It has become tradition with each new Apex Legends season to see a set of weapons rotate in and out of the battle royale’s floor loot to shift the weapon meta. This isn’t changing with season 16, which launches on Feb. 14, but the weapons being transitioned into the Replicator and care package aren’t particularly common ones.
The Hemlok assault rifle will be put into the care package this time around, getting adjustments and buffs to suit its new place as a red-tier weapon, while the Volt submachine gun and the Longbow DMR similarly head into the Replicator. Returning to the floor will be the Rampage LMG, as well as the G7 Scout and CAR SMG.
The effective vaulting of the Hemlok doesn’t come as much of a surprise with a new assault rifle, the Nemesis, coming in season 16. With it being specifically designed to compete with the top dogs of the R-301 and Flatline according to Respawn developers at a recent press event, removing other weapons in the assault rifle category from the floor loot will aid in their analysis of its success.
The version of the Hemlok that players will find in the care package is “very buffed” according to Lead Weapons Designer Eric Canavese, who walked us through the changes. “I know a lot of people really love the Hemlok and they’re going to be sad to see it leave the ground,” he said, but promised that players who seek out and find this care package version of it “will absolutely shred with it.”
“We’re increasing the damage, we’re increasing the headshot multiplier, it comes with the Boosted Loader on it,” he listed off. “Even the Boosted Loader is getting buffed. It will trigger earlier, you’ll get more ammo than you used to—this thing absolutely rips.”
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Canavese had less to say when it came to the rotation that will hit the Replicators. With the system being more consistently implemented season over season, players are used to the shift in available floor loot, but he noted that both the Volt and Longbow are “pretty strong guns” for players to craft right off drop. With how rarely the Scout is seen in the current season, that’s a clear step up from the set of weapons available right now.
No balance changes were mentioned for the weapons now returning to the ground in battle royale, although it can be assumed that the Rampage LMG will be brought back down to its power level prior to its time in the care package.
