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Apex Legends devs tease “big things” coming for new Kings Canyon hatches Respawn EntertainmentApex Legends is finally taking a leaf out of Epic’s Fortnite playbook with a series of mysterious new hatches in Kings Canyon in Season 5 — new additions fans should “definitely” keep their eyes on, Respawn’s Jason McCord has teased. In the last few years, in-game teasers have become just as much about a marketing push for players as trailers, developer insights, and more. Epic Games has paved the way for constant tweaks in-game to entice hype. As a result, Fortnite and the battle royale genre has become synonymous with the ever-popular ‘in-game teaser.’ There’s a handful of franchises that are buying into it more and more in 2020 as well. Destiny has just begun teasing their big bad guys ahead of Season 11. Riot seems to have followed suit with FPS sensation Valorant. Most recently, Respawn has finally hopped on the bandwagon with the Season 5 hatches. According to Respawn game director Jason McCord, the Apex Legends development team spent a long time ahead of Season 5 looking for ways to “sprinkle changes through the map” and “add a little fun” to teasers. That’s not to say the 2019 release hasn’t had its fair share of massive, fun events. Season 3 completely overhauled the playing field in Apex by shooting the player base to a totally new world. Season 5 has taken us back. Apex Legends using ‘breadcrumb’ teasers in Season 5 This time though, McCord said in an interview with gaming blog vg247, Respawn were happy to test out more subtle tweaks to drum up hype: “We don’t have to make massive changes everywhere, we can sprinkle these things around.” Those breadcrumbs have come in the form of a set of mysterious hatches that appeared on Kings Canyon as Apex returned to the original map. One, near the ruins of Skull Town, is accessible in the opening dive. The rest are sealed. Respawn’s director kept his lips shut about what might be inside the hatches, but it’s obvious “big things” are on their way. He added the devs were “doing something new where we have some stuff that is there, but is not unlocked yet.” “We’re going to unlock it at a certain time, that lines up with other stuff that we have coming,” McCord continued. “It also helps the story, right? Players might assume this, but from the dev side, I think it’s interesting… there has always been a concept of hidden things beneath Kings Canyon, back when we were making it in 2018.” What’s inside the new Kings Canyon hatches? Luckily, we have already had a peek inside some of the bunkers, thanks to leaks from some of the game’s top data miners. Steer clear from here if you’re avoiding spoilers for the end of Season 5 — you have been warned! According to Redditor xKnightress, who revealed the loaded graphics inside the Slum Lakes hatch in a now-deleted post, there’s a huge amount of tunnels and chambers waiting to be explored once the hatch finally does open. This was confirmed by data miner Biast12, who suggested these hatches are “not for the [Broken Ghost] quests,” despite others claiming they are. ILootGames unveiled a new look at the hatches in a May 25 upload too. This is how the loot bunker looks like and no this one shouldn’t be for quest pic.twitter.com/ZTs4FKGfWM — Biast12 (@Biast12) May 21, 2020 Unfortunately, Respawn has yet to officially reveal what’s inside the bunkers. McCord did offer one last comment on the in-game teasers though. He believes it’s going to be “really fun to just start exploring” once Respawn flips the switch.

Apex Legends devs still “evaluating” aim assist nerfs as PC vs controller debate goes on Respawn EntertainmentAn Apex Legends dev has responded to players calling for changes to aim assist on console, revealing that they’re “evaluating” the current situation. Aim assist on console has been a controversial topic in the Apex Legends community for a long time, with some players calling out the feature as too powerful, and others arguing that it’s not strong enough to compete with mouse and keyboard. Either way, both parties agree that Respawn needs to make major changes to aim assist and attempt to bridge the gap between both of the platforms. Luckily, a dev has finally addressed the topic, confirming Respawn hears players “loud and clear” and are evaluating the situation. Will Respawn make changes to aim assist in Apex Legends? After being constantly asked about input types by the Apex Legends community, Live Balance Designer John Larson decided to create a TwitLonger answering as many questions as possible. One of which included a response to those asking for aim assist tweaks, with Larson expressing that it’s not surprising there is gameplay affecting variations between mouse & keyboard and console given Apex offers different input options depending on which platform the game is being played on. However, he did reveal that Respawn hear the community “loud and clear” and that they’re evaluating the situation. While he made it very clear that he can’t “make any promises or provide specifics at the moment” it does show that the dev team is aware of the issues with aim assist. While this isn’t the answer a lot of players were hoping for, it does show that Respawn has acknowledged that the community wants tweaks, and that could be the catalyst for change. For now, it’s just a case of waiting to see if the devs are planning on tweaking aim assist in the near future. However, with Season 12 on the horizon, it’s likely they’ll be focused on content over balancing for the time being.

Apex Legends devs share weekend-long timeline for fixing server issues Respawn EntertainmentThe Apex Legends server nightmare continues for Respawn Entertainment as the team announced that they expect problems to hold throughout the weekend. Things have been bad for Apex Legends ever since patch 10.1 was released on September 14. Ever since the update players have consistently been disconnected from the game or prevented from searching for matches entirely. The Apex team has announced that they are working on the issues but expect some problems to persist throughout the weekend. Here’s the official announcement. An update on ongoing issues with @playapex stability: We’re ramping up our server capacity today and have some scheduled fixes for tomorrow. However, we believe some problems will require work through the weekend. Sincere apologies—we’re working as quickly as we can on a fix. — Respawn (@Respawn) September 16, 2021 When will the Apex Legends Servers be fixed? There is no clear timeframe for the fix at this moment. It also seems that there isn’t one singular issue, but several small problems all moving at the same time. These problems began shortly after the release of Patch 10.1, which is a scenario that Apex players are all too familiar with. While the original issue of not connecting to a lobby was fixed quickly that day, more problems continued to spring up out of the woodwork. It was only two hours after their initial update for another statement to be made about the consistent problems. Sorry folks, looks like we’re not out of the woods yet. Currently investigating connectivity issues in @PlayApex. We’ll update here with more info as we have it. — Respawn (@Respawn) September 14, 2021 Shortly after this update, another all-clear announcement was made, and it seemed like things might be stable. This only lasted until the following morning when connectivity problems had clearly returned. Respawn made two more announcements throughout the day to say that they are actively working on the problems and would keep the community up to date on a fix. We’re hopeful that they get things back up and running over the weekend so players can get into the game and check out those new Rampart updates.

