Image: Respawn Entertainment via HGG
My name is Gibson Vasela. I am a freelance writer who has been playing video games for almost 20 years now. I play all kinds of games, but I especially love immersive sims and RPGs.
Reviewed by Benjamin Barr
It’s that time again. Everyone’s favorite battle royale has received a new season, and with it, a boatload of fresh new content and re-balances! While we may not be getting a brand new map or any new weapons, there’s still plenty of content to cover with the Apex Legends Season 12 launch.
So what exactly has been changed? How has Respawn updated Olympus? What are the new Legend’s abilities? What about that limited-time mode? And has the meta for Legends and weapons been changed at all? We’ll be answering all your burning questions and more in this overview article of Apex Legends Season 12! Without further ado, let’s drop right in.
Related Reading:
Season 12 Map Changes: Olympus
As always, we’ve got some new map changes this season to go over! Olympus — the floating city in the sky — received a fresh coat of paint this season.
When first spawning in, the first thing you’ll notice is the brand new skybox. The city has moved to a brand-new location and now hovers over hundreds of skyscrapers and other structures. This is a really great change in my opinion. Before Olympus saw its debut, I assumed we would have something like what we do now. Now it really feels like a city!
As for the points of interest, there are two in particular to go over. Phase Driver is a brand new location found in the middle of Bonsai Plaza and Hydroponics. When arriving, you should see a big circular structure with a control panel on one side of it. Activate that control panel, and a big phase breach will open up above you, dropping down loot crates for you and your squad to collect!
The next new location is called Terminal, and you can find it to the north of Phase Driver. It’s located just underneath the Phase Runner that you can use to get around the map. This makes it easier to rotate across the rings, as you can simply take this route instead of going all the way around the Phase Runner.
Season 12 New Legend: Mad Maggie
Carrying on the tradition of releasing a brand new Legend every season, Season 12 of Apex Legends introduces to us a returning character from Apex lore. You might recognize Mad Maggie from the Season 8 comic.
In this comic, she and Fuse had quite the rivalry going on. She disagreed with Fuse’s decision to join the Apex Games, viewing it as treason against her home planet, Salvo. It was at the end of this comic that she seemingly died from a high fall. Somehow, Maggie survived her defeat and has been sentenced to join the arena for her crimes against the Syndicate.
But enough about her backstory, let’s get into the meat and potatoes of Mad Maggie, and what you’re probably most interested in — her abilities!
Passive: Maggie’s passive ability is called “Warlord’s Ire.” It’s a weapon-based ability that allows her to move faster when she has a shotgun equipped. Damaging an enemy highlights them for a short period of time. This allows you and your team to see them through walls, making tracking them down easier.
Tactical: For her tactical, “Riot Drill,” Mad Maggie can shoot out a device that drills through walls and deals fire damage to enemies on the other side. This drill can penetrate nearly any wall in the game. It can even penetrate certain Legends’ abilities (Gibrealta’s Dome, Rampart’s Amped Cover, etc).
This is a great device for breach and clear operations, as it allows her to deal damage to the enemy players cramped up in close quarters. It does not do that much damage at first, but it can be deadly if player’s don’t move out of the way in time. It really is a camper’s worst nightmare.
Ultimate: Her ultimate ability, “Wrecking Ball,” is a device that shoots out blue pads onto the ground. When Maggie and her teammates walk over them, they gain a buff to their speed. The Wrecking Ball can also be used to damage enemies and deal a concussion effect, making it useful for both pushing and falling back.
Season 12 New Limited Time Mode: Control
The launch of Season 12 saw the introduction of a brand new limited-time mode! While it may not be a permanent new mode (such as Arenas), it is still a new and unique twist on the Apex Legends formula. The game mode will be available up until the first of March, so you have plenty of time to try it out before it leaves.
Control is very similar to Domination from Call of Duty. Two teams of nine players spawn on opposite sides of the map and must capture three different control points. You don’t need to control all three at once to win the game. Rather, when your team owns a control point, you slowly gain points. You gain more points the more areas on the map you control. Once you have enough points, the match ends and you and your team win the game!
You can choose from one of several premade load-outs at the start of the match. Despite being a 9v9 game, you’re still grouped with two other people in a “squad.” The Legends you can choose from are only restricted by what your squadmates are playing.
This means that the other two squads you’re paired with can have the same Legend as you! For example, your team can have three Ramparts on the map for maximum defensive power. Unfortunately, you can’t communicate with players that aren’t in your squad, which makes this kind of coordination basically impossible.
Season 12 Weapon & Legend Re-Balances
As many players expected, Respawn’s made several changes to the weapon and legend meta in Apex Legends Season 12. Weapons have been swapped in and out of the care package. Old hop-ups have been tweaked, and new ones have been added. Legends in dire need of a rework have been buffed. There is plenty more to discuss, so let’s get right into it!
Weapon Changes
While we didn’t see any new weapons added to the game, there are a few interesting changes that keep weapon spawns fresh. The Alternator SMG has returned to ground loot after having its turn in the care package. The Disrupter hop-up has been removed, and it is back to its pre-care package damage output.
The Volt SMG takes the Alternator’s place in the care package, receiving a buff to its damage and magazine size. Its damage per shot is now 17 instead of 15, and its mag size is now 30 instead of 28.
The VK-47 Flatline and the Longbow DMR can no longer be found on the ground. If you wish to use either of these weapons, you’ll need to find a Replicator and craft them manually. Each weapon will cost 30 crafting materials, which isn’t too bad for such great weapons.
Hammerpoint Rounds have returned as an equitable hop-up! This modification allows users to deal extra damage to an unshielded target. Weapons it works with include the p2020 pistol, Mozambique shotgun, and for the first time, the RE-45 automatic pistol.
There is also a brand new hop-up added with this season, called “Kinetic Feeder.” This can only be applied to the Trippletake and the Peacekeeper. When sliding around the map with one, the choke charges much faster and the gun is automatically reloaded!
Legend Re-Balances
At long last, one of the least-played Legends in the entire game — the Survalence Expert, Crypto — has received a much-needed buff. While it may not be the Off The Grid passive fans have been hoping for, there are enough changes to at least make him more engaging to play.
Crypto’s drone UI saw many updates. These updates allow you to see the mini-map, the drone’s health, pings, and other useful bits of information when in drone mode. As for his drone, you can now automatically send it out in a straight line if you press the tactical button. If his drone arrives at a wall, it will now pull a 180-degree turn and face the other direction.
While these changes are all very nice, I can’t help but feel they should have done more. I think it’s unlikely they won’t update him again in the future, so I suppose these buffs will do for now.
Join the High Ground
We hope you enjoyed reading our overview of the latest season! Did you find it informative? Or did you still have more questions? Let us know down in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter! We offer regular content on all the latest games, including more Apex Legends Season 12.
Happy gaming!
You must sign in to comment.
Don't have an account? Sign up here!