How big are the Apex Legends Season 13 Kraber nerfs?

Joseph Pascoulis
apex legends saviors kraber nerf gold helmet

The Apex Legends Season 13 update is bringing some huge changes to the game, one of which greatly affects the only gun in the game that had one-shot kill potential, the Kraber.

Apex Legends Season 13 is bringing a heap of changes in the patch notes. As well as changes to Storm Point, map rotation, and Ranked Leagues, a variety of weapons also got some buffs and nerfs.

One of the most significant nerfs in the Season 13 patch is for the Kraber, which has huge implications on its one-shot kill potential.

apex legends kraber

Every new season of Apex Legends brings significant changes, whether it’s for a certain weapon or Legend, the seasonal updates always seem to shift the meta in one way or another.

For Apex Legends Season 13, it seems the Kraber was the dev’s main focus of attention, looking to reduce its power. In the patch notes, the Kraber received the following nerf:

Kraber

  • Headshot multiplier down from 3.0 to 2.0
  • Damage reduced from 145 to 140

Although these changes don’t seem incredibly drastic on paper, when you combine them with the Helmet buffs introduced for Season 13, the Kraber’s one-shot kill potential takes a massive hit.

In Apex Legends Season 13, both the Blue and Purple Helmets had their damage reduction increased, meaning players with these helmets will take less damage than in previous seasons.

  • Blue helmet headshot damage reduction increased from 40% to 50%
  • Purple helmet headshot damage reduction increased from 50% to 65%

This now means that the Kraber will only one-shot an enemy who has a Blue Helmet or worse with anything less than a Red Evo Shield. If the player has a Blue, Purple, or Gold Helmet with a Red Evo Shield, they will be able to survive a headshot from a Kraber.

Players can also survive if they have a Purple Evo Shield, but they must have a Gold or Purple Helmet.

Depending on your Helmet rarity, a headshot from a Kraber will do the following damage:

  • Gold/Purple Helmet – 189 damage
  • Blue Helmet – 210 damage
  • White Helmet – 252 damage
  • No Helmet – 280 damage

Further, the Season 13 update also removed the Fortified 15% less damage buff from headshots. This means that the Kraber will also do these damage numbers to the bigger Legends like Gibraltar, Caustic, and Newcastle.

These changes will no doubt impact how much the Kraber used to dominate in end game situations, as it’s likely that most players towards the end of the game will have a purple Helmet or at least a Red Evo Shield.


For more on Apex Legends, check out what Dr Disrespect feels Warzone 2 needs to do in order to compete with Apex.

Image Credits: Respawn Entertainment

About The Author

Joseph is a Senior Writer at CharlieIntel specializing in shooters - Call of Duty, Apex Legends, Fortnite, and Overwatch. He also enjoys Souls-likes, the Resident Evil franchise, and Tekken. After writing for KeenGamer, he joined CharlieIntel in 2021. If Joseph isn't writing about games, then he's most likely playing them. You can contact him at [email protected].