Apex Legends devs share details on challenges in Season 2 Battle Pass EAApex Legends Season 2 launches July 2 and with it comes daily and weekly challenges, something that Respawn went into more detail about with a new blog post. After an underwhelming Season 1 that quickly ran out of content for players to do, Respawn ramped it up by promising an improved battle pass and new challenges. Having a set of daily and weekly challenges will give players more content to do, in return giving them more reason to keep on playing every day. While it’s pretty easy to guess what these challenges are, Respawn still explained what we expect with them and how they will work. If you’ve played Fortnite Battle Royale at all, then you should feel right at home with this implementation. The weekly challenges will take longer to finish, hence why they are weekly, but the daily ones shouldn’t take too long to knock out. How do challenges work? The daily challenges reset each day and are chosen randomly from a pool of over 200 challenges ranging from things like playing a game as a certain Legend or doing a certain amount of damage. These are quite simple but the weekly challenges ask a bit more as you’ll have to do things ranging from looting 100 Epic items or getting 20 kills with a certain Legend. With enough playtime, you shouldn’t have any problems. Each week, you’ll have three challenges that reset on their own if you don’t finish them and they include the following, as laid out in the blog post: Complete five Daily Challenges – Rewards one Battle Pass level – Complete 10 Daily Challenges – Rewards one Battle Pass level – Earn 9,000 STARS and/or match XP – Rewards one Battle Pass level This quest may be repeated an unlimited number of times each week. – Each completion increases the STARS and/or match XP required for the next by 9,000, up to a maximum of 54,000. You need 9,000 for the first level, 18,000 for the second level, etc. This challenge resets to 9,000 each week. – – Respawn stresses that STARS are tied to the Battle Pass only and do not impact the Account Level progress. These new challenges will be available once Season 2 launches. You can read the blog post in its entirety below. Hey all, Lead Product Manager Lee Horn (Leeeeeee-RSPN) here with an overview of the Season 2 Battle Pass Challenges system. We heard your feedback on the Season 1 grind and created a system which should allow for significantly greater Battle Pass progress with less grind over less time for players who return on a regular basis and maximize their Challenge resets. With the launch of Season 2, you’ll be able to complete Daily and Weekly Challenges to level up your Battle Pass. As we’ve previously mentioned, we’re endeavoring to balance gameplay purity with variety and fun, so none of this Season’s challenges will require a YouTube tutorial to figure out. More than half of your Weekly Challenges will grant an entire Battle Pass level as a reward. The remaining Daily & Weekly Challenges grant STARS which, combined with match XP, contribute to a repeatable Weekly Challenge that grants a full Battle Pass level with each completion. STARS are XP specific to Battle Pass, meaning STARS do not impact Account Level progression. Each day, you will receive three new Daily Challenges chosen randomly from a pool of over two hundred. These challenges range from “Deal 200 Damage in Bunker” to “Play 1 game as Lifeline” and are intended to be achievable in a short play session. Complete your daily challenge and earn 3,000 STARS each. Your challenge pool will reset every day, so be sure to check back regularly to maximize Battle Pass progress. Each week, you will receive a set of seven new Weekly Challenges. These challenges are intended to take several play sessions to complete and range from “Get 20 Kills as Gibraltar, Bangalore, or Mirage” to “Loot 100 Epic items.” Four of the Weekly Challenges are worth 6,000 STARS each (24,000 STARS total) and three of the Weekly Challenges grant an entire Battle Pass level each upon completion. Starting the season late? No problem – you’ll get access to all previous Weekly Challenges at one. So, if you start in Week 3, you’ll get access to Week 1, 2, and 3 challenges immediately (21 in total). Each week, you’ll have an additional set of three special resetting Weekly Challenges. These are the same every week and refresh even if you haven’t completed them. Keep a careful eye on these to make maximum Battle Pass progress. Complete five Daily Challenges – Rewards one Battle Pass level – Complete 10 Daily Challenges – Rewards one Battle Pass level – Earn 9,000 STARS and/or match XP – Rewards one Battle Pass level This quest may be repeated an unlimited number of times each week. – Each completion increases the STARS and/or match XP required for the next by 9,000, up to a maximum of 54,000. You need 9,000 for the first level, 18,000 for the second level, etc. This challenge resets to 9,000 each week. – – We hope the Battle Pass progression structure for Season 2 feels way more rewarding! As always, we appreciate all the support and feedback from the community as we continue to iterate and improve Apex Legends. – Leeeeeee-RSPN

