Season 22 of Apex Legends, Shockwave, is nearly here. And with a new map to explore, new weapon combinations to test out, and some all-new modes and features coming to the game, there’s plenty to keep track of in the patch notes already.
Apex Legends Shockwave: Season 22 patch notes
Weapon balancing updates
- EVA-8: Returns to floor loot, receives according nerfs.
- Can use the Boosted Loader Hop-Up now.
- R-99: Goes into care package rotation
- Improved ADS strafing, recoil, and no movement penalty when equipped.
- Gets increased damage (14 per bullet) at close range. Damage falls off to 10/bullet at 11 or more meters’ distance.
- LMGs: All LMGs now get the reverse hipfire spread tightening seen in the Devotion in season 21.
- Alternator: Ammo capacity for all extended magazines nerfed by one.
- CAR SMG: Ammo capacity for all extended magazines nerfed by one.
- Devotion:
- Empty reload speed buffed.
- Gun Shield Generator added.
- Faster reverse hipfire effect.
- Flatline: Ammo capacity at all levels nerfed.
- HAVOC: Hipfire accuracy nerfed.
- Hemlok:
- Longer delay between bursts.
- Damage nerfed to 19 (was 20).
- Ammo capacity for white and blue extended mags nerfed.
- P2020:
- Damage buffed to 21 (was 18).
- Hammer Point damage nerfed to 23 (was 27).
- Ammo capacity nerfed at all levels.
- Mozambique:
- Hammer Point damage nerfed to 54 (was 60).
- Rate of fire buffed.
- Shotgun bolt effects nerfed.
- Mastiff:
- Damage buffed to 15 per pellet (was 11).
- Pellet count reduced to six (was eight).
- Peacekeeper:
- Damage buffed to 11 per pellet (was nine).
- Pellet count reduced to nine (was 11).
- Changed blast pattern.
- R-301: Ammo capacity buffed at all levels.
- RE-45: Ammo capacity buffed at all levels.
- Rampage: Revved up Rampage now has larger projectiles.
Hop-Ups
- Disruptor Rounds are being removed.
- Gun Shield Generator added.
- Can use on any LMG.
- Shield automatically deploys when ADSing.
- Shield has 40 health (if used on Gibraltar, improves his Arm Shield to 75 health).
- Shield takes 12 seconds to recharge.
New battle royale map: E-District
E-District is the newest battle royale map in Apex, and unlike its predecessors, it’s a fully urbanized one. Described as dense, and with a focus on verticality, E-District’s locales range from swanky plazas lined with cherry blossoms and lily pad ponds to old-town markets with food stands and even some industrial areas. One thing does stay constant, though: This city is beautiful and full of lights to help guide your way through the dark. Get ready for a hot drop.
Legend balancing updates
- Alter:
- Void Nexus gets several buffs, including activation time when knocked, duration of the “chase” portal, increased travel speed to Nexus, an ultimate cooldown, and not needing to look at a friendly Void Nexus to travel to it.
- New Evo level two upgrade: Alter’s ultimate cooldown option is removed for Ringmaster, enabling her to use Ring Consoles.
- Ballistic: Whistler lock-on time buffed.
- Crypto:
- New Evo level two upgrade: Off the Grid. Crypto is cloaked when in drone. The cloak will still emit a noise cue that can alert enemies when close. Threat Vision does not reveal Crypto when cloaked.
- New Evo level three upgrade: Satellite imagery. Ultimate now scans any enemy it hits for four seconds
- Quick Ping upgrade integrated into base kit for better drone handling
- Lifeline: Gold-Plated upgrade now does not get an Evo Cache in care package, replaced by a battery.
- Rampart: Sheila now uses an “ammo-style ultimate model” similar to Vantage.
- Seer:
- Healthbars revealed by Focus of Attention now persist for the duration of the Silence effect.
- Passive Heartbeat Sensor speed buffed to weapon sprint speed, ability is also quieter.
- Focus Scan upgrade removed.
