Apex Legends Season 24 Patch Notes Feature Major Buffs For Ash & Ballistic, Serious Armor Changes, And New Class Perks – GameSpot
By
Claire Lewis
on February 11, 2025 at 12:29PM PST
GameSpot may receive revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and from purchases through links.
Apex Legends Season 24: Takeover is now live, and although the latest season of Respawn’s popular battle royale doesn’t introduce a new playable Legend, it does feature a number of game-changing meta tweaks, from long-awaited Legend buffs to a new “Creator Commissioner” event that lets Apex Legends livestreamers take control of the game itself.But the new content doesn’t stop there. Respawn recently released Season 24’s patch notes, detailing Takeover’s additional features (including a new, ultra-convenient type of Supply Bin called an Arsenal), along with standard seasonal changes like weapon rotations and changes to the loot pool.Keep scrolling for an in-depth look at all of the content hitting Apex Legends alongside the launch of Season 24: Takeover.As seen in the Takeover gameplay trailer, Season 24 will see four Apex Legends content creators stepping into Kuben Blisks shoes as a part of the Creator Commissioners event. Starting on February 25, Ninjayla, Oraze, Apryze, and Kaminari Qpi will “take over” the Apex Games for two weeks each, challenging players to complete in-game feats in exchange for up to 20 Apex Packs and a creator-selected Legendary-tier weapon skin.The Creator Commissioners schedule is as follows:Arsenals are a new type of Supply Bin that appear in the game’s standard battle royale mode. Unlike the average Supply Bin–which contains randomized loot that players may or may not actually need–Arsenals contain loot that’s tailored to the weapon inside it. In addition to a weapon, Arsenals also contain ammo and the ability to upgrade whichever weapon they happen to contain, making it much easier for players to gear up and get back in the fight.Apex Legends celebrated its sixth anniversary on February 4, and Respawn is kicking off this year’s festivities with a new in-game Collection Event. The Sixth Anniversary Collection Event features 36 premium cosmetic items, and also allows players to get their hands on some Heirloom Shards and the game’s first-ever Mythic-tier weapon skin: the Void Disruption R-301. The event also includes a reward track full of free loot for players to unlock, including cosmetic items designed by popular Apex Legends fan artists. For more information on the Sixth Anniversary Collection Event, check out Respawn’s latest blog post.As advertised in the Takeover gameplay trailer, Season 24 includes some serious Legend buffs–mainly for Ash and Ballistic. As of Season 24, Ash’s Arc Snare tactical ability is more effective, and players will have an easier time trapping their foes in the snare. Her ultimate ability, Phase Breach, now travels farther and faster, and modifications have been made to ensure its placement is more accurate. But the biggest change is Ash’s new passive ability: Predator’s Pursuit. This passive allows Ash to quickly dash to an enemy that’s been caught in her Arc Snare, or dodge out of the way in close-quarters combat.As for Ballistic, a new Level 3 Legend Upgrade gives him twice as many Whistler charges, allowing him to overheat multiple enemy weapons in a short time frame. His ultimate ability, Tempest, now grants a speed boost, and his passive ability to carry three weapons rather than two has now been extended to include Care Package weapons, which will have infinite ammo when Tempest is active. Ballistic was already a force of nature–okay, technically he was a force of pharmaceutical engineering–but with his updated ability set, he’s deadlier than ever this season.Assault-class Legends–including Ash and Ballistic–have also had their class perks tweaked for Season 24. Their perks are now as follows:”[Assault-class] Legends are enhanced with perks that let them worry less about their weapon economy, bring more explosive power to the table, and give them the combat edge to capitalize on one of core moments in any combat encounter: the shield break,” Respawn said of the changes.As always, a new season means changes to Apex’s arsenal of weapons. But Season 24 also includes an unexpected (but certainly not unwelcome) reduction in muzzle flash for all weapons. The days of squinting in an attempt to see your target through a massive flash of particle effects are finally over, as Apex’s weapons have all had their muzzle flash drastically reduced. Full details on Respawn’s efforts to combat visual clutter from