Apex Legends will launch on February 14, and its contents are set to be quite different from what players have come to expect from previous versions. Along with major upgrades to the classes, the addition of Team Deathmatch, and a new permanent playlist, Apex season 16 will also include the game's first new weapon in over a year: the Nemesis.
The players at Apex have been speculating about when the armory would be expanded in the future, with the last weapon introduced in season 11 being the CAR submachine gun back in late 2021. For Respawn's developers, the long wait was a necessary one, as they want to remain "strategic" with weapon releases.
At a recent press conference, lead weapon designer Eric Canavese stated that "we haven't launched a ton of weapons, and that's for good reason." "We have a lot of weapons and they all have a pretty strong personality and a definition of what they do."
The R-301 and the Flatline are two examples of assault rifles that have long dominated pick rates among players.
'They kind of do everything,' he continued, resulting in this weird situation in which if we ever try to nerf one of them or change out the meta with one, or put one in the crate or the crafter, it's so easy to see everybody switching onto the second one.
The Nemesis is a hybrid energy weapon and four-burst assault rifle that has the ability and damage to compete on a level playing field with these titans. It comes in a season that Respawn plans to give the weapon category—and the R-301 specifically—some targeted nerfs to knock them down a peg.
The Nemesis is a burst weapon similar to the Hemlok, but it has a fully automatic trigger that allows players to hold it down and have a smooth shooting experience against opponents. Additionally, it has a ramping-up mechanism similar to the Rampage light machine gun.
The increased fire rate that you earn with the Nemesis also lasts for a short time, meaning that the weapon may be reloaded or the player may leave combat for a brief period without immediately losing the weapon. It encourages players to begin their play early with the weapon and maintain that involvement to maximize the Nemesis' potential.
Canavese stated, "It's definitely tuned pretty hot." The fact became clear in our playtests of the new content as the weapon's potential time-to-kill potential became apparent. "It's going to be a solid gun when it launches. It's definitely going to gun for the R-301 and the Flatline. We're excited to see how that plays out in the meta this season."
The intention to have the Nemesis dethrone its contemporaries upon release will make it interesting to observe in the wider weapon meta. Respawn will no doubt be able to effectively execute this intended role reverse:
"We have so much more flexibility down the road by including a third weapon up there to start competing with the R-301 and the Flatline in the assault rifle range."
It's hard to gauge the potential impact a new weapon may have on the current meta. A fresh weapon with its own distinctive flair is a welcome addition, and if the Nemesis succeeds in dislodging weapons that have dominated the popular game since Apex was released in 2019, fights in season 16 may be quite different.