Apex Legends devs scrapped wall-running and a 1v1 Ultimate for Revenant rework Respawn EntertainmentRespawn Entertainment, developers of Apex Legends, revealed some of the Revenant abilities left on the cutting room floor for his Season 18 Rework, including wall-running and a 1v1 Ultimate. Revenant, the “synthetic nightmare” formerly known as Kaleb Cross, had lost popularity leading up to the recent update. His pick rate had plummeted from earlier seasons, and Respawn needed to address it. But, after Revenant “woke up with his abilities torn from him and replaced with new ones,” players have loved the Legend’s revamped gameplay in Season 18, as his pick rate skyrocketed. The legend now brandishes an aggressive and individualistic playstyle, allowing engagement-hungry players to be a menace for other teams on the map – whether it’s from his passive that marks low-health enemies or his leap ability to surprise unsuspecting enemies. However, getting him into a state that players were much happier with had its fair share of hurdles in development. Respawn’s devs opened up about some of the challenges with redesigning Revenant during a press conference. Apex Legends devs tested various Revenant abilities Developers at Respawn didn’t rush the Revenant rework for Apex Legends. They went through multiple iterations and options for each of his unique in-game capabilities – his passive, tactical and ultimate. Here are some of the scrapped ideas that didn’t make it to the live client. Wall-running: Revenant has kept his improved wall climbing and crouch capabilities from last season with only minor adjustments to each, but there was a period where Respawn were testing out Titanfall-esque wall-running for him. While players would have loved this, under rigorous testing, the developers of Apex Legends found that the ability was far too situational, and specifically mentioned that the maps in Apex simply don’t allow for that many wall-running opportunities, like Titanfall maps were designed for. As a result, wall-running was not “consistently useful,” and the idea was scrapped. 1v1 Ultimate: Revenant’s Ultimate provided some of the most interesting inspiration for the developers. Revenants signature totem almost crept into the rework, but the developers found that like before the rework, it was too situational, requiring the “perfect” scenario in terms of position and timing, to have great effect. They also considered and designed a “1v1 Ultimate”. Revenant players would be able to to transport both themselves and an enemy into a “shadow realm” to duel in a straight-up 1v1. But, developers found that the Revenant player, despite the unique nature of the ultimate, didn’t feel as though they got enough benefit from what should be their most powerful ability. Ultimately, they settled on a low-health marking passive, synergistic “Shadow Pounce” tactical and the damage-blocking “Forged ultimate” – which pro and casual players have loved so far. It remains to be seen where Revenant lands in the meta long-term with his new rework, but the early signs are positive.

Apex Legends devs roast themselves for error on Octane’s Clocktane skin Respawn EntertainmentAn eagle-eyed Apex Legends player has spotted a mistake in Octane’s new ‘Clocktane’ Legendary skin. To close out Season 3, Apex players have been treated to the Grand Soirée event, which introduces a variety of Limited-Time Modes, challenges, and new cosmetics. Among those cosmetics is a spectacular new Legendary skin for Octane called ‘Clocktane’, but Apex player Temphost has noticed a problem with the look. As the name suggests, the ‘Clocktane’ skin is based around clocks, featuring several pocket watches, cogs, and a central timepiece. There’s an issue with the clock on Octane’s chest, however: it’s missing a number. The clock features roman numerals, but as Temphost spotted, it skips directly from ‘IX’ (nine) to ‘XI’ (11), leaving out the solitary ‘X’ that should represent 10. Fortunately for fans who might be frustrated by such an oversight, the developers have already responded to the issue. Respawn artist RSPN_Jeremy not only acknowledged the mistake, but was quick to point the finger at the person responsible – 3D Artist Eric Simard, who created the skin. If you’re waiting for an update to the skin, however, it could still be a while. The developer gave an estimate of 6-12 weeks before a reworked look might actually appear in the game, explaining that a fix would have to wait for an appropriate patch to be implemented in. For something that’s not affecting gameplay in any way, Respawn won’t rush out an update that could cause further issues down the line. It does seem, however, as though a fix will eventually come, with RSPN_Jeremy confirming that he’s already seen work being done on the skin. He was careful to emphasize, however, that he has no control over whether the fix ever actually makes it to the live game. In the meantime, those who can view the mistake as a funny little easter egg can still pick up the otherwise stunning skin for 1,800 Apex Coins, while those who can’t stand to use it knowing about the error will simply have to wait for a fix to arrive.

Apex Legends devs reveal upcoming gameplay changes – auto-sprint, weapon switch & more RespawnApex Legends developers Respawn Entertainment have revealed the new changes they’ve made to the gameplay and what will be coming through patches in the near future. Ever since releasing their battle royale back in February, Respawn has been hard at work trying to quell in-game issues – be it either hacking or cheating, strange glitches, and just general quality of life problems. They’ve been able to get a large number of problems fixed, however, a handful of issues rear their head on a daily basis. It’s a constant game of whack-a-mole for the team but they’ve seemingly gotten ahead of a few problems and are preparing to roll out some updates in the near future. According to the developer’s Trello board, which was set up to allow fans to see the progress of bug fixes, Respawn is close to adding auto sprinting on console and disabling auto-switching for when players run out of ammo. In addition to those, there is a handful of quality of life fixes like showing battle pass progression following matches and making stat-tracking show up as green in pre-match lobbies. However, despite some hope from users on the Apex Legends subreddit that these changes may come in the next patch, Respawn stated that they aren’t certain when they will ship – but the issues are fixed in-house. “Also for some clarification, “coming in future patch” label doesn’t always mean it’s in the next patch,” added Jason Garza, Respawn Community Coordinator. “Sometime we miss our deadlines to get it in, so it may miss the boat. But we DO have it fixed internally. You just need to hold on a bit longer for it. But I will let you know right now that the BP summary did get in for our next patch. The others in this column got in too late.” It remains to be seen as to when Respawn rolls out a new patch, which either includes these fixes or not, as there hasn’t been any word about a future update.

