Apex Legends' new game update kicks up the action to a new level! With year seven underway, the game shifts toward a more aggressive style, giving players better tools to turn every encounter into a fast-paced battle. Here is everything you need to know about Apex Legends: Takeover and if you need the full patch notes, you can find them here.

Upgraded Legends: Ash and Ballistic

Two of the quieter heroes step into the spotlight this season.

  • Ash now sports a brand-new short-range dash that lets her close gaps or retreat quickly. Her Arc Snare now latches on at the projectile’s landing spot, while her Phase Breach travels faster and goes farther.
  • Ballistic finds his kit improved with extra charges and an upgraded sling that even carries crate weapons. His ultimate now adds a burst of speed for his squad, opening up more ways to control the fight.

Quote From EA

Ash

  • Predator’s Pursuit
    • Removed ability to scan Death Boxes to reveal killers, but they’ll still show on the minimap and map with info on how recently they died
    • NEW: press the Jump key while in the air to perform a dash
  • Arc Snare
    • Tether plants at location of projectile on impact rather than the hit player's location
    • Tether is slightly harder to break and no longer gets instantly broken by some abilities
  • Phase Breach
    • Range increased to 100m (was ~76m)
    • Travel time reduced
    • Improved reliability of placement
    • Removed one frame delay on placement preview
    • Now has VFX to show max range when in placement mode
  • Upgrades: Level 2
    • Murder Machine: removed
    • One Minute to Live: removed
    • Greedy Snare: moved to Level 2
    • NEW Dual Breach: adds additional ult charge
  • Upgrades: Level 3
    • NEW Ghost in the Machine: adds additional Dash charge

Dev Note: Ash was overdue for some improvements to her kit to resurge her as a top Apex Predator. Many of her changes aim to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of her abilities: the improved placement, distance and speed of her Ult, and the snare’s tether point snagging from the projectile’s point rather than her escaping target. Most notably, Ash sees the addition of a brand new movement passive - reminiscent of her titan’s ability of yore. Her new dash is an incredibly effective mid-combat repositioning tool or distance closer making her a more effective skirmisher when closing in on her prey or quickly out-maneuvering in a duel. We expect to see a lot of impressive Ash players rise to the top with many of her upgrades doubling her abilities this season.

Ballistic

  • Sling
    • Now upgrades with Level by default
    • Can now carry Crate Weapons and they will gain infinite ammo with Ult
  • Whistler
    • Tac now has 2 charges
    • Overheat reaction time increased to 1.2s (was 1s)
    • Smart Bullet on ground damage increased to 20 (was 10)
      • This damage is now equal to the direct hit damage
  • Tempest: squad gains a speed boost when empowered by Ult
  • Upgrades: Level 2
    • Sling Shot: removed (integrated into base kit)
    • NEW Killing Time: increases duration of Ult by 15s
  • Upgrades: Level 3
    • Extra Bullets: doubles the number of Tac charges (was +1 charge)
    • Quiet Time: Overheat now also silences enemy for 6s

Dev Note: Ballistic has had a few updates, but has never really found his footing to lead the charge. Integrating the Sling and extra bullet upgrades into his kit gives more players access to the core of the Legend while empowering his Ult with speed—increasing his natural combat effectiveness and encouraging his squad to push and engage. Allowing Ballistic to carry a Crate Weapon in his Sling has always been something we’ve been dubious of, but this season we’re taking a bold stance to let Ballistic go…well, ballistic. The increased number of Tac charges should also allow players to more freely deploy the Overheat into their combat patterns or control the field if they also opt into the lasting bullet upgrade, giving more range of play and options for Ballistic.

Revamped Weapon and Gear Changes

Every weapon gets a boost. The update cranks up damage numbers on assault rifles, SMGs, shotguns, and snipers. For instance, familiar favorites like the R-301 and Wingman now hit harder, while shotguns see tighter blast patterns and new damage profiles.

  • New Arsenals offer fixed locations on maps so you can grab weapons and ammo faster.
  • Helmet and Armor tweaks have removed lower-tier items and reworked loot drops, letting you choose between improved healing perks or a tougher shield setup with the new Gold and Mythic Armor Upgrade Helmets.

