The next season of Apex Legends, titled Saviors, will be released on May 10. While the new legend Newcastle and major changes to Storm Point will be the headlining features of the update, Apex’s 13th season also contains a plethora of changes to weapon balance. LMGs are seeing nerfs across the board, while other less-beloved options in the floor loot are receiving some small quality-of-life improvements.
With the Spitfire returning to the loot pool from its tenure in the care package and headshot damage getting altered heavily, there are some potentially major shake-ups to the meta that players will want to get on top of before the season goes live.
Here are all of the weapon buffs and nerfs coming with Apex season 13.
Weapon buffs
Mozambique and Peacekeeper shotguns
- Damage to limbs has been increased from 0.8 to 1.0.
Limb damage has traditionally been weaker across the Apex weapon arsenal to promote players aiming for the head or the chest of their opponent. With this buff to limb damage for the Peacekeeper and Mozambique, both shotguns should now deliver far more consistent damage, mitigating the potential damage lost through pellet spread.
Havoc rifle
- Improvements have been made to the recoil at the start of the Havoc’s pattern.
Mastiff shotgun
- The damage per pellet has been increased from 11 to 14, and the size of those pellets is now larger.
- Fire rate has been slightly increased from 1.1 to 1.2.
- The blast pattern has been tightened up to be more accurate.
- Ammo in a single magazine has been reduced from six to four, while the ammo in reserves has been limited to 28.
The Mastiff is going into the care package this season, replacing the Spitfire LMG. As is tradition for weapons that enter the care package, its overall strength has been increased but its ammo stockpile has been decreased. The shotgun will be a deadly tool next season, but hitting your shots will be more crucial than ever.
Related: Spitfire back to ground loot in Apexās season 13
Weapon nerfs
Kraber sniper rifle
- Bullet damage has been reduced from 145 to 140.
- The damage multiplier for headshots has been drastically reduced from 3.0 to 2.0.
The Kraber is and always will be a deadly weapon with its ability to instantly change a teamfight from dozens of meters away. But some of its power has been taken away in season 13, mirroring similar changes across the board to headshot damage multipliers. How much five damage will shift the Kraber’s dominant place on the map remains to be seen, though.
LSTAR LMG
- The damage multiplier for headshots has been reduced from 1.75 to 1.5, as well as headshot distance getting reduced from 64 meters to 57 meters.
- The time to cool off the LSTAR following the weapon overheating has been increased from 2.5 to 3.6.
- Handling times have been improved.
The pattern of headshot multipliers getting nerfed will be a recurring theme with Apex’s season 13 changes, but the LSTAR is also becoming more punishing for players who push it to overheat in battle. While the quicker handling will make the gun feel a bit lighter and more nimble, it’s coming at the expense of its damage output overall.
Devotion LMG
- Bullet damage reduced from 16 to 15
- Headshot damage multipliers have been reduced from 1.75 to 1.5, as well as headshot distance getting reduced from 64 meters to 57 meters.
- The reload is now slower, up to 3.2 from 2.8.
- Handling times have been slightly nerfed across the board.
The Devotion’s changes mirror the nerfs to the LSTAR in many ways, but it doesn’t benefit from the small buffs to handling and instead sees reductions in that area as well. The time taken to draw, holster, raise, and lower the Devotion has all been increased a small amount.
Rampage LMG
- The reload time has been increased from 2.6 to 3.1.
- Handling times have been improved.
Spitfire LMG
- Bullet damage decreased from 19 to 18.
- The capacity increase provided by purple and gold magazines has been reduced from 55 to 50.
- The ability to attach a barrel to the gun has been removed.
- The multiplier for headshot damage has been reduced from 1.75 to 1.5, and the headshot distance has been reduced from 64 meters to 57 meters.
- The time to reload has been increased from 3.2 to 3.4.
- The spread of hipfire while the player is crouched has been increased.
- Handling times have been slightly nerfed across the board.
Now that the Spitfire has returned to ground loot, some of its damage potential had to be curbed compared to its potent care package variant. It receives many of the same nerfs as the other LMGs in Apex, but with the added kicker that it can no longer take barrel attachments. As barrels are fundamental to reducing the recoil of a weapon, the Spitfire’s strength will be entirely dependent on a player’s ability to control the weapon’s recoil at its strongest in season 13.
Related: All care package weapons in Apex Legends
To see how all of these changes stack up against additional updates to helmets and fortified legends, you can read the full season 13 patch notes ahead of Apex Saviors’ release on May 10.