Apex Legends devs reveal Legend they feared would be too OP but isn’t used Respawn/EAApex Legends devs have revealed the one legend that they expected to catch on in high-level games but hasn’t done so just yet, especially as they were “extremely concerned” about the power in testing. Whenever a new season of Apex Legends comes around, players can pretty much always bank on a new legend also being added to the mix. Only one season – Season 18 – hasn’t added a new legend to the roster yet, and that was because they focused on a makeover for Revenant. As soon as a new legend is released, they quickly jump to the top of the pick rate charts – staying there for at least a few weeks. Once the hype dies down, they settle into a position more fitting of their power. The top three most-used legends have, pretty much always, been a combination of Octane, Wraith, and Pathfinder, but the devs expected Ash to be up there too. And they’re surprised the Incisive Instigator hasn’t made it into high-level play on a regular basis. Apex Legends devs surprised Ash isn’t used in competitive more often That’s right, Ash is the character that the devs are most surprised about not catching on with players, given that they were “extremely concerned” about her powering in testing. “During development we were extremely concerned over the power of her tactical. Seems like a joke, right? But for a long time it was very potent and internal feedback on it’s power was loud. Even after reeling it back to what we eventually launched with, a well-coordinated team could snag an enemy and reign inescapable grenades on them securing a kill more consistently than a Horizon ult combo,” Respawn’s Devan McGuire said in the devs’ AMA on the competitive Apex subreddit. The devs added that Ash “seemed poised for a strong foothold in the meta” but noted she has “cumbersome elements” with her abilities and that her “ult is still unreliable” at times. “Something to look at for the future to help her find a place – but also still be mindful of. The wrong push and she could end up being as oppressive as super-stun Seer was,” they concluded. Ash’s pick rate hasn’t completely bottomed out, given she’s got a 2.3% usage rate according to Apex Legends Status, but the average rank using her is Bronze 4. Maybe a future buff would see her vault up a little bit and, possibly, get into the ALGS meta. We’ll just have to wait and see on that front.

Apex Legends devs reveal issues they’re working on in Season 5 Respawn EntertainmentSeason 5 has given Apex Legends a fresh lease of life, but the developers are also aware of a handful of bugs, glitches, and errors that have cropped up since the big update. Here’s everything they’ve confirmed they’re working on for future patches. Even on day one of the new update, the developers at Respawn were rolling out small hotfixes to repair bugs that appeared right away. One of the biggest complaints in the new season has faulty hit registration, meaning that player’s accurate shots are not being counted as hits. A hotfix was rolled out for this too, though it’s unclear if it’s totally solved yet. There have also been glitches with both Revenant and Mirage, which Respawn are aware of and working on. For Revenant, he will be stopped mid-way through reviving a teammate, if his death protection wears off while in the revive animation. And for Mirage, who received a beefy upgrade this season, a bizarre glitch is causing his decoys to fly straight up if the player jumps repeatedly. Known issues in Apex Legends Season 5 Buzzing noise heard during gameplay – Reconnect issues – Ninja controller layout broken – Revenant revive bug – Mirage decoys flying high – Loading screens/music packs not selecting (PS4) – Reconnect was an important feature added for Season 5, and one that players were relieved to finally see added for Ranked play. It means you can jump right back into a match if you get disconnected for some reason, avoiding the abandonment penalty/loss of RP. But, there are some nasty bugs with the reconnect feature, which see players coming back with no HUD, or in some cases unable to loot. The Ninja layout for controller players has also been causing a similar issue, stopping players from being able to loot at all in some instances. Finally, there is an issue with an apparent ‘buzzing’ noise being heard while in a match, and some players have also reported unpleasant ‘audio pops’. This is also on Respawn’s radar. It’s unknown when a fix for these issues will be in place, but at least Respawn are aware of them. This isn’t an exhaustive list of all known bugs either, but you can see them in full on the Apex legends Trello board.

Apex Legends devs respond to stuttering errors following Genesis event update Respawn/EAAs Apex Legends players have become annoyed with numerous stuttering issues following the Genesis Collection Event update, Respawn have responded saying they’re looking to get them ironed out. After weeks of waiting, Respawn finally dropped a collection event for Apex Legends: Legacy with the Genesis event. The new update brings back the classic Kings Canyon map alongside a whole host of new skins, a Revenant heirloom, as well as some legend changes. As players have quickly sunk their teeth into the new update, they’ve been met with a host of issues – the biggest of which sees the battle royale lag and stutter throughout matches, no matter if you’re fighting or rotating to a new position. Plenty of fans have voiced complaints about the issues, calling on Respawn to get things ironed out sooner rather than later, especially as it becomes more widespread. Well, the devs have finally responded, noting that it’s a tricky issue to fix given that its pretty hard to reproduce on their end. “I’ve been hearing about this on the grapevines. I’m going to summarize this as the ‘Xbox hitching/stutter issue’,” said Respawn’s ‘Exgeniar’. “Yes. I have been told we are trying to track down this issue at the moment, but we don’t have much information on it yet.” Exgeniar added that Respawn are trying to find the root cause of the issue, but it’s proving to be tricky as they “want to know how to make it hitch on demand.” The dev also noted that there have been a few reports of PC’s with a high frame rate suffering from the issue, and capping the frame rate at a lower number might be a temporary solution. With Respawn not yet breaking through on replicating it, a fix could be some way off just yet. Though, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Apex Legends devs respond after yet another Wattson glitch breaks legend Respawn EntertainmentWattson mains look away — yet another Apex Legends glitch has been found in Season 11, which had broken how the Static Defender places her fences. Respawn are aware of the issue though, and are working through the “unintended interactions”. Wattson mains rejoiced when their favorite Legend was finally receiving long-awaited buffs in Apex Legends Season 11. Extra range on her fences, a stronger ultimate — the changes were praised. However, in practice, the changes have fallen short. A slew of glitches have rendered the Static Defender near “unplayable”, according to most mains. The most annoying of them all is a new glitch that has made it incredibly difficult to use her fences. While the increased range given to her electric fence placement has been well-received, players have been struggling to make the most of it. Sometimes fences will randomly drop short due to “snapping”, while others will indicate they can be hooked up, but then not connect once you drop them down. Even teammates walking across your line of sight will affect where your fences go down. It makes laying down Wattson’s defenses a chore — especially when you’re in a rush to fence up an area as other players swarm around. After a chorus of complaints, Respawn has responded, saying they’re aware of the new Wattson fence bug — although they did not confirm when a fix would be deployed. “Thanks for the report. We are aware of some of the unintended interactions here,” developer ‘Exgeniar’ told players on November 4. It’s not the only problem Wattson players are experiencing early on in Apex Legends Season 11. Wattson’s ultimate is reportedly still broken, with the Pylon not blocking all projectiles like Caustic grenades — a glitch that makes her unplayable at high levels given Caustic’s prevalence in the meta. Respawn are yet to comment on that glitch, but a pass of Wattson changes are expected to clean up the Static Defender for the remainder of the season.

