February 08, 2022 Patch

The **February 08, 2022 Patch** is a major patch.

## New content

* New Legend: **Mad Maggie**
* New map update: **Olympus**
* New Hop-Up:  Kinetic Feeder, compatible with Triple Take and Peacekeeper
* New LTM: **Control**

## Map changes

Storm Point
* Prowler damage reduced from 30 to 20 and reduced knockback force.
* Increased Prowler Nest completion reward from 90 to 150  crafting materials (250 total for the large Prowler Nest in the center of the map). Note: Crafting rewards are divided eveningly to all squadmates nearby at time of clearing the nest. All players (regardless of squad) in the area get a share of the 250 crafting material reward when the large Prowler Nest is cleared.
* Overhauled wildlife targeting rules to use damage as the primary factor which should help wildlife targeting feel more fair and less random.
* Introduced a targeting cap for Prowlers, so only 3 Prowlers will be able to target a player at any time.
* Prowler Den spawns are now disabled when there are two teams inside of the same Nest (except for the massive Prowler Nest at the center of the map).
* Prowlers are now neutral when outside the ring unless engaged in combat.
* Prowler Dens are now disabled outside the ring if the Prowler Camp is passive.
* Wandering Prowlers in the small Wildlife Nests have been reduced from 3 down to 2 and their wander radius is reduced by half until they are engaged in combat.
* Made some tweaks that should help squads clear Prowler Nests quicker.
* Gave a slight increase to high tier consumable drops on all wildlife.
* Improved wildlife combat versus vehicles. Targeting and damage now focuses on an occupied vehicle opposed to individual players in the vehicle.
* Improved wildlife interactions versus electrical abilities making stunning wildlife with Wattson’s  fences and Ash’s  tactical more reliable.

## Legend changes

 Crypto
* Surveillance Drone
	+ The deployment of the Drone has received a rework:
		- Pressing the Tactical button causes Crypto to send the Drone flying in a straight line in the direction of Crypto's view for a few seconds.
		- If thrown to a wall (or other geo), the Drone will hit the wall and re-orient itself so that it's facing away from the wall.
		- Crypto no longer immediately accesses Drone View after deploying his Drone in this way.
		- Pressing and holding the [Tactical] button will launch the Drone forward in the same way, but then Crypto will immediately access Drone View.
	+ Added gamestate (e.g. Ring information, round timers), minimap, killfeed, team status, and ping information to the Drone's HUD.
	+ Repurposed the Drone HUD's old Crypto health/shield presentation into displaying the health of the Drone itself.
	+ Survey Beacon markers are now displayed in-world while piloting the Drone (same as when controlling Crypto himself).
	+ Reduced Drone health from 60 -> 50.
	+ The HUD marker for the Drone has been tweaked to increase visibility.
	+ The HUD marker for the Drone is now always displayed on-screen while the Drone is deployed (instead of only when the Drone was off-screen.

* Neurolink
	+ Increased the Neurolink detection FOV from 160 -> 240 degrees.
	+ Neurolink detection is now disabled while the Drone is being recalled.

 Caustic
* Nox Gas Trap
	+ Nox Gas Traps are now destroyable after detonation:
		- 150hp
		- Detonated traps will expire at 11s (instead of 12.5s)
		- Gas effects linger for two seconds after barrel destruction or expiration (gas particles still linger a bit longer as they dissipate)

## Weapons and loot changes

Supply Drop rotation
* Alternator SMG returned to ground loot
* Volt SMG added to Supply Drop loot

Fully kitted rotation
* Added: RE-45 Auto, Triple Take, Peacekeeper, Prowler Burst PDW, HAVOC Rifle
* Removed: Mastiff Shotgun, 30-30 Repeater, R-301 Carbine, C.A.R. SMG, Longbow DMR

 Crafting
* VK-47 Flatline and Longbow DMR:
	+ Are now craftable for 30 at any crafting station.
	+ Weapons in crafting can not be found on the ground.
	+ Crafted weapons come with no attachments and two boxes of ammo
* Med Kit price lowered from 20 to 15
* Kinetic Feeder added to crafting rotation

Hop-Ups
* Disruptor Rounds
	+ Removed
* Kinetic Feeder
	+ Sliding with the Triple Take or Peacekeeper significantly speeds up choke time and automatically reloads rounds.
* Hammerpoint Rounds
	+ P2020: +50% unshielded damage
	+ Mozambique Shotgun: +35% unshielded damage
	+ RE-45 Auto: +35% unshielded damage
* Shatter Caps
	+ Passively affects hip-fire for both weapons (30-30 Repeater and Bocek Compound Bow)
		- ADS remains precision shot
	+ No longer able to toggle on/off
	+ 30-30 pellet damage reduced from 8 to 7
	+ Bow pellet damage reduced 12 to 11

