Season 17 was… underwhelming, but hey, a new season is on the horizon. So let’s talk Season 18.

Coming out of Arsenal, the developers have used feedback from the community to shape Season 18. Overall, they’ve agreed that they have done a good job with the map overhaul and that Season 17: Arsenal had an impactful update. Season 18 will see the developers working hard at prioritizing rank updates. There have also been several changes to some weapons. So let’s dig in!

Apex Legends Season 18 Release Date

Season 18 has been confirmed to be released August 8th 2023. The season will arrive on 8 August at around 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 6 PM BST.

The new season will be called Resurrection and there will be no new Legend.

Revenant Reborn

Why go through with a Revenant Rework?

Evan Funnell, the Apex Legends Game Designer has stated that Revenant’s popularity has fallen off and that his playstyle was very problematic hence the team’s decision to rework him.

Revenant will be automatically unlocked for all players at the beginning of Season 18. To keep him permanently, you will have to complete some required quests before the season ends.

Revenant Abilities

• Passive – Assassin’s Instinct
  Improved wall climb for better horizontal movement. Reveals low-health enemies nearby, and if he damages them, he marks their position for his team.

• Tactical – Shadow Pounce
  Launch a powerful leap to close the distance between Revenant and his target, reach high places, or reposition. Charging the leap allows for even longer jumps.

• Ultimate – Forged Shadows
  Creates shrouds of shadows around him to protect him from incoming damage.
  It increases his upper body hitbox. But absorbs up to 75 damage before breaking, and will start to slowly recharge over time forging a new shroud around him when it finishes.
  He is vulnerable when his shields are down. If he secures a knock, it will bring back his shadows immediately and resets his tactical.

Some Developer Notes

1. How far can rev pounce?
   Full charge on flat ground is 50m.
2. How many people can Rev track?
   No limit but there is range. Anybody below 40HP, close around him. There are arrows tracking them for a few seconds.
3. Will disruptor rounds do more damage on rev shields?
   It does not. It’s specific for armour.

Other Legend Changes

Seer

We see Seer finally getting the changes he needs this time.

• Silence duration reduced, and cast time increased so players have time to evade the effects.
• Slow time greatly reduced 2.3 sec to half a second.

Bangalore

Rolling Thunder Increased by 60s.

Gibraltar

Bombardment Reduced by 90s.

Mixtape on Broken Moon

Enjoy Mixtape on Broken Moon this Season!

Gun Run and Team Death Match will be going to The Core.

Control will be on Production Yard.

Weapon Balance

Charge Rifle Reworked

Bzzboom. Bzzboom.

Say goodbye to hitscan Charge Rifle. These are the changes that are coming to our beloved Charge Rifle.

• Hitscan is being removed, and it will now be projectile based. It will have bullet drop.
• The pre-beam laser is also removed.
• The firing mechanism has been changed.
• Magazines have been added back and ammo consumption is reduced back to 1.
• The gun will deal more damage the farther away the target is.

Care Package

The Prowler returns to the Care Package, and this time the Select Fire will be reintroduced into it.

Hemlok is rotated out and will get a damage and recoil buff.

SMGs

• All SMGs will have their strafe speed reduced.
• All SMGs will have a headshot multiplier reduction.

The R99 gets a few nerf this season. 🙁

• The vertical recoil is increased.
• The ammo capacity at base and all magazine sizes are reduced.

Shotguns

The Mastiff blast pattern is tightened.

Disruptor rounds is coming back and will be on Peacekeeper instead.

Developer Notes

We got to hear from Eric Canavese the Lead Weapons Designer.

1. Are there any plans to bring the attachment back permanently in the future? 

Select Fire itself, no. When we released the CAR SMG, we found that the automatic fire on the prowler and the way that the car needed to be built were very similar. So pulling back on the select fire off of the prowler, and really having it own its burst fire space was a good call. It was important to us, and it allowed the CAR to have its own identity within the weapon space. There’s no real need for us to take the Prowler back, it does have a strong identity as a burst weapon. And if you’ve watched ALGS recently, you’ll see that it’s performing chefs kiss. It’s got a good spot.

2. Will we ever bring selectfire back on other guns? Possibly.

We’re always exploring what are alternative ways guns can work and how can we add more depth in gameplay to the current roster of weapons in the game.

3. Given that Gibby’s ulti have been reduced, can you see him coming back into the meta with the buffs to shotguns?

Yes I can definitely see him becoming more popular again.

4. Can we expect a change for the Nemesis?

No scheduled changes for it right now but they are keeping an eye on it. it is performing the way they want it as of now. It is important to have a gun that is rival to the R301 and Flatline.