Apex Legends devs respond to Trident bugs sending players flying Respawn/EARespawn are investigating some problems with the Trident vehicles on Olympus, which have been launching Apex Legends players into the sky randomly. The Trident vehicles arrived in Apex Legends as a part of Season 7, along with the new map, and some players were skeptical about how they would fit in with the battle royale. They’ve not become something that guarantees wins, but they are pretty useful when you drop into a game on Olympus as you can get from point A to B in a flash. However, they’ve had their problems too. In the past, players have had issues with Apex crashing their console or PC when using an ultimate on the Trident, prompting Respawn to take them away for a little while. More recently, there have been some instances where, when standing next to a Trident, players would be launched up into the sky. Some players were even unluckier and never made it back to the ground and had to find new games. As these problems have become more widespread, players have been calling for a fix, and now Respawn have confirmed that they’re looking into it. “Ooooooof. Taking a look,” commented Respawn’s Dave Osei after one player found themselves and their Trident flying to the top of Grow Towers as they tried to heal. Of course, the Trident shouldn’t be able to get to that spot either and Osei noted that Respawn were investigating that as well, but they may have already gotten a fix sorted for the future. While the dev dropped a response on Reddit, the problem hasn’t quite reached Respawn’s public Trello board where players can track known problems. Usually, their biggest priorities will be listed here. It remains to be seen if this one is a simple fix and can be sent out in a hotfix, or if it’ll be a part of the big, start of Season 9 update that will happen in early May. For now, though, be wary around Tridents.

Apex Legends devs respond to ‘sparkalaphobia’ concerns over Season 9’s Bocek Bow Respawn EntertainmentApex Legends devs Respawn Entertainment have responded to a viral post pointing out how the new Bocek Bow is unusable to some players due to their sparkalaphobia – a fear of glitter. Since Apex Legends launched over two years ago, Respawn Entertainment have been trying to accommodate everyone in their battle royale. A whole host of quality of life changes have been made to optimize the battle royale as much as possible, and the devs are continuing to work on the different accessibility features too. Most recently, they said they’d look into further changes to the colorblind settings. Now, though, a viral post about Season 9: Legacy has pointed out a new problem where the Bocek Bow is unusable to some players due to sparkalaphobia – which is a fear of glitter – and epilepsy. The issue was highlighted by Reddit user sky-m1n who said that they’ve been unable to use the bow because they “feel uneasy” when there are multiple arrows shimmering on the ground with their yellow highlight. “The pulse gets under my skin and the more arrows there are, the more uncomfortable it becomes,” the Redditor said. “Sometimes to the point I have to force close and cradling myself, because I can feel like an epileptic seizure coming. Can there be an accessibility option to turn ammo matte solid without the pulsing please?” Respawn’s Director of Communications, Ryan Rigney, quickly responded to the issue, saying: “Damn, never even heard of this before, but I think we ought to take it seriously. Letting the team know.” The Redditor has already suggested a few different solutions for the developers to use that would help suit them, so it might be an easy fix for Respawn. We’ll have to wait and see as to when it might be implemented, however, as changes to lighting and colors could cause issues elsewhere. But, it’s another shining example of Respawn trying to cater to everyone.

Apex Legends devs respond to shield swapping issue from quitting players Respawn EntertainmentRespawn Entertainment have responded to Apex Legends player’s complaints about being unable to shield swap with enemies who have decided to leave the game early. Over the last few years, Apex Legends players have managed to come up with a whole host of in-game tricks that play off the battle royale’s mechanics. These have included combining two Legend ultimates into one to make an even more powerful ability, as well as a few others. One of the more popular mechanics, though, has been shield swapping. Typically, you’ll pull off a shield swap by, well, swapping shields with enemies you’ve just killed so that you can get a fresh bit of armor after a fight. It’s designed to save time and inventory space so that you don’t have to carry shield batteries around with you. However, players have been complaining following the Season 21 update, claiming that it doesn’t work like it once did – especially if your teammate or enemy decides to leave the game. The issue was, again, highlighted by Redditor luiszinck on June 6, asking if the devs had removed the option to shield swap with an enemy who left the game. It drew a response from Respawn’s community manager, Amy Thiessen. “Not intended. Team is looking into it,” she said, much to the delight of Apex players. “Thank you for specifying. That seemed like an odd change from the moment I noticed it. Glad to hear it isn’t intentional,” one fan said. “Thanks for the transparency!” another added. Other players noted that they’d picked it up as a bug a while ago, and that it has only been happening to “people that leave when knocked.” Season 21 has, so far, had some mixed reviews from players overall. ImperialHal claimed that things are pretty much the “exact same” as before, while others are delighted to be able to play Solos at last.

