will also display the armor heal FX when the revive is finished. This change should help players prioritize pushing a revive in progress.Players on PC can now go back to the title screen from the lobby to allow switching of data centers without restarting the game.Added numbers to the Advanced Look Controls. This should help people experiment and easily revert back to their favorite settings.When scanning a beacon for Ring 6, you should now be able to see the location where Ring 6 finishes.Inspect Weapon – Since the Survival Slot took its button on controller (we only have so many buttons!), Inspect Weapon has been moved to the emote wheel by default. It can be bound to any key on PC.
Bug Fixes
Gibraltar Corrected an issue with Gibraltar not getting hit registrations when simultaneously releasing ADS and shooting while his Gun Shield was upWraith Wraith players can no longer cancel Into the Void by jumping at a wallThe New Skydive Emote will now work with Legendary SkinsCaustic Fixed a bug that was causing Nox Gas to flicker for some players affected by itOctane Repeatedly using the same jump pad no longer disables double-jumpsPlayers are no longer allowed to “glide” along a wall after using the jump padCrypto Crypto’s animation to bring out his Drone is no longer skippable by throwing a holosprayCrypto can no longer teleport to a replicatorReloading the Mastiff and 30-30 will no longer be faster while in Crypto’s droneLoba Fixed a few areas Loba could teleport into that would get her stuckRampart Players can no longer use Sheila to get under the world when placed too close to the Phase Runner in OlympusHorizon Fixed the Gravity Lift falling through the floor when used on the train tracks in World’s Edge’s Sorting FactoryUsing a zipline after a Gravity Lift will no longer increase accuracyFuse Motherload will now damage and destroy jump padsWhen under a small enclosure, players will no longer be pushed out after using MotherloadPlayers can no longer double their grenades after looting a dead Fuse’s deathboxMastiff Dropping and picking up the Mastiff will no longer cause it to be reloaded3030 Repeater Dropping and picking up the 30-30 will no longer cause it to be reloaded30-30 will now have spread deviation when ADS firing and jumping
MISC
Fixed a bug preventing Steam users from sending friend requests to each otherUsernames now update when a user swaps between the Origin Client to the Steam ClientFixed a bug preventing players from creating or joining clubs due to their EA Account already being associated with another platform
