Apex Legends Season 16 brings TDM, new classes, an energy assault rifle, and more

Season 16 focuses on the health of the game, rather than new content

Season 16 is coming to Apex Legends and it’s all about celebrating four years of the Apex Games – hence the name, Revelry. The changes this season are focused on the health of the game, rather than launching new maps and legends, and the changes will shake Apex Legends up at its very core.

Every single Legend is being touched by a new class system in Season 16. The old classes are being completely stripped out and replaced by five new classes for each of the characters to inhabit. Class roles have become muddy over the last four years, as new Legends have launched and shifted up the meta, landing somewhere between the old roles and making other roles obsolete. The new roles aim to fix things up.

Respawn Entertainment

The five new classes will be Assault, Skirmisher, Recon, Controller, and Support. Each of these comes with a Passive-style perk, but we’re not allowed to go into the specifics of what these are just yet. Just know that they’re huge, sweeping changes that will completely alter team dynamics and strategic options on the battlefield.

Six legends are also being reworked with a range of buffs and nerfs, including Wraith, Lifeline, and Seer. Again, we can’t reveal specifics just yet, but we will once the next embargo lifts.

EA / Respawn Entertainment

Outside of these changes, Season 16 marks the end of Arenas mode. Developer Respawn imagined Arenas as a place where players could hone their combat skills outside of the main battle royale mode, but it became just as competitive as the BR in a short amount of time. It’s being sunsetted this season in favor of a new mode, a 6v6 Team Deathmatch with fast respawns, where the first team to 30 kills wins. At the start of each match, you can choose your loadout, and there will also be powerful weapon crate drops to fight over as matches progress. TDM will have Party Crasher, Habitat, and Skull Town as launch maps.

Then there’s Mixtape, which mixes TDM, Control, and Gun Run. Mixtape is coming three weeks after the launch of Season 16.

Respawn Entertainment

TDM and Mixtape aren’t the only ways you can improve your Apex skills in the new season, however. There are also updates coming to the Firing Range over the course of the season. As well as allowing you to set the target dummies to strafe and crouch, you can even control their movement speed. Hit indicators will allow you to see spray patterns for each weapon, giving you more information to properly correct and control each gun in live firefights. On top of this, you’ll have access to unlimited ammo while you’re there, which means you don’t have to keep stopping and starting.

For new players, there will be a fresh onboarding process where they’re sent into Orientation matches filled with mostly bots – 16 squads of bots and four squads of players. Their more advanced friends can help with these matches, but any badges earned won’t count toward progression for either player. There’s also a first-time player video and some Welcome Challenges that teach players some of the quirks of Respawn’s battle royale shooter. Complete the challenges and you get a new Apex 101 badge.

Respawn Entertainment

Elsewhere, there’s a new gun coming for the Flatline and R-301 (the latter of which is being nerfed by one point of damage per bullet). The Nemesis is an energy-based assault rifle that fires in four-bullet bursts. But unlike the Hemlock (which is going in the crate as a buffed variant), you’re able to keep hold of the trigger to keep the bursts coming. As you do this, the fire rate speed stacks, and it will stay increased between reloads and other maneuvers for a short time.

Respawn hopes that the new gun will unseat some of the more dominant weapons in Apex Legends. In addition to the new gun, assault rifles are being made less effective in hip-fire to ensure SMGs and shotguns remain the best choice for close-quarters combat. The Mastiff and Peacekeeper shotguns have also been buffed, allowing you to attach tactical stocks for better handling and faster reloads. They’ve also been tweaked to do more consistent damage.

Respawn Entertainment

Elsewhere, there are no major changes to the Ranked payouts – Respawn is working on this, but it will take some time. However, there’s some good news if you’re anything like me and you get sick of playing the same map for almost two months. Broken Moon, Storm Point, and World’s Edge are the Season 16 maps, and they will rotate every 24 hours over the course of the new season.

While there are no major changes to the maps themselves this season, they will be decorated for the anniversary celebration. Across the maps, you’ll see chibi parade balloons of the Legends, and each match kicks off with an air show with jets flying overhead. You’ll also be able to fight across Mirage’s new party boat – the Mirage à Trois – which is a new, limited-time POI.

Apex Legends Season 16 lands on February 14, 2023. 

If you're into the Apex Legends esports scene, check out our recap of TSM's run in the ALGS: Split 1 Playoffs.