Apex Legends devs respond to requests for Ranked duos mode RespawnRespawn Entertainment, the devs behind Apex Legends, have offered an update on the potential of adding Ranked Duos to the battle royale – and it’s bad news for any hopeful players. It’s been five years since Apex Legends first launched and brought some big twists to the battle royale market. Instead of just letting players drop in and find weapons, Respawn’s take on things allows players to select characters with unique abilities. The other big twist on things was that players were forced to play trios – at least in the early going. A permanent duos mode wasn’t added until later down the line, and there are still calls for a solo mode to be added as well. Players can, if they want, play at a disadvantage in trios, searching as a solo or duo. However, if you want to test yourself against the best of the best, you have to go into Ranked Leagues. Apex Legends devs shut down calls for permanent ranked duos mode As it stands, Ranked has been limited to Trios only and there isn’t a dedicated Ranked Duos playlist just yet, despite plenty of calls from fans for that to change. Those fans who just want to play with another player have continued to urge Respawn to add a permanent Ranked Duos mode, but it’s a bit of bad news for anyone hoping to see it happen soon. “Dedicated Ranked Duos is not currently in our plans, but we hear the feedback and request,” RSPN_Laker replied, much to the annoyance of some players as the comment was quickly downvoted. “That’s sad to hear,” said one. While it may not currently be in Respawn’s plans, that’s not to say that it couldn’t happen later down the line – especially if players continue their calls. So, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

Apex Legends devs respond to requests for permanent LTMs like Gun Run and Control RespawnRespawn Entertainment have refused to rule out making Apex Legends’ Limited Time Modes (LTMs) permanent, but have admitted their current focus remains on standard battle royale modes. Apex Legends Season 15 brings with it the usual plethora of new content. Catalyst, the game’s first openly trans character, introduces the mysterious Ferro Fluid into the Apex Games while Cleo, a moon of Seer’s home planet Boreas, provides the interstellar backdrop for all the carnage to unfold. Amongst all the excitement, the game’s developers over at Respawn have also been delving into what fans can expect moving forwards. They’ve revealed that Winter Express is likely to return and that low-gravity gameplay was ultimately left on the cutting room floor but, in the build-up to Season 15’s launch, also revealed the potential for LTMs to become permanent down the line. Respawn refuse to rule out Apex Legends’ LTMs becoming permanent When asked whether Limited Time Modes could be added to Apex Legends as a precursor to becoming permanent additions, Design Director Evan Nikolich said: “Never say never.” He did, though, admit that Respawn are concentrating on the battle royale modes: “Our focus is BR.” We’ve seen tons of LTMs come and go from Apex Legends, including Déjà Loot, Gun Run, Locked and Loaded and even a highly requested Solos mode. Very few stay for good, however. We’ve seen some additions like Arenas hang around, but they tend to be the exception that proves the rule. Players certainly want the best to become permanent, with fans recently demanding that Gun Run is made permanent. It is certainly a tricky situation to balance, with any free-to-play title having to be selective with its resources but ensure players have ample choice in terms of game modes. Unfortunately for players who want to see more diversity in Apex’s playlists, it doesn’t sound like the devs will be keeping LTMs around any time soon. In their own words though: never say never.

Apex Legends devs respond to ranked bug causing RP losses Respawn EntertainmentThe developers of Apex Legends have finally responded to a known bug where ranked rewards – such as RP – go missing. Being rewarded for your efforts in games like Apex Legends is a way for players to show off what they have been able to accomplish. Whatever the reward, it is fun to see what other players have done. Players can even compare their rewards against others to see what they might be missing or who may be catching up to them. However, a bug has been found that prevents earned rewards from being given to the player. This issue and other bugs have been in Apex Legends for some time, but now the developers have confirmed they are looking into it. Apex Legends developers looking into missing ranked rewards According to the Apex Legends Trello board used to keep track of bugs and glitches, Respawn is officially investigating the problem with players not receiving their ranked rewards. The issue has been in the game for some time now, with the official EA forums holding 55 pages of players requesting the problem be addressed. The reports go back as far as May 2022. Oddly, the thread has been marked ‘Fixed’ despite no official update addressing the issue being announced. One of the more recent comments on the forum, from February 13, said: “Just please rework the badge system so y’all can grant badges now it’s been going on for almost 6 seasons that I’m missing my s10 and 12 pred badge this is so sad.” Another Apex Legends user saw the Trello board change on February 18 and said, “I’ve noticed that the issue on the Trello board has been moved to a different section, so it seems like some progress is being made.” As the Apex Legends reward problem is now in the ‘investigating’ section of their Trello board, fans may see the issue fixed sometime in the near future. It will likely be a massive relief for those who have been continuously impacted.

Apex Legends devs respond to “pay to win” Flatline skin in Sun Squad Collection Event RespawnApex Legends players thought they discovered a leg-up by purchasing a Flatline skin with improved iron sights, but Respawn acted quickly. On March 28, the Sun Squad Collection Event added a new limited-time mode, a slew of new Legendary swimsuit skins to Apex Legends, and other cosmetic items for legends like Fuse and Mirage. The event runs through April 11, and the skins will be available in packs in the store weekly. The Flatline received a new Legendary skin, transforming the popular weapon into a super soaker. An amazing design drew community members in, and players discovered an extra added bonus. The Splash Zone skin redesigned the Flatline’s iron sights, which provided a better sight line than the base model design. Frustrated players slammed the developers for locking an improved sight behind a paywall, forcing Respawn to respond and adjust accordingly. Respawn reverts Splash Zone flatline iron sight On March 28, Respawn announced, “the Splash Zone Flatline skin is currently missing a piece from its iron sights, making it appear smaller than it should be. In a future patch, we’ll update it to match its intended design.” Previously the iron sights had a clear sight line, but the new update will add an extra piece that constricts visibility. Apex Legends community members slammed the developers for changing a skin after players already purchased it. Others asked why couldn’t the better iron sights just become the Flatline’s default sight. Players voiced their frustrations on Reddit. “Hear me out. Just make all Flatline iron sights look like this.” Some users implied that the developers intentionally made the Flatline change, knowing players would purchase it. “They knew exactly what they were doing with this one.” That opinion received some pushback, as a super soaker design would have attracted people anyways. “I mean, a flatline that looks like a super soaker is pretty awesome skin, regardless!” Respawn did not provide a timeline for when the sight will be changed. We will provide an update when the iron sights are reverted.

