Apex Legends Season 28: Fuse Rework and Hardlight Mesh Explained

Apex Legends Season 28, titled “Breach,” launched alongside the game’s seventh anniversary on February 10, 2026. Being an entirely new season and not what many assumed would be a cosmetic upgrade, Breach changes how fights work,  how buildings are pushed, and how ranked games flow.

The two biggest changes are a full Fuse rework and a new mechanic called Hardlight Mesh, which adds destructible windows to multiple maps. Ranked also gets a reset in structure, with the return of the Dropship and several system changes that affect early-game strategy.

Here’s everything in the Apex Legends Season 28 update, including all the buffs, nerfs, and major changes ^[1].

How does the Fuse rework work in Apex Legends Season 28?

Fuse has been one of the least-used legends in ranked for a long time. His kit was fun, but not reliable, and his ultimate was easy to escape. His utility also did not help teams hold or push strong positions. Season 28 largely rebuilds him to be more competitively viable, hoping for his pick rate to increase.

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The Motherlode (Ultimate)

The old ring-of-fire ultimate is gone. Fuse now fires an impact mortar that detonates on landing and sprays smaller explosives around the impact area. The goal is no longer trapping players in a circle, but to break positions and force enemies out of cover.

New Upgrades

In addition to the completely revamped ultimate, Fuse also gets a bunch of new upgrades that make him more useful.

Knuckle Jumper

Fuse gains an explosive leap that lets him launch forward and breach defensive setups. This turns him into a true frontline legend, letting him be more aggressive when wanting to attack, or defensive when attempting to escape from a fight that goes wrong. 

However, this ability is not without its risks. The jump is loud, visible, and commits you fully, without giving you a way to turn around. This means that you’re completely vulnerable until you land, which can result in some unfortunate situations.

Pyro Techniques

Adds flames to the ultimate’s detonation, creating area denial after the blast. It is strong for holding cleared zones but weaker if enemies reposition quickly. When used correctly, players can also use this to ensure the enemy can’t escape in case you need a couple of seconds until your team arrives.

Reignition

Explosive damage recharges Fuse’s ultimate. In long fights, this can lead to multiple ultimate uses in one engagement. The risk is overcommitting in third-party situations where speed matters more than pressure.

This rework gives Fuse a real identity. He is no longer just an explosives character, but a breach legend who has a high-risk and high-reward playing style. The upside is that this means that risks are actually rewarded.

What is Hardlight Mesh in Apex Legends Season 28?

Hardlight Mesh is the biggest meta change in Season 28.

These are translucent, destructible windows added to the following maps:

• Broken Moon
• World’s Edge
• E-District

You can see through them, but you cannot shoot or move through them until they are destroyed. Fortunately, there are a handful of ways that you can destroy these windows, which include:

• Explosives
• Snipers
• Shotguns
• Melee attacks

Burst damage matters more than poke damage when attempting to destroy these barricades, and breach tools can be invaluable as well.

How to reinforce Hardlight Mesh?

Controller legends such as Caustic, Wattson, Catalyst, and Rampart can repair and reinforce Hardlight Mesh windows. Reinforced windows are stronger than default ones, and teams can maintain up to four reinforced windows at once.

Reinforcing these windows creates a true attacker vs defender system, where attackers need burst and breach tools to enter, but can catch defenders by surprise if successful, while defenders gain some real structural control. 

If you cannot break windows fast, pushing a fortified team becomes very difficult. This naturally pushes the meta toward legends like Fuse and Maggie, or high-damage team comps.

Apex Legends Season 28 Ranked Overhaul and System Changes

Season 28 also changes how the ranked mode plays.

Dropship Returns

Drop Zones are gone, which means that everyone drops from the ship again in typical battle royale fashion. This brings back the classic early-game choices like dropping as soon as you can for better loot and faster fights, or waiting for a safe drop for consistent placement. This means that early game strategy matters again.

Legend Changes

Bloodhound received multiple buffs to make scanning faster and reduce downtime in fights.

Tactical Scan

• Scan duration increased to 4 seconds
• Tactical activation feels faster and more fluid
• Visual screen tint is reduced to improve visibility while pushing

• Cooldown reduced to 2.5 minutes (was 4 minutes)
• Knockdowns extend Ultimate duration by 5 seconds
• Encourages aggressive chain fights

• Taste of Blood: Restores 50 HP on knock during Ultimate
• Raven’s Flight: Doubles White Raven tracking range
• Hunter’s Agility: Faster tactical activation for close-range fights

These changes make Bloodhound’s scans quicker, more consistent, and more rewarding in active engagements.

Catalyst received buffs focused on trap reliability, faster triggers, and stronger zone control.
 

• Throw distance increased
• Pool size increased by 50%
• Activation delay reduced to 1 second
• Spikes trigger faster and are harder to avoid

• Hidden Spikes: Traps remain invisible until triggered
• Sole Piercer has +5 damage per hit and 50% faster activation

• Can now be deployed horizontally
• Can block chokepoints more effectively
• Reduces incoming bullet damage by 50%
• Wall can deploy through doors and defensive domes

These buffs make Catalyst one of the best defensive legends for holding buildings, especially when combined with Hardlight Mesh window reinforcement. 

Weapon Balance Changes

• Shotgun hop-ups return
• Marksman weapons receive fire rate and power reductions
• G7 Scout moves to the Care Package

This shifts long-range pressure down and close-range power up.

Knockdown Shield Change

Knockdown shields are removed from loot. They now scale automatically with legend level. Everyone starts equal,  early RNG is removed, and competitive fairness has been improved.

Bot Royale Update

XP caps are removed from Bot Royale, and challenge progression now works in the game mode. This makes it a real mode for leveling and practice without ranked pressure.

References

1. [1] "Apex Legends Season 28 Breach Patch Notes". www.ea.com. Retrieved February 11, 2026