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Apex Legends Season 16 overhauls classes, skips adding new character

Apex Legends classes have been remastered in Season 16, and Respawn will forego adding another Legend to let players get used to the new features.

The Apex Legends classes have been completely revamped for Season 16: Revelry, with characters getting shuffled around to fit into five separate categories. Each class now has distinct perks and more clearly defined roles. These changes, plus numerous buffs and nerfs across the roster, have influenced Respawn’s decision not to add a new Legend to the FPS game this season. Instead, players will get time to adjust to the inevitable meta shifts when the Apex Legends Season 16 release date hits on February 14.

The dev team spoke about the overhauled class system at length during a Season 16 press event last week, so we’ve got plenty of details here to help break down what you can expect to see when the update goes live.

“Over time… with the addition of new Legends and the evolving meta, the class roles have started to become a little muddy,” said Devan McGuire, lead Legend designer at Respawn. “This season, we want to take the chance to redefine what classes meant to the game.”

Five new classes have been created to properly categorize the Legends: Assault, Skirmisher, Recon, Controller, and Support. Here’s everything you need to know about each class, including their unique perks and the Apex Legends characters who can use them.

Apex Legends Classes Explained

Apex Legends Season 16 overhauls classes, skips adding new character: white icons and class titles on a black background

  • Assault – Bangalore, Revenant, Fuse, Ash, Mad Maggie

The Assault class is all about combat initiation and utility. These are the Legends that have mostly offensive kits that are used to push opposing squads. Assault Legends can open up the hidden shelf of new red weapon supply bins.

These red bins are, essentially, just like the blue ones Lifeline used to open with her passive, but they contain attachments instead of healing items. Members of this class can also hold an extra stack of ammo per inventory slot, allowing them to stay in the fight longer.

  • Skirmisher – Pathfinder, Wraith, Mirage, Octane, Horizon, Valkyrie

Skirmishers specialize in combat mobility and escape, as they often use hit-and-run tactics to deal damage while avoiding it themselves. Legends in this class can spot incoming care packages from a long distance to see the highest-value item inside.

A circular marker will fill up as Skirmishers look at care packages, and once it’s full, the info will be provided. These Legends can also tell if the high-value item has been taken already, which allows them to create a plan to either try and steal it or avoid getting in harm’s way.

  • Recon – Bloodhound, Crypto, Seer, Vantage

The Recon class prioritizes enemy intel and tracking. Recon Legends used to be able to check where the next ring would appear with survey beacons, but this ability has completely changed in Season 16.

The class can no longer access ring data but, instead, they can now scan modded survey beacons to ping enemies on the map for about 30 seconds. This effect is similar to what happens when players interact with the computers in the Crypto’s Map Room POI on Kings Canyon.

  • Controller – Caustic, Wattson, Rampart, Catalyst

Controllers are experts when it comes to area set up and, well, control. These Legends can now use the old Recon ability – they can access a new ring console device to show their squad where the next ring location will be.

This change makes a lot of sense since Controllers need to know where they should start setting up their area-denial abilities before the ring starts closing in. In previous seasons, these Legends had to rely on teammates for this valuable info.

  • Support – Gibraltar, Lifeline, Loba, Newcastle

Support Legends focus on team survival and supply, with a heavy emphasis on that survival aspect. The most notable Support perk gives them the option to craft teammate banners – even if they’ve expired. As long as you have crafting materials and access to a replicator, death is never truly the end for your teammates when you’re playing Support.

Lifeline’s supply bin passive has also become a class perk that’s available for her and the other Support Legends, allowing them all to open the hidden shelf in blue supply bins that only Lifeline could open before. High-value survival items will now show up inside, including phoenix kits, batteries, and med kits.

Apex Legends Season 16 overhauls classes, skips adding new character: six teammates with weapons charging on a battlefield

In addition to the class changes, seven Legends have been updated through buffs and/or nerfs. Here’s a quick rundown of which Legends will undergo changes for Season 16:

  • Seer and Bloodhound – The nerfs here are aimed at reducing the frequency of scans without harming the characters. Seer’s heartbeat sensor will be audible to enemies and can’t give as much info, so you’ll really need to listen to the beats. Bloodhound’s ult no longer speeds up their tactical, and now, a white raven appears to guide them to the nearest enemy. The white raven is a new passive that exists in the world in enemy-free areas – it’ll also show up instantly when Bloodhound activates their ult.
  • Wraith and Pathfinder – These two are getting buffs to take some weight off of Valkyrie. Wraith can place a portal twice as far and will speed up when placing it. Pathfinder can travel faster and farther as well, with a buff that lets him fire his zipline much farther.
  • Horizon –  Horizon’s gravity lift firing accuracy is reduced, but she can now lift higher. The goal is to avoid having her just sit up there and cause chaos.
  • Mirage –  Mirage is finally getting some unironic buffs. After a revive, he and his ally both remain cloaked for a few seconds, but you can’t draw your weapon or you’ll be instantly uncloaked. Also, bamboozled enemies will get tracked for a short time when they shoot a clone.
  • Lifeline –  Lifeline will benefit from a reduced slow penalty when reviving, and the range and speed of her care package have been buffed to keep her from feeling stuck. It drops almost instantly, making it feel like far less of a risk.

You’ll be able to test out all of these meta-altering changes in the updated firing range, new TDM mode, or regular battle royale when Apex Legends Season 16: Revelry goes live early next week. Since this is the fourth anniversary and newcomers are likely to join, be sure to check out our guide on all hero abilities to get up to speed, along with the Apex Legends tier list to help inform your picks even further.