All Apex Legends nerfs & buffs to weapons & Legends in March 3 update

The update that launched the System Override Collection Event in Apex Legends also implemented some balancing changes to several Legends, weapons, and items.

System Override is the biggest event in Apex Legends since the launch of Season 4 in early February, and it’s introduced new content and changes to the battle royale.

While not as major as the balancing adjustments made in the Season 4 patch, there were still some changes that could end up impacting the game’s meta.

Weapon changes

Several weapons were tweaked in this March 3 update, but the Peacekeeper was the only one that was seriously nerfed in its mag size, reload speeds, and blast patter scale:

• Mag size reduced from 6 -> 5.
• Increased reload time from 2.5s -> 2.65s.
• Increased reload time with empty mag from 3.5s -> 3.6s.
• Slightly increased the scale of the blast pattern from 1.6 -> 1.7.

The Sentinel, the new sniper rifle that was released at the start of Season 4, was buffed so that it now does more damage and takes less time to rechamber:

• Base damage increased from 65 -> 70
• Reduced time it takes to rechamber from 1.85s -> 1.75s.

The Prowler and L-STAR, two of the strongest guns so far in the current season, now feature a red dot on their iron sights, which will “stay properly centered during weapon sway and bob movements.”

• Read More: How to master the L-STAR in Season 4

The final weapon-related change was that a fix for the frustrating muzzle flash issue was finally implemented, applying to all guns except for sniper rifles and shotguns.

Now, when you aim down sights of a weapon while firing, the flash of light that emanates from the muzzle will be of reduced intensity, making aiming a lot easier.

Legend changes

There were three Legends addressed with the March 3 balancing changes: Bloodhound, Gibraltar, and Crypto. For Bloodhound, Respawn explained that their intent was for the character to “use their tactical as they are approaching towns pre-combat versus reacting while in a fight.”

Thus, the scan distance for the Eye of the Allfather ability was increased by 3x, while the time to activate and the duration of the scan were also increased to help balance things out:

• Increased the scan distance for Eye of the Allfather by 3x.
• Increased time to activate: .4s -> .8s
• Increased duration of scan: 2s -> 3s

Gibraltar was finally nerfed a little after the last several updates had made him considerably stronger. His Gun Shield health was reduced from 75 all the way down to 50.

The third character tweaked was Crypto; players using the hacking expert now have their primary weapons reload automatically while in drone view.

• Read More: How to unlock Octane Heirloom in Apex Legends

Backpack buffs

This System Override patch made some major changes to player inventories, one of which was an increase of the base number of slots from eight to 10. In turn, this buffed Backpacks a bit, as each rarity now further expands inventories by two more slots than before:

• Common (gray) Backpack: expands inventory to 12 slots (previously 10)
• Rare (blue) Backpack: expands inventory to 14 slots (previously 12)
• Epic (purple) Backpack: expands inventory to 16 slots (previously 14)

However, in order to balance this, Respawn nerfed the stack sizes for Grenades, Light/Heavy/Energy ammo, Syringes, Shield Cells, Med Kits, and Shield Batteries. For more details about these changes and the new stack sizes for those items, make sure to check out our Apex Legends inventory changes info page.

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That’s everything on the nerfs and buffs that this March 3 update implemented. For more information on everything else, including the new content, visit our Apex Legends System Override Collection Event update patch notes.