Respawn has released the full patch notes for the Apex Legends Chaos Theory Collection Event update, which will launch on March 9 alongside the battle royale's release on Switch. There are a lot of substantial changes in this update.
The really big stuff is displayed in the trailer for the Chaos Theory Collection Event: Caustic's town takeover is replacing Kings Canyon's Water Treatment, Heat Shields are being added as a solution for temporarily surviving outside the ring, Bangalore is getting an heirloom, and a new Ring Fury limited-time mode will replace standard Trios and Duos. But there are tons of quality-of-life changes beyond these ones which will have significant impacts on Apex Legends' in-match meta.
Changes To Characters
This update takes a stab at reworking the defender class, with balance changes for Wattson, Caustic, Gibraltar, and Rampart. The change to Wattson--she now passively regenerates shields, similarly to how Octane regenerates health--is an interesting one. As the smallest defender, Wattson is the only one to take extra damage on account of her Low Profile perk. Assumedly, this update is to address that weakness, stacking on top of the shield regeneration provided by her Intercept Pylon to further solidify her as someone who always bunkers down. She'll likely now be able to survive just a little bit longer, passively healing between fights as she reestablishes her defenses.
Beyond the defenders, Pathfinder, Horizon, and Revenant will be changed too. The adjustments to Horizon and Revenant are pretty small (she gets a small nerf, he gets a tiny buff) but Pathfinder mains will likely rejoice at his changes. Pathfinder is undergoing the same transformation that Revenant did back in Season 4: he's losing the Low Profile passive. Both robots are tall, skinny bois, so losing Low Profile just makes them hard-to-shoot targets that don't take extra damage. This change did wonders for Revenant back in Season 4; it stands to reason the same will apply for Pathfinder here.
Changes To Weapons
This update takes a much needed stab at nerfing some of the weapons that have become far too dominant in recent seasons. Most notably, the Mastiff shotgun's pellet damage is being decreased from 13 to 11 and the fire rate is being increased from 1.0 to 1.1. So it's (thankfully) both weaker and slower. "The goal of these changes are to place this weapon's identity between the fast fire EVA-8 and the heavy hitting Peacekeeper," Respawn writes in the patch notes. The Hemlock is also getting an increase to its hip fire spread which should decrease the assault rifle's dominance in close quarters, shifting the gun back to a mid-range option.
Gold weapons are also being changed. All gold assault rifles and LMGs are changing so their default sight is the 2x Bruiser--which is one of the best scopes in the game. It's a far better option to have than the previous default: the 1x - 2x Variable Holo Sight. On top of that, you'll now be able to (finally) remove and change the sights for gold weapons and most crate weapons. The Kraber is the one exception--even though pros can use it as a close-range shotgun, it doesn't mean Respawn wants folks to regularly do so.
Changes To Maps
Mirage Voyage is blasting off again. This fan-favorite landmark used to be on World's Edge before settling into the crater on Kings Canyon where Skull Town once stood. Its departure makes me a little nervous. Mirage Voyage acted as a major draw, helping to spread squads off the initial drop. Alongside the new landmarks added at the start of Season 8, Mirage Voyage helped make Kings Canyon feel bigger and less crowded. Without it, the map may feel too small again.