Quote From EA

NEW Arsenals

These stations provide players with easy and deterministic access to weapons and ammo of their choice.

  • Stations across all POI's on every map with fixed locations
  • Ammo type provided randomizes each match
  • Equipped with an enhancing terminal that upgrades one weapon matching the ammo type per Arsenal
    • Enhancing grants an upgraded attachment and provides an optic if one is missing

Healing

  • Cells now take 2.5s to complete (was 3s)
  • Syringes now take 4s (was 5s)
  • Cells & Syringes now stack up to 6
    • Players now start with 4 Cells and 4 Syringes (was 2 each)
  • Battery and Medkit spawn rates have been slightly increased

Dev Note: Players will undoubtedly need to continue popping meds whenever they can with lowered max health, a universal gold helmet perk, and a ton of weapon buffs. We’ve decided to shave down some of those sharp edges to make healing a little easier across the board.

Helmets

  • White, blue, and purple have been removed from the loot pool
  • Players no longer start with a white helmet

Dev Note: Finding and equipping Helmets has always been a bit lackluster in both feeling the impact of wearing one and making the potential damage output a bit murky. Removing headshot damage reduction from the game makes damage more consistent, understandable, and easier to calculate.

Gold Helmet

  • Reworked into Gold Armor Upgrade Helmet
  • Offers Improved Minor Healing perk that doubles the output of Cells & Syringes
  • Sets the player’s Armor to 100 regardless of Level
  • Leveling still required to unlock Legend Upgrades, but no longer affects armor while equipped
  • No headshot damage reduction
  • Chance to appear in Gold Bins after Bin Reset

NEW Mythic Armor Upgrade Helmet

  • Red tier introduced 
  • Sets player’s armor to 125 regardless of level
  • Leveling is still required to unlock Legend Upgrades, but no longer affects armor while this item is equipped
  • Red helmets offer no headshot damage reduction
  • Appears in the Mythic Bin & late game Care Packages

Dev Note: Both the new Gold and Red Helmets are designed to pull some of the passive power embedded in Legends and put it into the loot pool to create new items to chase and fight for. They’ll also create dynamic gameplay options for players to strategize which squadmates don these powerful new items.

Knocked Down State

  • Significantly increased crawl speed while knocked with and without knockdown shield raised

POI Names on Drop

  • Now able to see the name and loot tier of each POI projected over the POI during first drop
  • Also includes Arsenal info to help drive drop choice

Faster Fights and Clearer Views

Battle encounters feel snappier with several changes:

  • Weapon visuals now create much less clutter, keeping your view clear during intense moments.
  • Adjustments to healing items mean cells and syringes work quicker, so you get back into the fight sooner.
  • The game’s new ranked challenges ensure that everyone has put in the effort before stepping into competitive play.
    • You must still reach Level 20 before you can get into Ranked, you just need to do challenges now too!
    • Existing players who have reached Level 20 will retain access without completing challenges.

New Systems and Quality Fixes

For newer players and those looking to polish their skills, a revamped Bot Royale Tutorial now pops up hints about legends, weapons, and loot.

The Weapon Mastery system has been simplified so that progress feels steady without random hurdles.

Quote From EA

Dev Note: The current Weapon Mastery system presented some issues, including overly complex gating mechanics that disrupt progression, trials demanding high player skill levels, and excessive reliance on randomness that can slow or stall progress. These new trials remove unnecessary randomness, shifting the focus back to the essence of weapon usage: dealing damages and eliminating enemies. If you’ve already completed trials and earned rewards they will remain unaffected. If your trials were partially completed or 90% done, no problem! Your progress will be converted, no need to start over.

Bug fixes are spread throughout—everything from audio cues to minor glitches has been addressed, and performance on PC got a boost thanks to DX12 improvements. Now, ultrawide monitors get a proper pillarboxed view so there is no more stretching by default, and loading times after shader compiling are noticeably faster.

Whether you’re a veteran looking to jump back into the fray or a newcomer ready to learn the ropes, this update reshapes Apex Legends with much-improved visuals and gameplay tweaks that make every match feel more intense than before and of course, more rewarding. Are you going to drop in to the new Apex update?