Apex Legends season 11 is adding the beloved CAR SMG into the fold. It was a dominant weapon in Titanfall, and it’s playing into one of the heaviest metas in the game: SMGs and close combat.

As such, making the CAR stand out from other guns like the R99, Alternator, and Volt are all key aspects of this particular Apex Legends meta. Game Rant recently took part in a preview event where these details were discussed, and the CAR has one big advantage compared to the other SMGs in Apex Legends: its ammo and inventory economy advantages.

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Apex Legends CAR SMG: Ammo for Any Situation

Performance-wise, the CAR SMG fires faster than the Volt SMG and is better at hipfire, but at the cost of slightly more recoil. If this was the sole change, though, it wouldn’t really stand out. Instead, Respawn made the choice to allow players, via toggle, to either use heavy or light ammo with the gun. It’s rare, but running out of ammo in a game like Apex Legends is essentially a death knell. This is one situation the CAR is designed to avoid.

apex car smg

This means the CAR SMG can use either a heavy or light extended mag, and if the player were to swap ammo types, it would still receive the same benefits. In other words, the CAR SMG can use an extended heavy mag in Apex Legends and it would still benefit it when using light ammo, and vice versa. This is a real game-changer in terms of how players manage their inventory, but most importantly, “compete” with their allies for ammo.

For example, if one player is running any combination of Rampage, Flatline, Prowler, or Wingman, they’ll obviously be picking up tons of heavy ammo. This isn’t ideal for other players running a heavy weapon, so if they were to have the CAR SMG, they could pick up light ammo for it instead. In reverse, if another player was running an R-301 and an R-99, CAR SMG users could instead run heavy ammo. Communication is obviously key here, but it allows the CAR SMG to be more adaptable in building a loadout and on those occasions where ammo runs low.

Allowing the weapon to use either gives players more options, and it’s a strong reason to pick the CAR SMG over the R-99 or Volt SMG as it stands. Many Volt lovers, for example, know the pain of searching for energy ammo. And while it’s always personal preference, it adds yet another layer into why someone may prefer one gun or the other.

Apex Legends is available now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

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