Aside from Mad Maggie and the Control mode, Apex Legends: Defiance Season 12’s 1.88 update has configured several pre-existing elements that will affect the battle royale for the long haul. Unlike smaller hotfixes, the patch focuses on everything from legend abilities, weapon damage balancing, and even removes some of Season 11’s biggest bugs.

Most notably, expect Crypto’s powers to have changed drastically. For instance, his Neurolink ability will now have a 240-degree detection radius; meanwhile, the legend’s Surveillance Drone has been nerfed to only have 50 health. In terms of weapons, the Flatline, Triple Take, and Rampage have all decreased slightly in their damage, but the Volt has been granted a minor buff in damage and magazine size.

The patch also squashes some of the most peculiar bugs, as of late. One strange error that is now removed is the message that notified players who were unable to join a match “to come back in a decade.” The 1.88 update has also added back the ability to shoot through barbwire fences in select locations.

Here is the full list of changes noted by developer Respawn Entertainment.

PATCH NOTES

LEGENDS BALANCE

Crypto

Drone View HUD and other Quality of Life updates:

  • Added gamestate (e.g. Ring information, round timers), minimap, killfeed, team status, and ping information to the Drone’s HUD.Repurposed the Drone HUD’s old Crypto health/shield presentation into displaying the health of the Drone itself.Survey Beacon markers are now displayed in-world while piloting the Drone (same as when controlling Crypto himself).

Neurolink changes:

  • Increased the Neurolink detection FOV from 160 -> 240 degrees.Neurolink detection is now disabled while the Drone is being recalled.

Surveillance Drone changes:

  • The deployment of the Drone has received a rework:Pressing the Tactical button causes Crypto to send the Drone flying in a straight line in the direction of Crypto’s view for a few seconds.If thrown to a wall (or other geo), the Drone will hit the wall and re-orient itself so that it’s facing away from the wall.Crypto no longer immediately accesses Drone View after deploying his Drone in this way.Pressing and holding the [Tactical] button will launch the Drone forward in the same way, but then Crypto will immediately access Drone View.Reduced Drone health from 60 -> 50.The HUD marker for the Drone has been tweaked to increase visibility.The HUD marker for the Drone is now always displayed on-screen while the Drone is deployed (instead of only when the Drone was off-screen.

Dev Note

  • Pressing the Tactical button causes Crypto to send the Drone flying in a straight line in the direction of Crypto’s view for a few seconds.If thrown to a wall (or other geo), the Drone will hit the wall and re-orient itself so that it’s facing away from the wall.Crypto no longer immediately accesses Drone View after deploying his Drone in this way.Pressing and holding the [Tactical] button will launch the Drone forward in the same way, but then Crypto will immediately access Drone View.

Crypto has been off the grid in terms of pick rate. The goal of these changes was to make his kit more accessible and engaging. With a new deployment option, we lowered drone health to prevent reckless drone deploy. Crypto is still a methodical, calculating legend, and manually piloting Hack should still be the primary way to access macro-level recon. The drone view HUD updates should help here as well. Crypto’s never been weak per se; we’re cognizant of his strengths at high-level play and will be keeping an eye on his usage and performance.

Caustic

Nox Gas Traps are now destroyable after detonation

  • 150hpDetonated traps will expire at 11s (instead of 12.5s)Gas effects linger for two seconds after barrel destruction or expiration (gas particles still linger a bit longer as they dissipate)

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT BALANCE

Supply Drop Rotation

The Alternator SMG returns to the ground loot this season and taking its place is the powerful mid-range energy Volt SMG.

Alternator SMG

  • Removed disruptor rounds hop-up

Volt SMG

  • Damage increased from 15 to 17Max mag size increased from 28 to 30

Hop Ups

Kinetic Feeder – Triple Take & Peacekeeper

Sliding with the Triple Take or Peacekeeper significantly speeds up choke time and automatically reloads rounds.

Hammerpoint Rounds – P2020, Mozambique & RE-45

  • P2020+50% unshielded damageMozambique+35% unshielded damageRE-45+35% unshielded damage

Shatter Caps – 30-30 Repeater & Bocek Bow

  • +50% unshielded damage

  • +35% unshielded damage

  • Passively affects hip-fire for both weaponsADS remains precision shotNo longer able to toggle on/off30-30 pellet damage reduced from 8 to 7Bow pellet damage reduced 12 to 11

Triple Take 

  • Removing projectile growth from bulletsDamage reduced from 23 to 21 per bullet

  • ADS remains precision shot

The Triple Take’s return to floor loot has been really positive, but it’s proving to be a bit ahead of the pack with its ranged performance. We’re eliminating the bullet growth it retained from its days as a sniper to pull it in line with other Marksman rifles.

VK-47 Flatline 

  • Damage reduced from 19 to 18 per bullet

Rampage LMG (Hotfix)

  • Rampage damage reduced from 28 to 26Reduced number of shots during the Revved state from ~40 to ~34

On January 13, 2022 we implemented a hotfix to the Rampage and Sentinel infinite charge bug. We took that opportunity to get out a Rampage nerf early. Noting these changes here for anyone who missed our earlier messaging.

