A disgraced champion is back in the Apex Games.
Apex Legends Season 17: Arsenal is expected to drop on May 9 along with a brand new legend, August "Ballistic" Brinkman. This new 'Assault' class legend will not be the only new thing that is coming with Season 17.
Respawn Entertainment is mixing things up once again, which will include a thorough update of the firing range, a new weapons challenge, as well as updating one of its most popular maps, World's Edge. The devs behind the popular FPS battle royale are also looking to expand on the lore of Apex Legends through one of its map updates with a new POI.
But first, who is Ballistic, the new legend joining the roster?
He was first announced during the large data mine that was leaked last year. While he didn't go by Ballistic then, the most obvious name would have to be Caliber. And given how the leak also pointed out the eventual releases of Newcastle, Vantage, and Catalyst, we can say that it has been accurate thus far.
Ballistic was first confirmed a few days ago when Respawn dropped its latest 'Stories from the Outlands' episode, This gave players a deeper look into Ballistic's backstory of a disgraced champion and father that was only trying to make things right and exorcise the ghosts of his past.
Ballistic - Abilities
A refined older gentleman living with a beast inside.
Being an Assault-class legend, Ballistic will already come with the passive of being able to open specific red Weapon Supply bins that will drop high-tier loot. Ballistic will also be able to hold an additional stack of ammo per slot, which will come in handy with his kit.
Passive - Sling
Store a third weapon in the sling. Access via inventory or Character Utility Action. The sling weapon cannot take attachments.
Tactical - Whisper
Shoots a projectile that heats an enemy's gun when they shoot. Overheating causes damage. Hold the tactical button to lock on.
Ultimate - Tempest
When activated, nearby teammates get faster reloads and unarmed movement speed alongside infinite ammo. Ballistic's sling weapon will also be equipped and upgraded to gold attachments.
Re-designed Firing Range
A brand-spanking new firing range is coming to Season 17!
Aside from Ballistic being the shiny new toy for the upcoming season, Respawn has also decided to introduce plenty of new quality-of-life changes to the game. As mentioned above, expected a revamped firing range complete with its own town, a duelling pit, and even an area for one to perfect their movement skills.
In Season 16: Revelry, Respawn first introduced some much-needed changes to the firing range, which included customisations like infinite ammo and moving dummies. For Season 17: Arsenal, the devs at Respawn will now be introducing a completely redesigned Core with its very own town, complete with a duelling pit as well as a section catered to honing your movement skills.
Gone are the simple days.
Core: a reorganized Weapons & Loot layout allows players to find what they’re looking for quickly and efficiently. Simulated death boxes allow you to grab your favourite loot from anywhere in the Range.
Here is where you hone in on your movement skills.
Agility Course: designed for mobility. Slide, zip, jump, climb, and balance to harden your movement skills.
No such thing as auto-aim, ladies.
Duel Pit: designed for you to duke it out with friends and finally settle the debate on who has the fastest Wingman in the Outlands.
Put your training to the test.
Training Grounds: the rear town allows you to practice fighting in a simulated combat experience.
The dummies also get an upgrade, being able to respawn, move, and shoot at players in a variety of ways. This can be customised to suit your needs or you can just turn on Full Combat mode, which will have the dummies come to life and start to attack you from all over the firing range.
As for the infinitely shootable targets, they will now light up with different colours to give you feedback on where you damaged it. Be sure to turn on the hit markers in the customise range settings to learn bullet patterns for the wide arsenal of weapons on availability. Dynamic Stats, which tracks your performance in real-time, can now be manually reset so you can use it in any way you want.
Weapon Mastery
Here is where you can finally show off just how cracked you are at the game.
Ever wanted to show off just how clutch you are on a Wingman? Or how you can beam someone with a single clip with an R-99 SMG? Respawn has now given all the sweats the perfect way to show off their weapon prowess. Weapon Mastery is the game's first-ever, long-term weapon progression system that will benefit players new and old alike.
When this new feature launches on May 9 along with the new season, every player will start with every weapon at level one. You can start progressing your weapon levels by using them in any game mode. What's great about the weapon progression system is that the levels are account-wide and will not reset with every season.
Take on the trials to showcase your skills in a myriad of new ways.