- New Evo level three upgrade: Split Focus. Gain an extra tactical charge at the cost of the Silence lasting 50 percent shorter.
- Vantage:
- Tactical no longer needs LOS to Echo, and can cancel tactical mid-charge.
- Second shot of Sniper’s Mark buffed to 2.5x damage (was 2x).
- Pinging enemy with Spotter’s Lens tracks enemy for 10 seconds.
- Recon info added to all optics.
- Using ultimate accelerants now faster, and grants two extra Sniper’s Mark bullets.
- Wattson:
- Power Pylon upgrade now regenerates shield charge
- Split Current upgrade removed
- New level three Evo upgrade: Emergency Power. Buffs shield regeneration of Wattson’s ultimate.
Class Changes
Controller
Zone Overcharge: Controller legends gain a passive ability that gives them 25 extra shields when playing inside the Ring. It will never put a legend’s shields at over Mythic rarity (Red) levels.
Controller legends will also be able to remotely pick up undamaged tactical abilities, like Caustic traps or Rampart’s Amped Cover.
Recon
Threat Vision: When aiming down sights, enemies will be highlighted in red for Recon legends as long as they maintain line of sight. This ability does not work through walls or smokes and has a limited range depending on the optic used.
Recon legends also get faster use of Survey Beacons, and beacons “pulse” three times for 15 seconds, giving a more accurate picture of where teams around the beacon are. However, the beacon’s range has been decreased, and using a beacon now only grants 75 Evo points.
New weapon option: Akimbo
They’re not new weapons, per se, but new weapon options. Mozambiques and P2020s will get the option to go Akimbo in season 22, with players able to wield two of the weapons at the same time (although you can’t mix and match one P2020 with one Mozambique). In Akimbo mode, the weapons will fire in full auto, attachments for the weapon you have will be mirrored on the second weapon you pick up, and there’s no true ADS mode. Pressing the aim button will simply tighten the hipfire spread.
Aim assist nerf on PC
It’s actually happening: Controller players playing on PC will receive less aim assist starting in season 22. Reports indicate this is a 25-percent reduction in aim assist, going from a 0.4 value to 0.3.
This change will not affect console players—unless a controller player is using crossplay to play with their PC friends, then the aim assist nerf will impact those players as well.
New pubs takeover: Revival
It’s not quite a new mode, but it’s a takeover that will put a twist on pubs for the foreseeable future. To begin season 22, Trios in non-ranked battle royale will get the Revival twist. Until the fourth ring, all teams will have players respawn automatically as long as they have at least one teammate alive by the end of their respawn timer. Every player will get a respawn timer when they die, and the timer gets longer the further into the game you get.
You hear that, Wraith mains? Don’t insta-leave our pub game if you run halfway across the map and die by yourself. You’ll be back soon enough.
New mode: Bot Royale
New player experience and Apex‘s steep learning curve this far into its existence have been a sticking point for players over the last couple of years, and season 22 has another new mode to try to address that. Bot Royale features AI lobbies where anyone can hone their skills and learn more about Apex in a pressure-free setting.
Other new changes in store
- Enemy health bars: The Battle Sense feature expands with health bars. When dealing damage to enemies, you’ll see their health bar as long as you maintain line of sight.
- Enemy outlines: All enemies who aren’t obscured or behind cover within 20 feet of you will be outlined in red.
- Loot bin refreshes: Loot bins will refill at the halfway part of a match, introducing more loot for players. And more loot is always better.
- Aim Flinch: Aim flinching is being removed from the game, with the exception of it happening outside the Ring.
- Gun Shield Generator hop-up: Some LMGs will be able to accept the Gun Shield Generator, which will allow players to wield the LMG with a Gibraltar-esque shield attached to the weapon.
- Matchmaking: Queue times are being increased to group lobbies together more based on skill level, potentially leading to more fair matches.
The full patch notes have even more details on everything to expect out of Shockwave. All of these changes and more are on the way in season 22, which releases on Aug. 6.