muzzle flash are listed below:Given these changes, players should have a much easier time keeping their target firmly in their sights.As for the usual seasonal changes to the game’s weapon loot pool, Season 24 sees the R-99 return to the standard loot pool, while a buffed-up version of the Peacekeeper takes its place as this season’s Care Package weapon. Season 24’s Legendary-tier (gold) weapon rotation features the Alternator, R-99, Wingman, 30-30 Repeater, and Rampage LMG.In one of the biggest changes to hit Apex in recent memory, Season 24 sees the removal of low-tier helmets. Common (white), Rare (blue), and Epic (purple) helmets have been entirely removed from the game, with new, higher-tier helmets (with special gameplay effects) taking their place. The way body armor works has also changed, and players are less likely to encounter enemy squads that are fully decked-out in Mythic (red) body armor.”We have taken a look at the defensive side of loot in Apex with some hefty streamlining,” Respawn said of the change. “Low-tier Helmets (white, blue, and purple) have been removed, and rare high value Helmets that provide meaningful gameplay perks have been added in their place. As for Armor, you will no longer level into red tier (125 shields) at Level 4 but will instead be capped at Level 3 (100 shields). However, red shields will still be available in the form of the new Mythic Armor Upgrade Helmet.”Details on the only two helmets left in the game–the Legendary-tier Gold Armor Upgrade Helmet and the new Mythic-tier Armor Upgrade Helmet–are listed below:Gold helmetMythic Armor Upgrade HelmetFor a detailed list of every single change Season 24 has introduced to the game, check out the Takeover patch notes, which are listed in full below:Care PackageGold Weapon RotationEVODev Note: Red armor allowed for a much wider health disparity in the mid to late game which reinforced activities like farming damage on the outskirts and avoiding encounters to collect resources. By lowering the total Armor available to these actions and the levels required to earn them, you can now get end-game ready more easily and focus on what matters most—the fight.Accelerated WeaponsNEW ArsenalsThese stations provide players with easy and deterministic access to weapons and ammo of their choice.HealingDev Note: Players will undoubtedly need to continue popping meds whenever they can with lowered max health, a universal gold helmet perk, and a ton of weapon buffs. We’ve decided to shave down some of those sharp edges to make healing a little easier across the board.HelmetsDev Note: Finding and equipping Helmets has always been a bit lackluster in both feeling the impact of wearing one and making the potential damage output a bit murky. Removing headshot damage reduction from the game makes damage more consistent, understandable, and easier to calculate.Gold HelmetNEW Mythic Armor Upgrade HelmetDev Note: Both the new Gold and Red Helmets are designed to pull some of the passive power embedded in Legends and put it into the loot pool to create new items to chase and fight for. They’ll also create dynamic gameplay options for players to strategize which squadmates don these powerful new items.Knocked Down StatePOI Names on DropHavoc Rifle [Care Package]Hemlok Burst ARNemesis Burst ARR-301 CarbineVK-47 FlatlineDevotion LMGL-STAR EMGM600 SpitfireRampage LMG30-30 RepeaterBocek Compound Bow [Care Package]G7 ScoutTriple TakeDev Note: Marksman weapons sit between the mid-range arsenal and snipers, but find themselves often outclassed by one of their neighbors. Their adjustments this season should make them feel more consistent at range, improve their performance when tracking enemies, and staying on target while providing headshots without stealing the play-making potential of our snipers.P2020RE-45 AutoWingmanAlternator SMGC.A.R. SMGProwler PDWR-99 SMG [Floor Loot]Volt SMGEVA-8 AutoMastiff ShotgunMozambique ShotgunPeacekeeper [Care Package]Dev Note: Shotguns are receiving a base damage increase, but losing their ability to deal increased headshot damage. They already represent incredible burst damage, but hitting those headshots create sharp output spikes that’s difficult to account for. This change creates a more understandable damage landscape that encourages players to land as many pellets as possible (instead of aiming for the head and whiffing half of them). Mozambiques will retain their headshot damage as a hybrid shotgun-pistol and the Care Package version of the Peacekeeper also keeps it to really lean into that slug shotty territory.Charge RifleKraber .50-Cal SniperLongbow