 Volt SMG
* Damage increased from 15 to 17
* Max mag size increased from 28 to 30

 Triple Take
* Removing projectile growth from bullets
* Damage reduced from 23 to 21 per bullet

 VK-47 Flatline
* Damage reduced from 19 to 18 per bullet

 Rampage LMG
* *See January 13, 2022 Patch.*

## Ranked update

Ranked Battle Royale
* Max Kill KP: ~~175~~ → 125

## Quality of Life changes

Communication filter
During this season we’ll be releasing a new feature where players will be able to determine which players they want to receive voice and text chat from called Communication Filter. Players can find the feature in the Options Menu under Gameplay and will have 3 options to choose from.

* Everyone = You see and hear all Text / voice chat from all players.
* Friends Only = You only see and hear friends text / voice chat.
* Off = You do not see or hear any voice or text chat.

Players can also unmute anyone they choose, friend of friend or a good random squadmate.

Reticle Color Customization
* Improved inconsistency in UI color when ADSing with different sniper scopes.

Storm Point
* Based on feedback we’ve adjusted Final Round Rings so they don’t end in areas with no cover or populated by Prowler Dens.

World's Edge
* Changed Fragment from high-tier to mid-tier loot.

Other changes

* Reduced L-STAR impact vfx.
* Based on feedback, we’ve adjusted the in-world icon for Ash's  passive to be smaller and closer to the ground.
* When Ash’s  tactical hits an object it cannot stick to, it should now bounce off instead of destroying itself (tactical cooldown will not be refunded anymore)
* Improved the targeting experience for Ash’s  ultimate by preferring locations that are farther away
* Gave a slight increase to high tier consumable drops on all wildlife.
* Added the ability to see your teammate survival item while the inventory is open.
* Quitting players can no longer deny kills & assists
* Reviving no longer resets damage history

## Bug fixes

 Arenas
* Fix for cases where Crypto’s  Drone charges could be used multiple times with single Drone.
* Fix for cases where trying to charge a Rampage or Sentinel Rifle as the round starts results in the charge being cancelled when the round starts.

Reticle Color Customization
* Limiting values to 0-255 to avoid exploits.
* Fix for cases where rapidly adjusting the lighting bar can result in a performance drop on other platforms and a crash on Switch.

Storm Point
* Fixed cases where players were unable to shoot through the chain-link fences at Antenna.
* Fix for cases where players could get stuck inside the map by using Valk’s  Ultimate on Command Center.
* Fix for cases where a player could be launched by a Gravity Cannon while below it.
* Fixed a bug where   stocks didn’t drop from wildlife

World's Edge
* Fixed an issue with Loba’s  ultimate where it would not tell you items inside the panels at Trials were locked (though the alarm got triggered as normal).

Other fixes
* Fixed issue where multiple Legends were missing voice lines when pinging a caged flyer.
* Fix for  Boosted Loader where ammo counter would remain highlighted when switching from a low ammo Hemlok or Wingman to another weapon.
* Replicator fix for cases where an item could become stuck inside after crafting with a full inventory.
* Fixed an error that would tell players to come back in a decade when matchmaking.
* Fix for cases of lighting issues in some areas on Olympus.
* Fix for cases where Mirage  Ultimate Decoys could get stuck on surfaces raised slightly off the ground.
* Crypto’s  Drone fix for cases where it wouldn’t show friendly nameplates.
* Fix for cases where players were able to use melee on incline surfaces to get speed boost while sliding.
* Fix for cases where revving up a Rampage LMG while removing  extended mag causes the revved up bar to appear forever.
* Fix for cases where the timer for charging the Sentinel and Rampage was not showing the correct time left for animation.
* Fixed cases when specific Legendary Horizon skins would block part of screen when ADSing with a Prowler +  1x holo scope.
* Fixed issue where weapon challenges would not show progress in the after match summary.
* Fixed a bug where Charging up the Sentinel required 2  cells instead of 1 when wearing a  golden armor.
* Fixed a bug for cases where players could get a jump boost from deathboxes that are in the vicinity of Horizon’s Gravity Lift after it’s been used.
* Audio Fix for cases where R-99 gun fire SFX persists when spectator changes to another player while R-99 is fired.
* Fix for cases where Gibby's arm would be missing during Pathfinder’s "Iron Haymaker" finisher.
* Fix for cases where the Entire map hears audio if a player cancels beacon scan.
* Fixed issue where Valk’s "Cloud Marauder" Legend skin had darker hands in 1P versus what's shown in the Lobby and in other 1P skins.
* Fix for cases where Players hit by Seer  tactical just as they enter crafting could lose certain functionality.
* Fixed issue where Caustic  barrels that are still being deployed (mid-throw) were not being deleted after Caustic dies.
* Fixed issue where sometimes Wattson's  Interception Pylon would heal for less than intended.
* Fix for cases where a crash could occur when players accept join club requests by clicking the approval button twice.
* Fixed a bug where moving through Wraith's  portals could feel choppy when placed in the air via Gravity Cannons.

