The launch of Apex Legends‘ new season, Escape, will come with a host of balance changes, including big Wattson buffs, nerfs to the EVA-8 and the L-Star, and adjustments to crafting.
Wattson, the Apex Games’ Static Defender, is receiving widespread adjustments to her kit. The biggest change is to her tactical ability, Perimeter Security. The ability allows Wattson to place electrical fences that slow and damage enemies when they pass through. The charge cooldown for Perimeter Security has been cut in half, from 30 seconds to 15, and placement range has been increased by 50 percent.
Prior to season 11, Wattson moved more slowly when placing fences. This slow has been removed, making it easier and faster to place fences. The fences’ damage rate has also been increased. Previously, fences dealt 15 damage per tick. That’s now been increased to 20 per tick.
Wattson’s ultimate, Interception Pylon, is also being adjusted. Previously, the pylon only stayed deployed for 90 seconds, continuously restoring player shields and absorbing air-based projectiles within its range. Interception Pylon’s shield restoration will now work on a number basis, like Lifeline’s D.O.C drone, rather than for the 90-second duration; it will restore the shield of each player within its area of effect up to a total of 250 shields.
After the amount is reached, the pylon will stay on the ground until Wattson places a new one in a different location and will continue to absorb projectiles. The shield regeneration rate has been increased from two shields per second to five per second. To make sure Wattson isn’t overpowered as a result of these buffs and to keep her in line with other small heroes after the removal of Low Profile, her hitbox size is being increased slightly.
Some of Apex‘s most powerful guns are also being nerfed. The popular EVA-8 shotgun is the first on the table. Its rate of fire has been reduced from 2.1 to 2.0, effectively bringing it back to pre-season eight values. The goal is to make all the game’s shotguns more evenly balanced. The L-Star will also be receiving nerfs to combat its widespread effectiveness. Barrel effectiveness has been reduced at all tiers, the single-bullet damage has been decreased from 18 to 17, and the projectile’s collision size has been “significantly reduced.”
Finally, changes are coming to the way crafting works in battle royale. Previously, crafting one stack of ammo for two weapons (so one stack each) cost 10 crafting materials. With the new changes in place, players will be able to craft three stacks for two weapons for 20 crafting materials. For 20 crafting materials, players can purchase 60 rounds of light ammo.
Upgrades to EVO shields have also been adjusted. Prior to season 11, players could pay 45 materials and deposit their armor for a brief period of time to upgrade it with 100 EVO points. The materials cost has now been increased to 50, but the upgrade will now grant 150 EVO points. A white EVO shield only needs 150 points to reach blue status, meaning that players who land on or near a Replicator will be able to quickly upgrade their armor as long as they can pinpoint the locations of nearby crafting materials.
Apex Legends season 11 launches on Nov. 2. The full patch notes can be read here.