DMRSentinelDev Note: For our Snipers, we’ve tuned their headshot damage to be much more impactful rather than increase their base body shot damage. This is to key into their role and fantasy as precision weapons that reward patient and skilled gameplay. To hammer this home, we’ve reduced the amount of damage they deal to limbs. These weapons benefit greatly from well placed shots and we don’t want that to change.Assault Class PerksSupport Class PerksDev Note: The Support Class was very strong last season. The faster movement and double small med heals gave these Legends rapid combat-reset potential that made them effective skirmishers, but didn’t inherently have a team-oriented feel. While this was great during the season of Support, we felt their identity was stronger as revival experts and this change will let them focus on that team-oriented specialization rather than feeling hard to kill.AshDev Note: Ash was overdue for some improvements to her kit to resurge her as a top Apex Predator. Many of her changes aim to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of her abilities: the improved placement, distance and speed of her Ult, and the snare’s tether point snagging from the projectile’s point rather than her escaping target. Most notably, Ash sees the addition of a brand new movement passive – reminiscent of her titan’s ability of yore. Her new dash is an incredibly effective mid-combat repositioning tool or distance closer making her a more effective skirmisher when closing in on her prey or quickly out-maneuvering in a duel. We expect to see a lot of impressive Ash players rise to the top with many of her upgrades doubling her abilities this season.BallisticDev Note: Ballistic has had a few updates, but has never really found his footing to lead the charge. Integrating the Sling and extra bullet upgrades into his kit gives more players access to the core of the Legend while empowering his Ult with speed—increasing his natural combat effectiveness and encouraging his squad to push and engage. Allowing Ballistic to carry a Crate Weapon in his Sling has always been something we’ve been dubious of, but this season we’re taking a bold stance to let Ballistic go…well, ballistic. The increased number of Tac charges should also allow players to more freely deploy the Overheat into their combat patterns or control the field if they also opt into the lasting bullet upgrade, giving more range of play and options for Ballistic.CryptoLobaDev Note: This was always intended as a short term buff to help Loba shine among an all-star Support lineup. However, it messed with the delicate dance that is landing off drop, which impacted long standing ‘good’ player behaviors around landing near your squad, looting, and using abilities into slightly more disruptive behaviors.MaggieDev Note: We’re returning these hard counters to empower Maggie in this Assault-focused season…for now.PubsRankedMixtapeTakeover: Mythic Mayhem Royale (February 11-March 3, 2025)Takeover: Redemption Trios & Duos (February 25-March 3, 2025)Takeover: Relic Weapons Trios & Duos (March 4-10, 2025)Standard Trios & DuosLTM: Three Strikes Mystery Legends (March 11-24, 2025)NEW Road to Ranked ChallengesIntroduced a new set of challenges to unlock Ranked for new players and returning players who have not yet reached the level requirement.Dev Note: The previous system of only requiring Level 20 was very prone to abuse by third-party bots, and could also be achieved by players who preferred Mixtape or LTMs. This new system will ensure that all new players joining Ranked have done the required work in BR matches and tested their mettle to a sufficient level to earn a spot in the competition.NEW Bot Royale TutorialWeapon MasteryDev Note: The current Weapon Mastery system presented some issues, including overly complex gating mechanics that disrupt progression, trials demanding high player skill levels, and excessive reliance on randomness that can slow or stall progress. These new trials remove unnecessary randomness, shifting the focus back to the essence of weapon usage: dealing damages and eliminating enemies. If you’ve already completed trials and earned rewards they will remain unaffected. If your trials were partially completed or 90% done, no problem! Your progress will be converted, no need to start over.AI Bots: Cover and PeekingDev note: Audio can be crucial whether you’re the squad attacking or the one being attacked. We’ve adjusted multiple audio cues to assist with combat effectiveness, and have a few more initiatives in the works to optimize audio throughout the match.DX12 (PC)
