Apex Legends’ next season is still several weeks away, but thanks to the always active Apex leaks scene, we already have a pretty good idea of what Respawn and Respawn Vancouver are cooking up for early 2023. Interestingly, according to leakers, including the reliable Thordon Smash, the upcoming Season 16 of Apex Legends won’t include a new Legend for the first time ever, but rather, will focus on a major rework of the game’s class system. The next new Legend, reportedly named “Ballistic,” will instead arrive in Season 17.
So, what do we know about Ballistic? Well, per info from YouTuber PWN Hub and Twitch streamer NightTerras, Ballistic is an “arms dealer,” who looks a bit like Walter White. As for his abilities, it seems he can both buff allies and debuff opponents. His Ultimate will temporarily give allies unlimited ammo, faster reloads, and more, while his Tactical allows him to shoot a “Smart Bullet” that will cause an opponent’s gun to overheat and backfire, dealing them damage. Both abilities sound pretty useful, if not particularly flashy.
Here’s a rundown of Ballistic’s purported abilities…
Passive
- Weapon Sling – A sling where you can store a third weapon. The sling weapon cannot take attachments.
Tactical
- Smart Bullet – Shoots a projectile that debuffs the enemy. Enemy guns will start to heat up as they shoot. Overheating will cause a reaction and deal damage. Holding the tactical will allow it to lock on to a target.
Ultimate
- Weapon Enhancer – When activated, nearby teammates get a buff applied. It gives faster reloads, unarmed move speed, and infinite ammo. Ballistic’s sling weapon will be equipped and upgraded to gold.
Meanwhile, a Reddit post from user NC Pitts provides some details on the upcoming class rework reportedly coming next season.
“Assault class will get red bins and extra inventory for ammo (I’m thinking 80 per stack).
Defense Legends (Caustic, Rampart, Wattson, Catalyst) are now Control Legends. Control class is for holding areas/locking shit down.
Newcastle and [Gibraltar] are now in the Support class. They benefit the team and keep them alive/quickly back in the fight.
Recon class is still the same it seems.
Skirmisher class is seemingly to be the “mobility” or “hit and run” type class. These Legends will be ones with movement, solo PvP power (Mirage and Wraith are good examples). Pathfinder will probably be reworked for this and possible even Mirage.”
If you’re having a hard time keeping it all straight, here’s a breakdown of how the Apex roster will likely be organized post-rework.
Assault
- Ash
- Bangalore
- Ballistic
- Fuse
- Mad Maggie
- Revenant
Control
- Catalyst
- Caustic
- Rampart
- Wattson
Recon
- Bloodhound
- Crypto
- Seer
- Vantage
Skirmisher
- Horizon
- Mirage
- Octane
- Pathfinder
- Wraith
- Valkyrie
Support
- Gibraltar
- Lifeline
- Loba
- Newcastle
Of course, as with all rumors, take all of this with a grain of salt until Respawn actually confirms details. That said, reliable voices are backing these rumors, and more often or not, major Apex Legends leaks end up being the real deal.
Apex Legends can be played on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and Switch. A separate version of the game on a different update schedule is also available on mobile. The current season of Apex Legends ends on February 14, so expect Season 16 to launch shortly after that. Presumably, Season 17 will follow around three months after that.
