Apex Legends: Arsenal – L-Star Buffs, Nerfs to R-99 and Charge Rifle, and More Detailed

The newest season of Apex Legends is live today with Arsenal, and players get to visit a revamped World’s Edge and try out a new Legend in Ballistic. Patch notes for the same are available and highlight some of the buffs, nerfs and overall changes to the battle royale experience.

The L-Star EMG enters crates as part of the new rotation, while the Alternator and Sentinel are available in the crafter. Vault loot, in general, is improved with more chances of finding gold loot. The L-Star has received significant buffs despite a base damage reduction from 17 to 16. It now has Disruptor Rounds, which deal 60 percent increased damage against shields.

Its projectile growth also increases while the recoil pattern is improved, and projectiles can pass through targets, retaining 60 percent of their damage. The R-99 has seen a magazine size reduction across the board, with one less bullet for every type. Meanwhile, the Charge Rifle now fires three shots per magazine instead of four and has a lower spawn rate.

Check out some of the patch notes below, and full notes here for more details.

PATCH NOTES

BALANCE UPDATES

Crate Rotation

• L-Star EMG enters the crate
• RE-45 returns to the floor

Weapon Crafting Rotation

• Alternator SMG enters the crafter
• Sentinel enters the crafter
• EVA-8 returns to the floor
• 30-30 Repeater returns to the floor

Gold Weapon Rotation

• Flatline, Triple Take, Spitfire, Mastiff, Volt

Loot Spawns

Improved Vault Loot

• Increased chances of gold loot
• Added light mags to spawn pool

Improved Cargo Bot Loot

• Removed small healing items, Mobile Respawn Beacon, White Armor, White Backpack
• Adjusted Large Healing and Heatshield spawns to allow for more desirable loot spawns
• Removed gold weapons from purple tier Cargo Bots but increased spawn chance in gold tier

WEAPONS

L-Star EMG [Crate]

• Added Disruptor Rounds: 60% damage increase against shields
• Base Damage Reduced to 16 (was 17)
• Projectiles now have passthrough: 60% damage retained
• Projectile growth increased
• Improved recoil pattern
• Removed barrel
• Ammo Stockpile: 324
• Reduced VFX brightness when hitting unarmored targets

30-30 Repeater

• Projectile size increased when fully charged

Triple Take

• Projectile size increased
• Improved hipfire spread
• Tightened bullet pattern when fully choked
• Ammo per shot reduced to 1 (was 3)
• Magazines sizes adjusted to match the new ammo costs
  – Purple Mag: Increased to 10 shots (was 9)

R-99 SMG

• Removed 1 bullet from base and all magazines
  – No Magazine reduced to 19 (was 20)
  – White Magazine reduced to 21 (was 22)
  – Blue Magazine reduced to 24 (was 25)
  – Purple & Gold magazine reduced to 27 (was 28)

Charge Rifle

• Reduced shots per magazine to 3 (was 4)
• Reduced spawn rate

LEGENDS

Catalyst

Dark Veil

• Scan Highlights & Diamonds are no longer visible through the Dark Veil

Mirage

• Class changed from Skirmisher to Support

Ash

• Now gets slowed to weapon sprint speed instead of weapon walk speed when targeting with her tac

Assault Class

• Smart loot gains have been adjusted to reduce skipping an upgrade tier
• It will now be less likely to jump from White to Purple or Blue to Gold
• Optics are now given based on team rather than just Assault Legend who opens them
• Added special drop rate for Gold Optics

Skirmisher Class

• Care packages are now automatically pinged for the team on reveal.
• This includes empty Care Packages that have already been looted by another team

Support Class

• Support Bins will now guarantee at least one Battery in one of the Secret Compartment slots
• Support Bins will now award MRBs if your ally is dead, even if you don’t have their banner card.
• Legend Banners can now be crafted by ANY player who has a Support Class Legend in their Squad

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