Apex Legends: The Latest Update Adds A Firing Range And Duos Mode, Out Now

Apex Legends has released a new update, which is fully detailed in the latest patch notes. The update's major new addition is a firing range that lets you test weapons out, but there are several balance changes and tweaks included as well. The update also marks the end of Shadowfall in Apex Legends' game mode rotation; it's been replaced by a new limited-time Duos mode that will remain in the game until November 19 and will change the team dynamics a bit.

The firing range is a great addition for those wondering which character to buy in Apex Legends, as jumping in allows you to test any legend and their corresponding abilities--giving you a chance to try Caustic, Mirage, Octane, Wattson, and Crypto prior to purchasing them. You can enter the firing range solo or as a squad, and experiment with all in-game loot items. In the update's patch notes, Respawn says additional "future improvements" are on the way.

In terms of balance changes, the new update doesn't add all that many. The Wingman is getting a nerf: dealing less damage on headshots. Projectile width has also been adjusted for all shotguns (EVA-8, Mozambique, and Peacekeeper), the L-Star, and several sniper rifles (Longbow DMR, Kraber, and G7 Scout).

Perhaps the most noticeable changes are several buffs for Crypto. Though the hacker is very beginner-friendly, the legend has seen a drop-off in ranked play due to the weaknesses tied to his passive playstyle. The buff to his Ultimate ability greatly increases his usefulness, allowing his EMP to damage shields even after enemies have dropped them. Now, Wraith is the only legend who can easily escape the effects of Crypto's Ultimate.

The update also adds a new feature that allows you to reroll on your daily challenges. From now on, all players will receive one easy, one medium, and one hard challenge each day. If you want more or different challenges, you can pay Legend Tokens to unlock new dailies. The first reroll will cost 200 tokens, followed by 500 for a second reroll, and 1000 for every consecutive reroll. The cost will reset every day.

In the settings, you can now adjust the cursor speed as well--a change that will allow you to loot death boxes much more quickly. There's also no countdown prior to picking your character at the start of the match--so be ready to pick in case you're up first. You'll also now be able to see the ammo type of the guns your teammates are using while in the inventory menu, a pretty nice change that will make it easier to know whether you and your teammates are all searching for the same type of ammo. The quip wheel has also been tied to a new input, allowing you to more easily access your chosen legends' quips in the middle of a match. All of these changes and more are listed in the patch notes below.

Apex Legends November 5 Update Patch Notes

Firing Range

• From the lobby, you can now select the firing range. Here you can practice playing around with all the weapons, items, and Legends.
  • Can enter the firing range solo or with your squad.
  • You can change to any Legend and use their abilities and ultimates.
  • All loot items are available to play with including weapons, attachments, and hopups.
  • Target DUMMIES available to practice those headshots.
  • Future improvements to come! Please give us your feedback.

Weapons

• Wingman
  • Reduced the headshot multiplier: 2.15 -> 2.1
• Changes to Projectile Collision: We've increased the projectile width on some weapons so they are easier to hit with. We made this change to the TripleTake in Season 2 and the following will be updated for this patch:
  • Shotguns: All shotguns will have projectiles with a small amount of width.
  • L-STAR
  • Snipers: The Longbow DMR, Kraber, and G7 Scout.

Quality of Life

• In an effort to surface easier challenges to players more often and offer a balanced set of challenges each day, Daily Challenge distribution has been adjusted so players are guaranteed to receive 1 easy, 1 medium, and 1 hard challenge.
  • You can now spend Legend Tokens to reroll Daily Challenges.
    • First reroll: 200 Legend Tokens
    • Second reroll: 500 Legend Tokens
    • Third or more rerolls: 1000 Legend Tokens for each reroll.
    • Cost increases with each purchase before capping out at 1000 Legend Tokens.
    • Cost resets every day
• You can now adjust the game cursor velocity in Settings -> Controller. This will apply to cursor velocity in all menus including the Lobby, Pause/Inventory menus, and Death Box inventories.
• We now show you what Music Pack you have selected while dropping into the map. If you only have the default Pack selected you won’t see anything.
• Improved flow from Lobby to Match that fixes some minor bugs and will hopefully get players into matches a bit faster.
  • Disabling pregame spawning of players before character selection. This will address cases where players might hear someone voice comms or other sounds before the Legend selection starts.
  • The "Waiting for Players..." transition now shows the game world instead of a black screen.
  • Removed the 5-second countdown that would start at the beginning of Legend selection.
• Players will now be able to view the ammo types of their squadmates equipped weapons when in the inventory menu.
• Ranked Mode: Players will no longer receive a penalty for abandoning a match if they leave after 2 and a half minutes have passed since their Banner was picked up after dying. As a reminder: players will be warned via the menus if their leaving may trigger abandon penalties; if the warning does not show up players are free to leave.
• New Quip Inputs
  • [Controller] you can now open the quip wheel by holding down on the d-pad (you can still do it the old way - open ping menu and press Y)
  • [PC] Quick Chat binding should now auto bind to F1 if it isn’t bound to anything (assuming nothing is already bound to F1)

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug where players would stay in place while the train keeps moving when reviving another player.
• Updated the layout of the minimap that was previously showing a route that doesn’t exist.
• Fixed cases where players could drop into Out of Bounds areas without getting the timer.
• Fixed cases of some areas where players could take lava damage near the Volcano when there isn’t any lava.
• Fixed display issue with post-game where it would show you earning 2 battle pass levels for leveling up via Stars.

Legends

• Crypto
  • EMP now will damage armor that players have dropped.
  • Fixed a bug where Lifeline's drone couldn’t heal Crypto while he was in the drone.
  • Fix for friendly Caustic gas kicking Crypto out of his drone.
• Bangalore
  • Fixed bug where sometimes the missiles from Bangalore's Ultimate would disappear after landing on the train.