You can generate Weapon XP for every weapon in a myriad of ways, from just having it in your hand to dealing damage, securing kills, and even fighting with style. After every 20 levels for any weapon, a weapon-specific trial will be unlocked for you to put your skills to the test, which will also reward you handsomely when you pass it. Get your weapon level to 100 and pass all five trials to fully "master" that weapon to reap your rewards.
Mozambique here!
This will include a guaranteed Legendary skin for that specific weapon as well as Legendary weapon mastery banner frames, weapon-specific badges, and even lifetime performance trackers. If you happen to already own the Legendary skin for that particular weapon, you will be reimbursed back with Fragments instead.
Map Updates
Goodbye 'streamer building'.
While Season 17: Arsenal will not feature a new map, it will have plenty of updates to one of its more popular rotations, World's Edge. This includes a new POI known as Monument, which will take over what was once known as Fragment East and West. In its place, Monument will be a museum that celebrates the past, present, and future of the Apex Games.
However, it is also a deep bunker that has quick access to a sniper's nest for even greater scouting and positional control. It brings a different pace and feel to the collapsed map centre by giving it a fresh coat of paint alongside some new sights. But fret not sweat lords as your favourite Fragment Construction Stack is not gone from the game; it has simply been moved and renamed into a new POI, simply called Stacks.
On second thought...
It will not take residence on the southern edge of the map that will replace the long-forgotten Lava City. This means that it will now take place next to Rampart's Big Maude, which will be great for third-, fourth-, or even fifth-partying. Speaking of lava, Respawn has decided to do something about the "vertical updraft" movement system from World's Edge and that was to completely remove it.
Due to its recent map adjustments, the floaty state above Lava Fissures was a remnant of World's Edge that is no longer needed. With the devs raising the lava floor, it will now be walkable but do err on the side of caution as you can still take damage from it. And due to the update on the "vertical updraft" movement, the devs also had to bring an update to the POI known as Harvester.
That sweet loot isn't going to pick itself up.
The landing experience at this POI has been improved with the removal of the lava updraft, with the central tube that usually led to one's death will now be a safe landing platform, but also surrounded by lava. However, there are two ziplines across Harvester's central area along with a new vertical connection and an open window that gives players the chance to jump from Harvester's central room to the platform below.
Another POI will also be getting some love with Skyhook set to receive a healthy helping of snow. This is due to Hammond's Climatizer technology, which has been able to cool the region down at a rapid rate. Because of this, snow will be aplenty in Skyhook, which has also opened up new pathways with some much-needed life to the area.
Loba mains, rejoice!
There will also be a new vault added to the North of the map, nestled in a tunnel that also leads to Skyhook. Respawn has also increased the drop rate of vault keys in hopes that more teams will pick it up. Vault loot has also been relaxed, which is perfect for Loba mains.
And with World's Edge receiving so many updates for the upcoming, this would mean that Broken Moon and Storm Point will be out of the rotation once Season 17 starts. The Mirage a Trois party ship has also left its previous destinations and will now seek shelter on World's Edge.
Take to the skies with an Evac Tower
We have liftoff.
Jump Towers are a crucial element of Apex Legends, having been used in every map except for Storm Point. Jump Towers provides teams with a way to skydive and traverse the map quickly through a long, vertical zipline upwards. As there aren't too many Jump Towers scattered across the many maps in Apex Legends, the devs have decided to add an Evac Tower, which is essentially a Jump Tower as a new survival item.
Deploying an Evac Tower will send a rocket skywards, eventually exploding into a balloon that will drop an anchor to reveal the upwards zipline. Taking the Evac Tower will send you and your team upwards to skydive and find a new location to land in. With Valkyrie as the only legend in the game capable of taking to the skies (literally!), this will be the next best thing for teams without Valkryie in their comp.
Very much like how one would deploy a Mobile Respawn Beacon.
However, do note that the Evac Tower can only last for a limited duration while also slowly taking damage over time. Both allies and enemies can also shoot at the balloon of the Evac Tower to accelerate the process of destroying it. And given how a large balloon will suddenly appear out of nowhere, it could bring some unwanted attention to your general direction.
Apex Legends' Season 17: Arsenal will drop on May 9!