Choosing the perfect weapon is crucical to becoming a champion in Apex Legends. Many will favour the Flatline or R-301 Carbine, but there is a weapon on the block in Apex Legends Season 16. The Nemesis AR is a brand new addition for the upcoming update. Boasting a delicious boost in firepower, the Nemesis AR will make your weapon selection more important ever.
During an preview attended by The Loadout for the Apex Legends Season 16 release date, lead weapon designer Eric Canavese says “we’ll be dropping a brand new weapon, the Nemesis burst AR […] it’s got an automatic trigger, which means that when you hold the trigger down, it’s just going to fire out those bursts as fast as it can.” The weapon will also experiment with fire rates, as Canavese adds that “it’s also got a mechanic than when you’re firing out those bursts, it reduces the delay between those bursts.”
Aiming to provide a “smooth burst fire weapon experience”, the Nemesis AR also “builds up [the charge] and it actually lasts for a little bit of time. You can reload through it, you can do some combat repositioning, make some combat choices, and you’ll still have a fully ramped up Nemesis to lay down fire downrange.”
Using Energy ammunition is vital to keep it replenished and a whole new suite of attachments will be accompanying its debut in the game. Canavese claims “it’s doing quite hot, it does a lot of damage […] it’s a personal favourite and many play testers favourites in our play tests.”
Rivalling the likes of the R-301 Carbine, it might be time for users of the fan favourite weapon to reconsider their options. As with every Apex Legends update there will be nerfs to popular weapons, which will rejuvenate the game’s weapon meta. The R-301 Carbine is often referred by players, but Canvese says “we’re going to lower its damage from 14 to 13. So I think the throne might be up for grabs and we’ll see how the meta shakes out with the new weapon coming soon.”
“We want to be really strategic with how we release weapons. We don’t want to just add a new weapon […] without really thinking about what sort of goals we have for solving problems in the in the meta. So when it comes to the Nemesis […] we have the R-301 and the Flatline sort of dominating that top tier of players loadouts,” explains Canavese.
To circumvent “players [that] just dogpile” on these weapons, the designer expresses “by adding a third one in like the Nemesis, there is a lot more with these long term meta changes and how we want them to shift over a long period of time.”
Do you think the Nemesis AR will be a game-changer? Well, it’s going to fit nicely with the upcoming Apex Legends tier list changes; it could definitely could be as we dive into Apex Legends Season 16. With elements like SBMM changes in the pipeline, its could be the biggest update yet.