Apex Legends Season 13 patch notes: Release date, Newcastle, Storm Point changes, buffs & nerfs, more
Apex Legends Season 13 has just been revealed, and for those interested, here’s all the changes coming in the patch notes for the battle royale game.
Apex Legends Season 12: Defiance is coming to an end, and with that, players are starting to look forward to the next season of content.
We finally have a great idea of what content we will be seeing in the Apex Legends Season 13 update, including the new Legend Newcastle and Storm Point map changes.
The new season’s update is a big one, so let’s get into all the changes detailed in the Apex Legends Season 13 patch notes.
- Apex Legends Season 13 update release date
- Apex Legends Season 13 content
- Apex Legends Season 13 buffs & nerfs
- Balance updates
- Arenas pricing adjustments
- New Custom Matches
Apex Legends Season 13 update release date
The official release date for Apex Legends Season 13 is May 10 at around 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 6 PM GMT.
Get ready for Apex Legends Season 13 by making sure you have at least 20 GB of free space, as these updates tend to be on the larger side. PlayStation players may be able to pre-download this update so stay on the lookout for that too.
Apex Legends Season 13 content
Season 13 Legend Newcastle
Apex Legends Season 13 will bring a brand new Legend called Newcastle, who is a Defensive character with some pretty strong abilities. This new Legend is also the brother of Bangalore, who has a lot of questions for her brother regarding his disappearance.
Newcastle’s description on the EA Saviors blog reads: “The Hero of Harris Valley, Newcastle will need to shield his squadmates and his secrets to survive the Apex Games.”
You can check out more details on Newcastle including all his abilities in our recent piece called: Who is Newcastle? Abilities & more.
Storm Point map changes
The Tropical Apex Legends BR map Storm Point will also be getting some changes in Season 13. After leaks and teasers, the Season 13 reveal showed a battle between the Legends and a massive sea monster in which the Legends came out on top.
This sea monster will now be a part of the map as the “Downed Beast.” Players will be able to get inside the sea monster’s corpse, as well as on top of it, and the construction around it.
The Season 13 trailers have also revealed the new IMC Armories and Specter AI that will be on the Storm Point map. These buildings will allow players to get some serious loot but not without a challenge.
If you wish to know more about the updates to the map, check out our guide on all the changes coming to Storm Point in Season 13.
Map rotation for Season 13
The maps that will be in rotation are also changing for Apex Legends Season 13. There will be three maps in rotation for pubs and two for Ranked.
Kings Canyon will be taking a hiatus for Season 13, leaving the following maps in rotation:
- World’s Edge
- Olympus
- Storm Point
As for Ranked Leagues, Storm Point will be the map for the first split and although it hasn’t been confirmed, we expect World’s Edge to be the map for the second split of Ranked in Season 13.
Ranked Reloaded
Apex Legends Season 13: Saviors will also be bringing changes to Ranked Leagues.
Season 12 has had a lot of complaints as players felt as if the Ranked system had become much worse. Thankfully, the devs have been listening and will bring some changes to the competitive space in Season 13.
Some of these changes include:
- Tier demotion
- KP & Assist Rule changes
- New Tier
Make sure you check out our guide on all of the ranked changes coming to Apex Legends Season 13 so you know every change coming to the new Ranked Leagues system.
Modes
During the press event for Season 13, the devs did say that they had learned a lot from Control and that it will be returning in the second half of the season. There will be changes to the mode and they are also working on a “join in progress” option.
They also confirmed that new LTMs are being worked on, so perhaps we will see one of these this season, like the leaked Uplink mode. An Apex Legends dev also teased a Season 0 LTM which would bring back the OG Kings Canyon map, base characters, and also the base weapons with their original stats.
Events
Respawn EntertainmentAs well as a new Saviors Battle Pass, Apex Legends Season 13 will also bring new events to the game. Season 12 brought the new Prestige Skins through the Anniversary Collection Event and an Heirloom with the Warriors Collection Event in the same season, however, this could have just been a one-off.
It’s likely we will just be seeing one Collection and one Thematic Event for Season 13, bringing an Heirloom and a Prestige Skin in the latter. This is currently just speculation, so as more information is released, we will update this piece accordingly.
Apex Legends Season 13 buffs & nerfs
The patch notes will also bring a variety of buffs and nerfs for both Legends, weapons, and even Helmets.
Legend changes
Fortified Legends
- Fortified no longer reduces headshot damage
Rampart Improvements
- Sheila spin-up time decreased from 1.75s to 1.25s
- Amped Cover deploy health increased from 45 to 120
- Amped Cover deploy time decreased from 4.25 to 3.6
Valkyrie
- Can no longer freely spin while launching during Skyward Dive
Unfortunately, this season’s patch brings no changes to Lifeline’s kit, which is disappointing for those who enjoy the Support Legend as Newcastle may be running her out of the meta.