Apex Legends devs respond to no hit registration issues in Season 5 Respawn EntertainmentAmid all the excitement about the launch of Apex Legends Season 5, it hasn’t been all perfect, as some nasty bugs and glitches have reared their heads, requiring the developer’s attention. A noticeable drop in hit-registration will definitely be top of their list. In a shooter game, hit-registration is probably the most crucial aspect of gameplay to get right. Making sure that bullets actually connect with their target is fundamental, but with so many variables in an online game, it can be easier said than done. It can also be difficult to diagnose problems, as players will often claim to be getting no registration on their shots, when really they’re just missing, but hate to admit it. However, Respawn has confirmed that there are definitely some issues with hit-reg in Season 5 of Apex Legends. After the update went live on May 12, it didn’t take long for players to notice the problem either, and reports came flooding in on social media and Reddit. Developers Josh Medina, a producer on Apex Legends, and Design Director Jason McCord, both responded on Twitter to confirm a fix for the “no-reg” issues was being worked on. We are working on the No-Reg issue fix pic.twitter.com/1mToFQgrnJ — Josh Medina (@lowkeydbjosh) May 12, 2020 The time it will take to roll out a fix will likely depend on the cause of the problem, but considering how detrimental it can be to the core gameplay, it will undoubtedly be a high priority for Respawn. As soon as the update launched for Season 5, there were technical issues right out of the gate. Respawn were fast to address them though, after players found unlocked legends were not appearing, and even just navigating the menus were faulty. But, a fix was rolled within half an hour. We have identified the issue and currently rolling out the fix on all platforms. Thank you for your patience. — Apex Legends (@PlayApex) May 12, 2020 The fix for hit-registration is clearly not as straightforward though, and may take some more testing to resolve. Due to the ongoing global situation, the entire development team are working from home, which could impact the speed of a fix. Having said that, they still managed to promote and launch an entire new season (albeit with a week delay), so clearly they’re still up and running as they need to be, even out of the studio. We will keep you updated as more details come on the state of hit-registration in Apex Legends.

Apex Legends devs respond to major issues with Season 6 audio Respawn/EAApex Legends devs have responded to the audio issues that are plaguing games in Season 6, noting that they have people dedicated to working on it but they are difficult to fix. With the start of Apex Legends Season 6, fans of the battle royale were treated to a few changes. There is a new character in the form of Rampart, there is a new SMG in the Volt, and there are plenty of map changes to both Kings Canyon and World’s Edge. However, the new season has also brought with it a pretty annoying issue with the sound. At times, players have been unable to hear Gibraltar running around or the Devotion LMG being fired – which can be pretty infuriating in the late game. Respawn have now responded to the issue and they’re hoping to get it fixed sooner rather than later, but it isn’t completely smooth sailing. Commenting under the devs post about Evo Shield changes on September 3, Chad Grenier – the game director behind Apex – noted that it’s a difficult issue for Respawn to address because the audio isn’t an issue in their internal tests. “We are aware of and have people dedicated to solving the issue. Unfortunately, it’s not a simple problem and we’re trying very hard to track down the cause,” Grenier commented. “To complicate things, it’s never been an issue in our internal playtests when we can actually debug the issue, so having a live game issue with no debugging capability makes it difficult to track down. Just wanted to comment here that we are aware and working on it.” Comment by from discussion inapexlegends It’s obviously encouraging news for Apex players that Respawn are trying to get the issue ironed out, but the fact that they’re having a few problems tracking down the root of it means it probably won’t be sorted out anytime soon. So, we’ll just have to wait and see as to how long it takes, and whether or not the lingering problem will be fixed by the time Season 7 comes around.

Apex Legends devs respond to Mad Maggie bug making her ultimate useless Respawn/EAApex Legends developers Respawn Entertainment have confirmed that they’re looking into an issue affecting Mad Maggie’s Wrecking Ball Ultimate which is essentially making it useless. Mad Maggie was introduced to the Apex Games at the start of Apex Legends Season 12, and the Rebel Warlord quickly made an impact on players. While new legends, obviously, dominate the pick rate, she became more popular than those that had come before her. However, that popularity didn’t last long, and with other legends getting significant buffs, Maggie fell down the pick rate charts. So much so, that players have regularly demanded that she get a buff, even though she’s barely two seasons old. On top of those calls for change, players have routinely reported issues with her Riot Drill tactical and Wrecking Ball ultimate. Well, finally, the devs are looking into problems with the latter. The biggest issue that players have encountered with Maggie’s Wrecking Ball is that, well, it doesn’t really wreck at times – even though it does create its regular speed boost path. When it is launched, the bouncing ball attack is meant to stun enemies that it comes across, but there are regular occasions where it doesn’t do so, making the ability, and legend, pretty pointless to use. Players have been pointing the problem out to the devs and, on June 16, Respawn’s Pav confirmed that they’d be looking into it. “Yes, we’re aware. Looking into it!” he replied to one fan. As of writing, the fix has yet to go live and it hasn’t been mentioned in the patch notes for the upcoming Awakening Collection Event. It remains to be seen as to when the problem will actually be fixed, but hopefully, it won’t be too much longer.

