Apex Legends Season 24 is changing the game in a big way. Alongside quality-of-life changes and new Assault class perks, the next season of Apex Legends will completely shift the combat meta.

The 24th season of Apex Legends, dubbed 'Takeover', will usher in substantial changes. Though this won't involve a new map or Legend, it will include new Assault class perks, Arsenal stations, buffs to Ash and Ballistic, a 'Road to Ranked' (extra hurdles to new accounts that want to play Ranked), and much more. Perhaps the biggest change is the new combat meta that Respawn will bring in thanks to some key adjustments. To learn more about how Apex will become faster and deadlier, Game Rant sat down with a group of the game's developers.

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No More Helmets And Buffs To Every Weapon

Every weapon in Apex Legends is getting a buff, in addition to reworks of headshot damage. The latter change is due to the removal of helmets, meaning there will no longer be variable headshot damage based on helmet color. Lead BR designer Eric Canavese spoke about how these weapon changes came about, and how they'll impact the damage meta:

"We play the game all the time, and we are no strangers to the Support metas that are going on and the rising tide of Apex's player skill, and all of the awesome abilities that have been put into the game, and the crazy movement the players are able to do. When you couple all of that stuff with the weapon roster, that really hasn't changed over time. It's like the time-to-kills are getting longer and longer because of all of those factors. So instead of taking fun out of playing the game in those areas and nerfing all that stuff down so people can get kills, we took a look at it and said, "What if we make the weapons a little bit stronger?"

We threw it into the game for some play tests, and then things started to really click. We were like, "Okay, conflicts are resolving a little bit faster. We're feeling a little bit more confident in our ability to go and prepare for the next fights instead of the fights coming to us". And that was starting to feel, you know, a bit like Apex of old—but in a good way—while still having all of the innovations that we've been putting in the game over the years. That was sort of a light bulb moment where we were like "Okay, there's something here". So, you know, we reined it in, and we refined how those damages and the headshot multipliers and all of that stuff was implemented."

With every weapon receiving a buff and helmets being removed, 2025 should be a great year for fans of Apex's sniper and Marksman weapons. For instance, Kraber users can now comfortably one-shot players with a Level 3 (purple) Evo Shield provided they land a headshot.

Changes To Evo Shields And Small Heals

While every weapon is being buffed, defensive capabilities are taking a hit. Apex Legends' Evo Shields now cap out at Level 3, offering less maximum protection when compared to the current cap of Level 4 Mythic Shields (absorbing 25 less damage). Mythic Shields are still in the game, but can only be donned via a Mythic helmet, which only spawns in Mythic bins and rare endgame care packages. This helmet only equips Mythic Shield, and will not offer additional head protection.

Not everything about the game has gotten deadlier, however. While Apex's Support Legends will lose their Heal Expert perk, every Legend will now benefit from a new change to small heals. These heals (Shield Cells and Syringes) will now stack to 6 and heal faster than they do currently.