Fully Kitted Rotation

  • Added: RE-45, Triple Take, Peacekeeper, Prowler, Havoc Removed: Mastiff, 30-30 Repeater, R-301, CAR, Longbow

Weapons in Crafting

  • VK-47 Flatline and Longbow DMR are now craftable for 30 mats at any crafting station.Weapons in crafting can not be found on the ground.Crafted weapons come with no attachments and two boxes of ammo

As we continue to introduce new weapons and loot into the game we must consider the impact it has on loot saturation and the ability to find specific pieces for loadouts. With this change we are able to keep weapons available but give our floor loot some breathing room. 

Crafting

  • Medkit price lowered from 20 to 15Kinetic Feeder added to crafting rotation

BUG FIXES AND QUALITY OF LIFE

  • Fixed issue where multiple Legends were missing voice lines when pinging a caged flyer.Fix for Booster Loader where ammo counter would remain highlighted when switching from a low ammo Hemlok or Wingman to another weapon.Replicator fix for cases where an item could become stuck inside after crafting with a full inventory.Fixed an error that would tell players to come back in a decade when matchmaking.Fix for cases of lighting issues in some areas on Olympus.Fix for cases where Mirage Ultimate Decoys could get stuck on surfaces raised slightly off the ground.Arenas: Fix for cases where Crypto’s Drone charges could be used multiple times with single Drone.Arenas: Fix for cases where trying to charge a Rampage or Sentinel Rifle as the round starts results in the charge being cancelled when the round starts.Crypto’s Drone fix for cases where it wouldn’t show friendly nameplates.Fix for cases where players were able to use melee on incline surfaces to get speed boost while sliding.Fix for cases where revving up a Rampage LMG while removing extended mag causes the revved up bar to appear forever.Fix for cases where the timer for charging the Sentinel and Rampage was not showing the correct time left for animation.Fixed cases when specific Legendary Horizon skins would block part of screen when ADSing with a Prowler + 1x holo scope.Fixed issue where weapon challenges would not show progress in the after match summary.Fixed a bug where Charging up the Sentinel required 2 cells instead of 1 when wearing a golden armor.Reduced L-STAR impact vfx.Fixed a bug for cases where players could get a jump boost from deathboxes that are in the vicinity of Horizon’s Gravity Lift after it’s been used.Reticle Color Customization – Limiting values to 0-255 to avoid exploits.Reticle Color Customization – improved inconsistency in UI color when ADSing with different sniper scopes.Reticle Customization fix for cases where rapidly adjusting the lighting bar can result in a performance drop on other platforms and a crash on Switch.Based on  feedback, we’ve adjusted the in-world icon for Ash’s passive to be smaller and closer to the ground.When Ash’s tactical hits an object it cannot stick to, it should now bounce off instead of destroying itself (tactical cooldown will not be refunded anymore)Improved the targeting experience for Ash’s ultimate by preferring locations that are farther awayAudio Fix for cases where R-99 gun fire SFX persists when spectator changes to another player while R-99 is fired.Storm Point: Fixed cases where players were unable to shoot through the chain-link fences at Antenna. Storm Point: Fix for cases where players could get stuck inside the map by using Valk’s Ultimate on Command Center.Storm Point: Based feedback we’ve adjusted Final Round Rings so they don’t end in areas with no cover or populated by Prowler Dens.Storm Point: Fix for cases where a player could be launched by a Gravity Cannon while below it.World’s Edge: Changed Fragment from high-tier to mid-tier loot. This happened in the 11.1 update, but was inadvertently omitted from those patch notes.World’s Edge: Fixed an issue with Loba’s ultimate where it would not tell you items inside the panels at Trials were locked (though the alarm got triggered as normal).Fix for cases where Gibby’s arm would be missing during Pathfinder’s “Iron Haymaker” finisher.Fix for cases where the entire map hears audio if a player cancels beacon scan.Fixed issue where Valk’s “Cloud Marauder” Legend skin had darker hands in 1P versus what’s shown in the Lobby and in other 1P skins.Fix for cases where Players hit by Seer tactical just as they enter crafting could lose certain functionality.Fixed issue where Caustic barrels that are still being deployed (mid-throw) were not being deleted after Caustic dies.Fixed issue where sometimes Wattson’s Interceptor Pylon would heal for less than intended.Fix for cases where a crash could occur when players accept join club requests by clicking the approval button twice.Fixed a bug where moving through Wraith’s portal could feel choppy when placed in the air via Gravity Cannons.Fixed a bug where stocks didn’t drop from wildlife on Storm PointImproved wildlife combat versus vehicles. Improved wildlife interactions versus electrical abilities making stunning wildlife with Wattson’s fences and Ash’s tactical more reliableGave a slight increase to high tier consumable drops on all wildlife.Added the ability to see your teammate survival item while the inventory is open.