Apex Legends Season 12: Defiance drops tomorrow and Respawn Entertainment has released the full patch notes, detailing a buff for Crypto, a slight nerf for Caustic, and changes for both Olympus and Storm Point. The patch notes also detail two weapons being moved exclusively to the crafting station, as well as changes to the PvE elements of Storm Point.
The Season 12: Defiance patch notes provide a look at some of the biggest changes coming in the new season. While things like Mad Maggie's kit and the new LTM Control had already been revealed, some of the finer details are new. Olympus is getting an update with Season 12, with the map being expanded to try and get fire fights out of the center of the map. Storm Point, which was introduced last season, is having its Prowlers changed. The Prowlers will now do reduced damage to legends while providing more crafting materials for clearing out a nest.
The ranked system is getting tweaked with Season 12, lowering the amount of Ranked Points earned for getting the maximum number of kills, while increasing the amount of RP earned for reaching the top five. Crypto is getting a buff, allowing him to throw his drone in a straight line. The drone will now immediately begin scanning for enemies instead of forcing Crypto to pilot it immediately. If the thrown drone hits a wall or another obstacle, it will ricochet and turn around. The Neurolink detection FOV has been increased as well, so a wider range of enemies can be detected.
Caustic has received a minor nerf, with his gas traps now destructible after being activated. The gas traps have 150 HP and the gas effects will linger for two seconds after the trap has been destroyed. The Nox Gas traps will also expire 11 seconds after activated, down from 12.5 seconds.
For the supply drop rotation, the Alternator is exiting the supply drop with the Volt SMG becoming the new supply weapon. The Hammerpoint hop-up also returns, providing a buff to unshielded damage for the P2020, Mozambique, and RE-45. For the first time, two weapons will be exclusive to the crafting station. Both the Flatline and the Longbow DMR will be crafted for 30 material and will not spawn as normal loot.
You can read the full Apex Legends Season 12: Defiance patch notes on the official website or below:
Apex Legends: Season 12 Patch Notes
LEGENDS BALANCE
Crypto
Drone View HUD and other Quality of Life updates:
- Added gamestate (e.g. Ring information, round timers), minimap, killfeed, team status, , and ping information to the Drone's HUD.
- Repurposed the Drone HUD's old Crypto health/shield presentation into displaying the health of the Drone itself.
- Survey Beacon markers are now displayed in-world while piloting the Drone (same as when controlling Crypto himself).
Neurolink changes:
- Increased the Neurolink detection FOV from 160 -> 240 degrees.
- Neurolink detection is now disabled while the Drone is being recalled.
Surveillance Drone changes:
- The deployment of the Drone has received a rework:
- Pressing the Tactical button causes Crypto to send the Drone flying in a straight line in the direction of Crypto's view for a few seconds.
- If thrown to a wall (or other geo), the Drone will hit the wall and re-orient itself so that it's facing away from the wall.
- Crypto no longer immediately accesses Drone View after deploying his Drone in this way.
- Pressing and holding the [Tactical] button will launch the Drone forward in the same way, but then Crypto will immediately access Drone View.
- Reduced Drone health from 60 -> 50.
- The HUD marker for the Drone has been tweaked to increase visibility.
- The HUD marker for the Drone is now always displayed on-screen while the Drone is deployed (instead of only when the Drone was off-screen.
Dev Note
Crypto has been off the grid in terms of pick rate. The goal of these changes was to make his kit more accessible and engaging. With a new deployment option, we lowered drone health to prevent reckless drone deploy. Crypto is still a methodical, calculating legend, and manually piloting Hack should still be the primary way to access macro-level recon. The drone view HUD updates should help here as well. Crypto’s never been weak per se; we’re cognizant of his strengths at high-level play and will be keeping an eye on his usage and performance.
Caustic
Nox Gas Traps are now destroyable after detonation
- 150hp
- Detonated traps will expire at 11s (instead of 12.5s)
- Gas effects linger for two seconds after barrel destruction or expiration (gas particles still linger a bit longer as they dissipate)
WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT BALANCE
Supply Drop Rotation
The Alternator SMG returns to the ground loot this season and taking its place is the powerful mid-range energy Volt SMG.
Alternator SMG
- Removed disruptor rounds hop-up
Volt SMG
- Damage increased from 15 to 17
- Max mag size increased from 28 to 30
Hop Ups
Kinetic Feeder - Triple Take & Peacekeeper
Sliding with the Triple Take or Peacekeeper significantly speeds up choke time and automatically reloads rounds.
Hammerpoint Rounds - P2020, Mozambique & RE-45
- P2020
- +50% unshielded damage
- Mozambique
- +35% unshielded damage
- RE-45
- +35% unshielded damage
Shatter Caps - 30-30 Repeater & Bocek Bow
- Passively affects hip-fire for both weapons
- ADS remains precision shot
- No longer able to toggle on/off
- 30-30 pellet damage reduced from 8 to 7
- Bow pellet damage reduced 12 to 11
Triple Take
- Removing projectile growth from bullets
- Damage reduced from 23 to 21 per bullet
Dev Note
The Triple Take’s return to floor loot has been really positive, but it’s proving to be a bit ahead of the pack with its ranged performance. We’re eliminating the bullet growth it retained from its days as a sniper to pull it in line with other Marksman rifles.
VK-47 Flatline
- Damage reduced from 19 to 18 per bullet
Rampage LMG (Hotfix)
- Rampage damage reduced from 28 to 26
- Reduced number of shots during the Revved state from ~40 to ~34
Dev Note
On January 13, 2022 we implemented a hotfix to the Rampage and Sentinel infinite charge bug. We took that opportunity to get out a Rampage nerf early. Noting these changes here for anyone who missed our earlier messaging.
Fully Kitted Rotation
- Added: RE-45, Triple Take, Peacekeeper, Prowler, Havoc
- Removed: Mastiff, 30-30 Repeater, R-301, CAR, Longbow
Weapons in Crafting
- VK-47 Flatline and Longbow DMR are now craftable for 30 mats at any crafting station.
- Weapons in crafting can not be found on the ground.
- Crafted weapons come with no attachments and two boxes of ammo
Dev Note
As we continue to introduce new weapons and loot into the game we must consider the impact it has on loot saturation and the ability to find specific pieces for loadouts. With this change we are able to keep weapons available but give our floor loot some breathing room.