When season 17 of Apex Legends was released to the public on May 9, it came with a lot of changes that players both liked and disliked. But there was one big addition to weapon progression that left a lot of players wanting. The weapon master system was introduced to the game, allowing players to choose specific weapons to build experience with, earning weapon-specific rewards as they progressed through.
Where this becomes an issue is exactly how long it takes to get these rewards, as well as what these rewards are. Fans of other shooters, such as Call of Duty, are familiar with the weapon mastery system, and the regular amount of loot they should get when grinding a specific weapon for a long period of time. On May 16, one Apex player from Reddit went into detail about the game’s new weapon system and how, in their opinion, awful this current iteration of the weapon mastery system is.
Each weapon mastery option offers the same thing: a base-game legendary skin for said weapon at the very end, as well as weapon-specific kill trackers along the way to that skin. But, considering how long it takes to earn XP to get those items, this player says it’s not worth the time. Especially since there is only one reward for mastering all weapons.
“To max out every weapon will take you literally THOUSANDS of hours,” Anonftbl said. “And if you’re insane enough to take up this full time job of a grind, you get… a banner frame.”
They added that, unlike Call of Duty, this grind is “borderline impossible and inaccessible” for a very small reward. Others echoed the sentiment, with players chiming in.
One player in the comments saw a missed opportunity, with the possibility of making an entirely new legendary skin for each weapon, exclusive to the weapon mastery reward system. Another player was angry the base-game legendary skin reward would be essentially useless to long-time players who already have all of them for their respective favorite weapons.
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A more relaxed player also chimed in, mentioning that you could finish these weapon masteries passively as you play game after game in Apex. But that was easily countered, with another player adding that completing the ‘Trials’ that the game has forces players to complete specific tasks.
For a quick rundown, ‘Trials’ are essentially weapon challenges that earn a lot of experience towards weapon masteries. Some examples are dealing 1,500 damage in a game with a Mozambique, or knocking down three enemies while sliding with a Peacekeeper. These Trials are designed to be tough, which also makes them hard to complete passively—without specifically grinding to complete them.
These players are calling for the Apex team to change this, and luckily enough, simply adding more rewards or streamlining the experience for weapon mastery can lead to a quick fix. But with how recent weapon masteries were added to the game, it might take a little time before the Apex devs address this.
