Apex Legends: All weapon buffs and nerfs in April 16 v1.1.1 update – patch notes
The latest major game update in Apex Legends has brought with it some massive balancing changes and tuning to certain weapons, and we’re here to make sure you’re caught up on everything there is to know.
In the v1.1.1 update, which went live on April 16, the developers at Respawn Entertainment adjusted the effectiveness of some weapons based on both feedback and their own analyses of how the weapons perform in-game.
Below you can find a full breakdown of a few of the major changes, as well as section of the official patch notes that lists all of the weapon tuning implemented via this update.
Sniper Rifle buffs
A big focus of the weapon tuning was around sniper rifles, as the developers made some changes in order to “improve the power of long range gameplay.”
As a result, the G7 Scout, Triple Take, and Longbow DMR all had their leg shot damage reduction lowered from 25% to 10%, while the base weapon sway and speed were reduced by 33% and 25% respectively.
Sniper Rifles were given a major boost in the v1,1,1 update, most of all the Longbow DMR.
The Longbow DMR also had its own set of buffs, as its fire rate was increased from 1.2 to 1.6, while the base magazine size was increased from five rounds to six.
However, the capacities of the Common (six to eight), Rare (eight to ten), and Epic (ten to 12) mag extenders were actually increased by two rounds each.
Wingman and Spitfire
The Wingman and Spitfire are two of the strongest and fan-favorite weapons in Apex Legends, and both were nerfed in the v1.1.1 update.
The Wingman’s magazine size was reduced across its base capacity and all of the mag extender variants, while the Spitfire’s base damage was reduced from 20 to 18, as well as the capacities of all of its mag extender attachments, but not the base.
The fan-favorite Wingman was nerfed in the v1.1.1 update, as its magazine size was reduced.
Gold Weapon adjustments
The v1.1.1 update also made adjustments to the attachments that gold weapons come with. This, of course, is not referring to the Kraber or Mastiff, but rather regular weapons which have gold variants that come stacked with Legendary attachments.
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The Gold Havoc, Gold R-301, and Gold Wingman have all had their preset attachments adjusted, with the Wingman now having a Digital Threat.
Below, you can find the section of the patch notes having to do with weapon tuning. To view the entire patch notes, make sure to visit our v1.1.1 patch notes page for full details.
WEAPON BALANCING
On the weapons side of the equation, we’ve made a number of changes to try to improve the power of long range gameplay. We’re reducing leg shot damage reductions on sniper category weapons, so you’re not punished for landing inaccurate shots at long distances. Given the semi-auto and low damage nature of our current sniper suite, coupled with the general speed and evasiveness of many Legend kits, it already takes several challenging shots to down someone at range. Because of this difficult sniper environment, we’re also reducing general sniper weapon sway and hitting the DMR with a few targeted buffs to make it more viable to engage Legends at range.
Separately from the sniper category, we are nerfing the Spitfire a bit, but our goal is to still keep it strong, as it’s a rarer spawning weapon. The Wingman is receiving a few magazine size nerfs, so that it doesn’t dominate the stock gun vs. stock gun battle early on due to its super high damage per bullet. Lastly, the Havoc is getting some general ammo and charge beam buffs to bring it in line as a viable energy ammo AR that competes with the R-301 and Flatine/Hemlok. The end goal is that the Havoc pressures a player’s ability to find Energy ammo, but is less dependent on finding attachments, whereas the R-301 and Flatline/Hemlok have less ammo pressure, but a higher reliance on finding more attachments to achieve power.
- G7 SCOUT / TRIPLE TAKE / LONGBOW DMR
- Lowered leg shot damage reduction: 25% -> 10%
- Reduced base weapon sway by about 33%
- Reduced base sway speed by about 25%
- LONGBOW DMR
- Increased fire rate 1.2 -> 1.6
- Increased magazine size
- Base mag increased: 5 -> 6 rounds
- Common mag extender increased: 6 -> 8 rounds
- Rare mag extender increased: 8 -> 10 rounds
- Epic mag extender increased: 10 -> 12 rounds
- HAVOC
- Increased base magazine size: 25 -> 32 rounds
- Charge Beam
- Reduced cost per shot: 5 -> 4
- Increased close range damage: 55 -> 60
- Increased damage at range: 45 -> 50
- Close range damage falloff increased: 35m -> 75m
- Ranged damage falloff increased: 75m -> 125m
- WINGMAN
- Reduced magazine size
- Base mag reduced: 6 -> 4 rounds
- Common mag extender reduced: 8 -> 6 rounds
- Rare mag extender reduced: 9 -> 8 rounds
- Epic mag extender reduced: 12 -> 10 rounds
- Reduced magazine size
- SPITFIRE
- Reduced base damage: 20 -> 18
- Magazine extender attachments reduced
- Common mag extender reduced: 45 -> 40 rounds
- Rare mag extender reduced: 55 -> 45 rounds
- Eprc mag extender reduced: 60 -> 55 rounds
ADJUSTMENTS TO GOLD WEAPON ATTACHMENTS:
- Gold Havoc
- Now has Turbocharger
- Now has 1x-2x variable holo site
- Gold R301
- Now has 1x-2x variable holo site
- Gold Wingman
- Now has digital threat
