Apex Legends is getting a new season, but this one isn’t coming with a fresh new legend, which is pretty new given the standard Respawn Entertainment drops them.

Instead, the company is doing a little something different: remastered Legend Classes for Season 16. According to a recent Apex Legends presentation we attended a few weeks ago, the game’s new season is going to rework every Legend with classes, perks, and meta updates.

“Because of all these changes, we’re pausing on adding a new Legend this season so everyone can learn and master the new meta.

Over time, with the addition of new Legends and the evolving meta, the class roles have started to become a little bit muddy, so this season, we want to take a chance to redefine what classes mean to the game.”

Team Deathmatch

For the past 4 years one of the biggest demands by the Apex Legends community was Team Deathmatch. Well, good news legends! We are finally getting Team Deathmatch for the first 3 weeks of the upcoming season.

Team Deathmatch will be a 6v6, and the first team to reach 30 kills wins the round, and a team must win 2 rounds in order to win the overall match. Players will be able to select loadouts just like in the very popular game mode Control. The TDM maps will feature some fan-favourite POIs, such as Skulltown on Kings Canyon, and former arena maps such as Party Crasher and Habitat 4. This will be replacing Arenas, as we see Arenas being removed permanently as of Season 16.

Mixtape will then be replacing TDM as a permanent playlist. Mixtape is basically a playlist of rotating fan-favourite LTMs, which will include TDM, Control, and Gun Run! This will give players an opportunity to play casually on a seasonal basis.

Legends Revamp

Legends have been split into five classes: Assault, Skirmisher, Recon, Controller, and Support.

Assault (Ash, Fuse, Maggie, Bangalore, Revenant)

“These Legends have core patterns that revolve around using their abilities to force opponents to make combat decisions or mistakes. They often initiate plays to create an advantage or an opening that their team can then assault on.”

Skirmisher (Pathfinder, Horizon, Octane, Valkyrie, Wraith, Mirage)

“They’re good flankers, they have a hit and run style of play, they can get into a fight and can get out of it just as quickly.”

Recon (Crypto, Seer, Vantage)

“[They’re focused on] enemy intel and tracking. These characters don’t have access to ring data, but they can scan a modified survey beacon to reveal enemy positions on the map for 30 seconds.”

Controller (Wattson, Catalyst, Rampart, Caustic)

“These are Legends who place their abilities in the world to control their positioning and force enemies to fight on their turf. They excel at holding zone and bunkering down.”

Support (Lifeline, Loba, Newcastle, Gibraltar)

“[They focus on team survival and supply], and they have a much more team-oriented focus and look for opportunities to protect, recover or resupply their squad. These Legends allow their squad to sustain in fights or reset more quickly.”

New Gun(s)

In addition to all this, Apex Legends Season 16 will also introduce a new weapon: the Nemesis four-round burst assault rifle, alongside a new golden attachment for shotguns.

The Nemesis Burst AR, the new gun that will be using energy ammo will be the latest gun to be introduced since Season 11. The gun fires automatic bursts which get faster and faster the more you shoot it. Respawn is “shipping it hot” to take down the R-301 and Flatline meta. 

Speaking of guns, there will be a few changes to some current guns. The fan favourite, the R-301 is being nerfed in Season 16. The damage it does will be reduced from 14 to 13. In addition to that, all assault rifles will now have a reduced hip fire accuracy. This was done to make ARs less powerful at close range, in which the SMGs, Shotguns and Pistols should be dominating fights. Hopefully, this will switch up the current gun meta and make way for some new ones.

As for supply drop weapons, the Hemlok will be going into the care package and will be removed from Ground Loot. It will also be getting a massive buff, with increased damage, increased headshot multiplier, as well as coming with the Boosted Loader attachment. The Rampage LMG will be returning to ground loot as well. Controller favourites, the Car SMG and G7 Scout marksman will be coming out of the crafter and will be replaced with the Volt SMG and Longbow DMR.

A new golden attachment will be added for shotguns, which is the golden shotgun bolt, this is an auto-reload which happens whenever the player slides. This feature works while the shotgun is holstered or being used. Movement players rejoice! All shotguns will also be able to take standard stocks as an attachment now.

Firing Range

One of the most awaited changes, the Firing Range is getting a huge revamp. The new season will bring in infinite ammo, new dynamic stats for guns, huge dummy settings and more. Yes you heard it right, infinite ammo, legends.

With the dummy settings, you can now make your dummy well, and move more in a not-so-bot-like way. You will be able to make them strafe left to right, and also increase or decrease the speed when they do this. You will also be able to make them crouch, and the best part, you can make them do this all at random. As for the new dynamic stats being added, you will have an overlay of different stats at the top of your screen when in the firing range.

These stats will include, the number of shots fired, the damage dealt, the number of headshots, kills as well as your accuracy percentage when shooting. New hit markers have also been added and will remain on screen just a few seconds after shooting your gun. This is to help newer players, as well as seasoned ones to learn and practise the different recoil patterns to master them. All these changes make the firing range a new playground for legends to run around, test movement, 1v1 their friends as well as a better warm-up before heading into public or ranked matches.

Orientation Mode

This specific mode is only for brand-new players. After completing the tutorial in the Firing Range, new players will be required to complete a few orientation matches. These matches will mostly be against bots and new players. This is to help new players get up to speed and adjust before being thrown into matches with other seasoned players. The best part is, all the matches will be played on Kings Canyon. 

Miscellaneous

For the sweaty legends, there will unfortunately, be no rank changes for this season. However, Respawn has confirmed that they are currently working on their matchmaking system to improve it. The only change that will be coming to rank this season is that the Ranked map will be rotating every 24 hours, instead of each split. The maps for this season have been confirmed to be Broken Moon, Storm Point and World’s Edge. These maps will also be the same in regular BR.

Apex Legends Season 16 will be out on 14 February. Check out the gameplay trailer below: