By Apex Legends Season 24 is set to launch on February 11, precisely one week after the game’s sixth anniversary. This new season will not introduce a new playable legend, storyline, weapon, or unique item; however, it will implement significant changes to the Assault class, making it more deadly, buff all weapons, nerf armor, and unveil Arsenals—new kiosk-like devices scattered across the maps that will allow players to create and customize the firearms and attachments they need to streamline their preferred loadout. These enhancements are designed to shorten the time-to-kill in Apex Legends considerably.
While I intend to hold off on full judgment until the season starts, I must admit that I am not particularly fond of this direction. A major reason I enjoy Apex Legends is that its time-to-kill is significantly slower compared to other competitive shooters, such as Call of Duty or PUBG. In Apex Legends, you truly need to unleash a considerable amount of shots to eliminate an opponent from the battle—this leads to a more forgiving environment, especially for players who have been engaged with the game for years and understand how to effectively maneuver across maps to quickly dart between cover and heal while on the move. The Respawn team remains confident that adjusting this approach is the correct path for the game, asserting that the faster time-to-kill will not be excessively extreme, as these changes will likely be balanced out by healing buffs.
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“There’s no avoiding it—higher damage, reducing [the] maximum level [of body shields] from red down to purple… these changes are definitely affecting the time-to-kill in Apex,” remarked lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese. “We have implemented some strategies on the other end to compensate for this [such as making] healing a bit quicker—the cells and syringes will now heal faster, leading to less downtime, and you’re allowed to carry a few more of them [per slot] in your inventory… We have also enhanced the knockdown state [so that you can crawl] to your teammates with improved speed.”
Admittedly, this change might very well address…one of Apex Legends’ most persistent issues: third-partying, or the practice of intervening in battles between two teams and taking advantage of their vulnerable states to secure easy eliminations. This tactic is quite popular in Apex Legends and remains a source of frustration. The aim is to make eliminating your adversary easier (or for them to eliminate you), helping to shorten skirmishes before another squad can arrive and third-party.
“We’re optimistic that [this season’s update] will add a bit more intensity to these skirmishes, allowing you to reset [and] prepare for those third-party engagements because everyone will hear that gunfire,” Canavese explained. “Battles are intended to feel more lethal. Cover is going to hold greater significance, emphasizing smart rotations instead of just running out in an open area and thinking, ‘Oh, I got hit a few times, I’ll run away and heal.’ Everything will be a bit more perilous. However, this will encourage effective strategy and tactics, pushing players to focus on winning and utilizing their abilities efficiently to avoid being taken out immediately.”
As part of the initiative to make combat feel genuinely more hazardous, the Assault class is receiving a significant upgrade this season, similar to the changes Respawn has made to three of the other four classes so far. Season 24 allows Assault legends to carry more grenades easily, and they now receive both a sprint boost and an automatic target marking upon damaging enemy shields, enabling them to hunt down injured foes. In addition to these modifications, each Ash