Apex Legends Season 18 buffs and nerfs - All weapon balancing

The Apex Legends Season 18 weapon buffs and nerfs are expected to change the meta significantly. Respawn Entertainment's battle royale contains a wide range of weaponry and some parts of the Apex Legends arsenal are far superior to others.

In order to maintain some kind of balance alongside the launch of Revenant Reborn, the developer has already unveiled a number of changes affecting some of the most popular weapons used in casual and ranked matches.

Before we share more about the Apex Legends Season 18 weapon buffs and nerfs, take a look at our Apex Legends tier list showcasing the best Legends to use right now.

Apex Legends Charge Rifle rework

The Charge Rifle is undergoing major changes as part of the Season 18 update.

The rifle will no longer feature hitscan, meaning the rifle will now fire ammunition and have bullet drop when shooting a target from a distance. The developers say the Charge Rifle will deal more damage depending on how far away the enemy is, maintaining its place as one of the stronger long-range weapons.

Additionally, you'll have to charge the rifle by holding down the shoot button to engage maximum damage.

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Credit: Respawn Entertainment

Apex Legends Season 18 Care Package and craftable weapons

Respawn Entertainment reveals the Prowler is returning to the Care Package with the Hop-Up attached. The change means the Hemlock is back as ground loot with buffs to damage and recoil.

As for the craftable weapons, the Rampage and the R99 are disappearing in favour of the Nemesis and the Mozambique equipped with Hammerpoints.

Apex Legends Season 18 confirmed weapon buffs and nerfs

The patch notes have finally appeared and we've got all of the confirmed weapon buffs and nerfs arriving as part of the update.

Charge Rifle Rework

• New ballistics and projectile
  • Removed hitscan
  • Removed pre-fire laser
  • Projectiles have player passthrough: 80% damage retained
  • Opens doors
• Projectiles gain damage with distance
  • 50 meters: 75 Damage
  • 300 meters: 110 Damage
• New charge mechanics
  • Holding the trigger down will increase charge
  • Releasing the trigger will decrease charge
  • Fires at 100% charge
• Added Extended Sniper Mag attachment slot
  • Base: 4
  • White: 5
  • Blue: 6
  • Purple/Gold: 8
• Ammo Consumption per shot reduced to 1 (was 2)
• Handling timings adjusted
  • Tactical reload time decreased to 3.5 (was 4.0)
  • Empty reload time decreased to 4.6 (was 5.1)

All SMGs (R-99, Alternator, CAR, Volt)

• Strafe Speed: ADS strafe scale reduced to 0.75 (was 0.85)
• Headshot multi reduced to 1.25 (was 1.5)

R-99

• Vertical Recoil slightly increased
• Ammo capacity reduced
  • Base Ammo reduced to 17 (was 19)
  • White Mag reduced to 20 (was 21)
  • Blue Mag reduced to 23 (was 24)
  • Purple/Gold Mag reduced to 26 (was 27)

M600 Spitfire

• Added Barrels for improved stability
• ADS Recoil improved
• Hipfire spread slightly improved

Mastiff

• Blast pattern tightened

HOP UPS

Boosted Loader (Hemlok, Wingman)

Reloading when near empty will speed up reloading and overload the next magazine

• Hemlok overload ammo: 9
• Wingman overload ammo: 3

Disruptor Rounds (Alternator, Peacekeeper)

Increases shield damage

• Alternator shield damage increased by 20%
• Peacekeeper shield damage (per pellet) increased by 25%

Double Tap Trigger (EVA-8, G7 Scout)

• Removed from floor and crafting bundles

Grenades

• Frag Grenade
  • Outer Radius increased to 350 units (was 320)
  • Inner Radius increased to 125 units (was 96)
• Thermite
  • Adjusted fire VFX to better match damage area

That's all there is to know about the Apex Legends Season 18 weapon buffs and nerfs. For more, check out our Apex Legends weapon tier list highlighting the best weapons to use right now.