New Apex Legends patch reworks Octane’s stim and buffs Newcastle

Respawn Entertainment has introduced a wave of balance changes in the latest Apex Legends update, along with the Winter Wipeout event.

The new patch shakes up Octane’s gameplay with a stim rework, buffs other in-game legends such as Newcastle and Crypto, and brings additional changes that will impact both the casual and professional scenes.

Octane has received changes to his kit to better keep pace with Apex Legends’ evolving movement mechanics, which have introduced dashes, double jumps, and glides over the seasons.

The legend’s passive now heals more effectively the lower Octane’s health is, with base healing doubling to three points per second, and can reach a maximum of nine points per second.

Octane’s tactical ability now features a new effect called Stim Surge, a six-second buff requiring players to activate it while Stim is already in use. Using it grants Octane the Fortified perk and triggers passive healing, which can stay even while taking damage.

Octane has also received improvements to his core kit to make him more competitively viable. His tactical ability can now be used faster, allows him to use consumables while sprinting, and increases movement speed by an additional 5%.

The legend’s ultimate, Launch Pad, has also undergone alterations. The ability now has two charges, and players will notice improved handling when double jumping. Additionally, it can be interacted with immediately after hitting the ground.

Finally, Octane’s upgrades have been overhauled, bringing four new upgrades to the character. Thick Skin causes Stim to cost 10 less health per use, Squad Rush gives Stim to all players who use your Launch Pad upon landing.

Daredevil grants faster reloads after shield cracks and increases Stim Surge duration based on missing health and Triple Jump grants an additional jump when using JumpPads.

The new update also brings a variety of changes to other legends playable in the battle royale.

Newcastle is a popular pick in the Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS), and has surprisingly received several buffs, meaning he will become even more viable in future esports events.

Both Hero’s Hustle and Swift Shield, upgrades that improved the legend’s mobility, have been incorporated into his base kit. The Stronghold upgrade replaced Hero’s Hustle in Level One, and Swift Shield is replaced by the new Ready to Rumble, where revives reloads Newcastle’s weapons and triggers full regeneration. The other Level Two upgrade is Defensive Line, where his tactical and Revive Shield can knock back enemies once.

Crypto’s tactical, a piloted drone, also receives a few buffs. It now has long-range Threat Vision when controlled, can be deployed faster, can collect EVO harvesters, and can be used while on ziplines.

Both Off the Grid and Satellite Imagery upgrades have been incorporated into the base kit. The two new upgrades are Ally.MoveTo(), which allows Crypto to Trailblaze to all allies, and Power Coupling: which grants ultimate charge when scanning beacons and enemies with the drone.

Revenant has received a small nerf to his kit, increasing the time it takes to charge his tactical leap and making his ultimate 10% slower to activate.

In past ALGS events, it was observed that professional players have often leaned towards long-time staples such as the Peacekeeper shotgun and R-99 SMG, some of the best weapons in 2026.

Interestingly, neither of these guns was addressed in the latest balance update as Respawn Entertainment opted to buff more niche weapons. Only the RE-45 Burst pistol, which was particularly popular in the ALGS Split 2 Pro League, saw the most significant nerf.

Elsewhere, reliable assault rifles such as the VK-47 Flatline and R-301 Carbine saw damage buffs, while the Prowler SMG was buffed. LMGs such as the Rampage and L-STAR were improved to become more reliable, while the Mozambique shotgun pistol saw a boost in close-range effectiveness

The changes arrive just before the ALGS Championships 2026 take place in Sapporo, Japan from January 15th to 18th. This means that professional teams will have ample time to experiment with the new changes ahead of the crowning event.

There has been a lot of demand from both fans and professional players alike to buff Octane’s movement in the face of more dominant characters in 2026 such as Ash, Sparrow and recently Valkyrie, who has been dominating Season 27. His increased movement speed, and ability boost allies, may result in the legend appearing more often in the esports scene.

The nerfs to the RE-45 Burst pistol should result in the weapon becoming less dominant in the ALGS Championship. However, only time will tell whether the changes to the weapon balance will result in professional players using more varied loadouts.