Everything You Need to Know About Apex Legends Season 24
Apex Legends Season 24, Takeover, is releasing February 11th and is completely changing the meta and playstyle. Every single weapon is getting buffed and helmets are gone from the game which means all headshot damage is increased since it’s a set value and has no damage mitigation from armor. Assault legends are also getting a pretty big upgrade this season so you can expect Takeover to have incredibly fast time to kill. Here’s everything that’s changing this season in Apex Legends.
Weapon Changes
Like I said earlier, every weapon in Apex Legends is getting a buff. Yes, you read that right. Technically speaking, every weapon is viable now, even the CAR SMG which can now equip laser sights letting it shred with a single clip..
While you can use any weapon you want, Shotguns, Sniper Rifles, and Marksman Rifles are definitely the heaviest hitters in terms of one shot damage. While the shield meta from the previous season seems to be less viable, Shotguns still stand strong since the Mastiff and Eva-8 have high burst damage.
The Mastiff still deals 80-90 damage depending on if you ADS or hipfire. So if your enemy is wearing blue armor, you can essentially three shot them. The Peacekeeper shotgun is now being swapped to Care Package loot, meaning it will be buffed to the max. The Peacekeeper will have a shortened time to choke when ADS-ing, have a tighter pellet spray (more like a slug shot), and will be able to snipe targets from 50 meters away.
Armor Changes
With weapons dealing more damage, you’ll be even more inclined to level up in matches since Evo Armor only goes up to Purple (Level 3) now. Red Shields are now a thing of the past unless you’re able to find a red helmet in a Care Package or Mythic Bin.
When you pick up a red helmet, your armor will be upgraded to Level 4 with 25 extra shield points (total armor of 125). Even though you’ll be picking up a helmet, you won’t actually be getting headshot damage reduction since it only evolves your body armor and does not add an actual helmet.
The same goes for gold helmets which will give you gold armor but no additional headshot damage reduction. The gold helmet will now have the double healing perk that Support legends will no longer have in Season 24. So Support legends will no longer be able to heal and walk at the same time or get double health from smaller med items.
Legend Meta Changes
While I was happy to get a support meta in Season 23 so I could return back to my original main, Lifeline, the constant revive meta will be less useful in Season 24. Support legends will no longer have their double healing passive, majorly slowing their ability to recover. They will also not be able to heal and move at normal speeds, further nerfing the supports.
However, every player will drop into a match with six syringes and six shield cells. The stacks of small heals are back up to stacks of six which gives you a running start to each new match since cells and syringes take less time to use. Additionally, Assault legends have an increased carry capacity of stacks of ammo from their passive Extra Firepower.
This season is really about Assault legends and their aggressive playstyles. All Assault legends now have a passive called Battle Surge which gives them and their teammates a temporary speed boost, fast reload, and player highlights when they crack an enemy’s shield. The speed boost is comparable to Octane’s Stim speed but does not stack with Bangalore’s Double Time.
Assault Legends also get the perk, Combat Reserve, where their inventory has two extra slots dedicated exclusively for grenades, and Stowed Reload where any weapon stowed will automatically be reloaded after two seconds (think gold magazine reloads). So yes, Assault Legends will be the top of the meta in Season 24.
Ash Rework
Our beloved Titanfall baddie is finally getting the upgrade she deserves. Ash has had a slight rework with her kit, making her much more viable in the Assault category. Ash will no longer be able to scan deathboxes with her data knife but instead has a new passive that will allow her to be more aggressive.
Predator’s Pursuit (Passive): Allows Ash to dash in any direction she wants and is initiated after a jump. Ash can get up to two dash charges after fully leveling to Tier 3.
Arc Snare (Tactical): Ash’s Arc will now tether enemies from its own location rather than to where the enemy player is. The snare has an increased duration and range and can be upgraded to grab more than one enemy at a time.
Phase Breach (Ultimate): Ash’s portal will now activate faster, travel further, and move players through it faster. Ash can also upgrade her abilities to give her two charges of Phase Breach.
Ballistic Rework
Ballistic also gets an adjustment for Season 24, though not as extensive as Ash. Ballistic can now carry Care Package weapons in his sling slot, so technically you could run all three weapons as Drop weapons. In Ballistic’s leveling tree, he can upgrade so his Tactical, Whistler, can have two charges.
Additionally, at Tier 3, Whistler can be upgraded to also silence enemies upon hit. No other Legend currently has the ability to silence others so Ballistic could turn the tides of a lot of team fights if used correctly. Whistler was also updated to improve its range and lock on accuracy, so Ballistic’s Tactical is much more viable mid-battle.
Additionally, when activated, Ballistic’s Ultimate Tempest, will now grant unlimited ammo to Care Package weapons and will not take any ammo out of the stock. So using the Peacekeeper or Kraber when activating Ballistic’s Ultimate is going to be a huge play for him and his team.
Arsenals
While there are no big map changes, Arsenals have been dropped all over each map to supply players with any weapon of their choice on drop. Each POI in each map will have an Arsenal station which will have a set ammo type of weapons. The type of Arsenal in each POI will change every match but the location will stay the same.
When traveling in the dropship, you’ll be able to see where each Arsenal is and what type of ammo they carry. When you select a weapon from an Arsenal, you’ll be given very limited ammo but you’ll be able to upgrade that weapon once per station. The upgrades implement smart loot onto your weapon and will give you a meaningful upgrade with attachments you may be missing.
For example, leveling a Mastiff with no attachments on it will give it a 1x sight and a blue stock. When you come across another Arsenal of that same ammo type, you can upgrade your weapon again.
Creator Events
Season 24 brings a lot of meta changes to Apex but also incorporates new Creator events for players to participate in. Different Apex Creators will be featured in various events throughout the season by giving players unique Community Challenges to complete. By participating, you can earn individual and community-earned rewards.
Ranked Changes
While there aren’t any Ranked changes to Apex, the ability to play Ranked has been locked behind a series of Challenges players need to complete to ready themselves for Ranked play. New players who have not unlocked Ranked, or played any matches of it, will have to complete all of the Road to Ranked Challenges in order to unlock that game mode.
This should help new players understand how Ranked will work and prepare them for competitive play while also keeping smurf accounts from immediately queuing into Ranked after hitting a certain account level.’
Apex Legends Season 24 Takeover is set to launch next Tuesday February 11th.
