……quick question.
Will I keep apps I installed from the Arch repo or will the new version of the DE reset to default applications only?
Yes, probably.
The reason for “probably” is that if you have installed one of the Arch package groups such as gnome then some default apps will be installed, but should not replace anything you have installed yourself.
The gnome package group is not part of the default 
installation of Gnome.
The gnome group package list:
The default Gnome package list:
During the update, you will be asked to confirm, so do have a scan through the list of packages shown. And, of course, reboot afterwards as your desktop environment has been upgraded.
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Got it! Thanks for that reply. 
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