Respawn Entertainment gave fans their first look at the upcoming Nemesis AR in action in Apex Legends today—and it’s looking scary.
Season 16 of Apex, Revelry, is set to launch on Feb. 14. While the anticipated release won’t be including a new legend for the first time in the game’s history, it appears the community will have plenty of other changes and additions to keep them busy.
Newcomers will have Orientation Matches to complete, the Firing Range is receiving some renovations, a new Mixtape LTM playlist is replacing Arenas, and the legend roster’s class system is being overhauled entirely.
Changes to the existing weapon meta are also coming, but it seems the main culprit set to bring chaos to the long-established order will be the title’s first new weapon in over a year.
As shown in the minute-long clip, the Nemesis is a four-round burst energy assault rifle that deals 17 damage to the body and as much as 29 to the head (without a helmet). The AR has four attachment slots for barrels, optics, stocks, and mags. The purple munitions pick-up takes the Nemesis from a base of 20 rounds up to 32.
The standout feature of the Nemesis, however, is its built-in rate-of-fire ramp-up mechanic. As players burst fire the weapon, which can be held down, the Nemesis’ rate of fire rapidly quickens to a point that “simulates a fully automatic weapon.” When idle, the rifle’s rate of fire drops back down. This is all visualized live in a meter located above the weapon’s ammo.
With all of the specs out of the way, the gameplay of the weapon—showcasing content creator SoaR Dazs beaming targets in the range with ease—appears to confirm recent chatter going around from playtesters that the Nemesis is simply going to take over the game in season 16.
Ultimately, with Respawn advertising the Nemesis as a “powerful” top contender to the VK-47 Flatline and R-301 Carbine, it’s no surprise that it would want the new AR to be capable of making some major noise. But with its seemingly broken base damage, minuscule recoil, and pristine iron sights, an urgent nerf may already need to be in the works.