## Private Match updates

* Observer: Added a toggle to disable kill feed while in free cam.
* Observer: Fixed ring visibility on mini map.
* Observer: Fixed kill calculations for the Status & Stats screen.
* Fixed Stats Summary generation for team slots with default names.
* Disabled Club features in Private Match.
* Added unique player ID’s to Post-Game API (same ID’s seen in the Real-Time API).
* Real-Time API changes:
	+ Added “weaponSwitched” event. Shows the current item equipped by the player.
	+ Added player names for events squadEliminated and matchStateEnd.
	+ Added teammate names for observerSwitched event.
	+ Fix for items appearing as “Unrecognized”.
	+ Fix for characterSelected event not populating with all players.

## Undocumented changes

* The "Heirlooms" section of the Store is now called "Mythics". The  Shards counter has also moved to the bottom.
* The "Editions" section of the Store has been removed.
* The Ring is more transparent, allowing more visibility.
* Loading Screens are now called "Transitions".
* The "Exclusive" subsection of the "Featured" section of the Store is now called "Limited-Time".
* Mistakenly increased hipfire spread for the Alternator SMG, Prowler Burst PDW, and R-99 SMG. Reverted in the February 10, 2022 Patch.
* Added new Legend voice lines that play when a Legend is selected.
* Added voice lines for when an enemy's shield gets broken.
* Added voice lines for when enemy squads land near the player.
* Nearby enemies get marked (and updated every second) on the minimap when launching from the dropship at the start of a game.
* Added Seer voice lines that inform his teammates whether he can hear the heartbeat of nearby enemies or not.
* All preexisting legends received a new craftable Legendary Emote.
* Increased RE-45 Auto's Level 3 upgrade cost from 250 to 350.
* Fixed the Charge Rifle's inspect animation lacking a transition from standing idle to crouching idle.

## Developer notes

1. ↑ It’s now been a full season since we introduced PvE into Battle Royal and while we were happy with how wildlife launched, we’ve seen that Prowlers were a bit too punishing and not quite rewarding enough. Additionally, we have seen some bad edge cases that create frustration for players that we’re hoping to address this season.
2. ↑ While Storm Point has a relatively healthy spread of landing locations, we realized the typical drop ship logic often made the high northeast corner of the map particularly tough to land in. Rotating the distribution and moving the centerpoint slightly northeast should make Highpoint and Lightning Rod more accessible while still allowing players to land in the lower southwest portion if they desire.
3. ↑ Crypto has been off the grid in terms of pick rate. The goal of these changes was to make his kit more accessible and engaging. With a new deployment option, we lowered drone health to prevent reckless drone deploy. Crypto is still a methodical, calculating legend, and manually piloting Hack should still be the primary way to access macro-level recon. The drone view HUD updates should help here as well. Crypto’s never been weak per se; we’re cognizant of his strengths at high-level play and will be keeping an eye on his usage and performance.
4. ↑ The Triple Take’s return to floor loot has been really positive, but it’s proving to be a bit ahead of the pack with its ranged performance. We’re eliminating the bullet growth it retained from its days as a sniper to pull it in line with other Marksman rifles.
5. ↑ On January 13, 2022 we implemented a hotfix to the Rampage and Sentinel infinite charge bug. We took that opportunity to get out a Rampage nerf early. Noting these changes here for anyone who missed our earlier messaging.
6. ↑ In Apex Legends the primary goal is to be the last Legend standing, and racking up kills is the vehicle to get you there. Last season, we made changes that opened up flexibility by compensating players with high kill counts that didn’t necessarily place first. We like this flexibility, but after observing the pacing of high-level ranked games, we saw players were focused on seeking out kills a little too much. Players that focus on fighting for higher placements and teamplay should be more faithfully awarded.
7. ↑ This tuning is more punishing to teams that undervalue placements. We’re bumping up placement points for teams in the top 5; easing back on the ‘Kill KP Cap’ and adjusting ‘Per Kill Bonuses’ to require ~2-3 less Kills to hit the maximum.
8. ↑ This happened in the 11.1 update, but was inadvertently omitted from those patch notes.

## References

1. ↑ This is because the Alternator is no longer a Supply Drop Weapon.
2. ↑ It's actually from 26 to 28.