Weapon & Helmet changes
Helmets Buff
- Blue helmet headshot damage reduction increased from 40% to 50%
- Purple helmet headshot damage reduction increased from 50% to 65%
Gold Weapons
- EVA-8, Bow, Flatline, P2020, Spitfire
Kraber
- Headshot multiplier down from 3.0 to 2.0
- Damage reduced from 145 to 140
Rampage
- Increased reload time from 2.6 to 3.1
- Slightly increased handling times
LSTAR
- Reduced headshot damage multiplier from 1.75 to 1.5
- Reduced headshot distance from 64m to 57m
- Overheat cool-off time increased from 2.5 to 3.6
- Slightly increased handling times
Devotion
- Damage reduced from 16 to 15
- Reduced headshot damage multiplier from 1.75 to 1.5
- Reduced headshot distance from 64m to 57m
- Increased reload time from 2.8 to 3.2
- Draw time increased to 0.8 from 0.7
- Holster time increased to 0.75 from 0.65
- Raise time increased to 0.65 from 0.55
- Lower time increased to 0.6 from 0.5
Havoc
- Improved recoil at the start of the pattern
Dual Shell
- Removed from floor loot and crafting bundles
Mozambique & Peacekeeper
- Increased limb damage from 0.8 to 1.0
Spitfire
- Damage decreased from 19 to 18
- Purple & Gold Magazine capacity reduced from 55 to 50
- Crouched hipfire spread increased
- Removed barrel attachment slot
- Reduced headshot damage multiplier from 1.75 to 1.5
- Reduced headshot distance from 64m to 57m
- Increased reload time from 3.2 to 3.4
- Draw time increased to 0.8 from 0.7
- Holster time increased to 0.75 to 0.65
- Raise time increased to 0.65 from 0.55
- Lower time increased to 0.6 from 0.5
Mastiff
- Tightened blast pattern
- Ammo capacity reduced from 6 to 4
- Stockpile ammo: 28
- Damage per pellet increased from 11 to 14
- Increased pellet size
- Fire Rate increased from 1.1 to 1.2
Replicator rotation
Apex Legends Season 13 is bringing some interesting changes to the Replicator, changing some of the options players will have when crafting.
In Season 12, we saw weapons put into the Replicator for the first time, the Flatline and Longbow. Now in Season 13, we are seeing two different weapons enter the Replicator, bringing the Flatline and Longbow back to floor loot.
The R-301 and Rampage will be going into the Replicator for Season 13, meaning that players will only be able to obtain these weapons by crafting them, as they will be taken out of the loot pool.
Care Package rotation
Apex Legends Season 13 also brings some changes to the Care Package rotation.
The Spitfire will be returning to ground loot, and the Mastiff will be replacing it in the Care Package.
Arenas pricing adjustments
Thermites
- 100 → 75
Charge Rifle
- Lvl 1: 200 → 150
- Lvl 2: 200 → 150
- Lvl 3: 450 → 400
Longbow
- Base: 400 → 300
- Lvl 1: 250 → 200
- Lvl 2: 300 → 250
- Lvl 3: 400 → 350
Sentinel
- Lvl 3: 400 → 350
Bocek Bow
- Lvl 2: 250 → 200
- Lvl 3: 300 → 250
Triple Take
- Base: 600 → 500
- Lvl 1: 250 → 200
- Lvl 2: 300 → 250
- Lvl 3: 400 → 300
Devotion
- Lvl 1: 150 → 200
- Lvl 2: 250 → 350
L-STAR
- Lvl 1: 200 → 150
Havoc
- Base: 350 → 400
Hemlok
- Lvl 2: 250 → 200
- Lvl 3: 350 → 300
Prowler
- Lvl 2: 300 → 250
- Lvl 3: 350 → 300
Balance updates
Cells & Syringes
- Cells and Syringe spawn rates have been lowered by about 18%
Out of Bounds
- When going out of bounds the following will be disabled:
- Legends Abilities
- Weapons, Ordinances and Survival Items
- Healing items (Will not cancel mid healing)
- All Active Passives (e.g. Valks Jet Packs)
World’s Edge
- Redesigned windows at Lava Siphon’s Control Tower to focus sightlines
- Added some additional cover around Lava Siphon’s Lava Pit
- Gondola loot has been tweaked. The chances of finding high-tier armor in them have been notably reduced. Climatizer and Lava Siphon will still remain as High Tier Loot POIs
New Custom Match system
Custom Match is replacing the previous Private Match system.
- Custom Match QOL improvements:
- UI & Design Improvements.
- Custom Match now saves Team Names & Match Settings when returning from match to lobby.
- Match flow improvements.
- Added new launch parameters to pre-select viewing targets for Observer.
- Updated the color pallet used by Observers when viewing teams (Map Overview + Highlights)
- Additionally, fixed the color duplication issue previously seen on the map overview
- Updated the Team Eliminated Text with a unique color for Anonymous Mode in Custom Match.
That’s all for the Apex Legends Season 13 patch notes. For more on Apex Legends, check out how you can pre-register for the Apex Legends Mobile launch.
Image Credits: Respawn Entertainment