Apex Legends devs respond to Loba’s “broken” bracelet amid Season 8 issues Respawn EntertainmentApex Legends devs have responded to further problems with Loba’s bracelet ability in Season 8 as it continues to not work as intended. Loba was introduced to Apex Legends back in Season 5 with abilities that are aimed at making her a pretty handy part of teams, seeing as she can steal loot using her Black Market Boutique ultimate. She hasn’t quite cracked the meta as some players might have assumed she would, but she’s not the worst legend by any means. While her ultimate and passive work without issue, Loba’s teleporting bracelet ability has caused plenty of headaches in seasons gone by. The animation is slightly clunky, leaving you exposed, and there are times where it doesn’t work at all. Over the last few seasons, players have attempted to toss the bracelet at certain parts of the map, but have either seen the bracelet return to their pocket or leave them in a spot where they can’t do anything. Respawn’s team have worked to address it in the past, fixing parts of World’s Edge and Olympus where the bracelet wasn’t working. Though, it also has issues on Obliterated Kings Canyon. One player flagged another dead spot to Respawn’s design director Jason McCord, as he responded. “Ugh yeah, that sucks. I’ll send it to the right peeps,” he said. Ugh yeah, that sucks. I’ll send it to the right peeps. — Jason McCord (@MonsterclipRSPN) February 15, 2021

Apex Legends devs respond to game-breaking Rampart Minigun bug Respawn/EAApex Legends devs Respawn Entertainment have taken away Rampart’s ability to place her minigun on the Trident vehicle due to a new issue, but there’s no telling when it’ll be back. [jwplayer A8oCoIXs] With the start of Apex Legends Season 7, Respawn Entertainment added a new legend in the form of Horizon and also whisked players away to a new map – the highly anticipated setting of Olympus. The new map, which has become quite popular with players already, has enough unique features to stand out from Kings Canyon and World’s Edge – with the most noticeable change being the introduction of the Trident vehicles. These hovercrafts, which can fit three players at once, are scattered around the map and allow you to get from point A to B quickly, while players are also able to use certain abilities on-the-go. The most useful of which is Rampart’s minigun, which makes the vehicle incredibly deadly. However, there is a bit of a problem with it. Instead of being able to use the Ultimate ability on the back of a Trident as normal, players have found, since November 19, that trying to place the minigun on the vehicle will completely crash their game. Numerous complaints were made on Twitter, the EA forums, and the Apex Legends subreddit, with the devs springing into action a few hours later. “Hey folks, as an FYI, we are currently disabling the ability to place Rampart’s turret on the Trident in order to fix an error, the devs tweeted. “We’ll let you know when you can go ham again once things are fixed.” Hey folks, as an FYI, we are currently disabling the ability to place Rampart’s turret on the Trident in order to fix an error. We’ll let you know when you can go ham again once things are fixed. 👍 — Apex Legends (@PlayApex) November 20, 2020 As of writing, on November 20, Rampart’s ability is still unusable on the Trident, and there’s no telling when the devs will get the change pushed out. Seeing as it’s probably just a bit of rogue code, they’ll likely send a server-side update live, so you probably won’t need to download anything once the time comes. Though, we’ll keep you posted with any breaking news and updates.

Apex Legends devs respond to game-breaking ledge glitch Respawn Entertainment have responded to an absurd glitch in Apex Legends which traps players on a ledge in World’s Edge. Apex Legends has been a huge success since its release at the beginning of the year. After innovating the battle royale genre with brand new in-game features, Respawn have had to tackle a host of bugs that have affected their player-base since the get-go. From bullet registration issues (due to Apex Legends’ netcode issues) to map glitches that make World’s Edge disappear, the battle royale has had its fair share of bugs to deal with in recent times. Despite all of Respawn’s efforts to overcome the plethora of issues, more appear to be surfacing as patches continue to be rolled out. Reddit user, Ryoteck, has posted their discovery of another map-related bug, which appears to trap players within a confined place near ‘The Epicenter’ on World’s Edge. Posted to the Apex Legends subreddit, the player was trapped on an icy ledge with no means of escape. After trying to crouch-walk their way out of the invisible tunnel that appeared to have formed around them, they’re seemingly barricaded in. Luckily, their teammate (who was running Pathfinder) was able to scale the frozen rockface and melee their teammate out of the ledge, propelling them to the ground. However, should the squad have opted for another Legend other than the friendly MRVN robot, they would have been left in a sticky situation. Since the squad were in an endgame scenario in a ranked match, the stakes were higher. An Apex Legends developer under the alias ‘Monsterclip’ responded in less than three hours of the post going live, stating: “We’ll fix! Thanks.” Since The Epicenter has a varied terrain, another user commented: “There are actually a lot of spots you can’t get out off at the epicenter without the robofriend,” issuing more of a reason for the issue to be resolved sooner rather than later. Plenty of Reddit users praised Respawn’s effort to interact with the battle royale’s official subreddit, in the hope that continued moderation will increase the turnaround time on fixing these pesky bugs. At the time of writing, no notes have been added to the official Apex Legends Tracker, meaning that the issue is still yet hit Respawn’s radar and make through the official channels.

Apex Legends devs respond to “game-breaking” crossmap bug with Ziplines Respawn EntertainmentA couple of Respawn developers were taken aback after seeing a strange Pathfinder bug with his Zipline Gun that extended the ultimate across a sizable portion of the map – and one of them even called it “game-breaking,” so don’t expect it to be in there for long. The Zipline gun is meant to give people a huge rotation out of a sticky situation or to get vertical in an instant, but Respawn definitely developed it with a set distance in mind. However, there’s a bit of trickery players can use with the balloons scattered throughout the Apex Arena, which can sometimes give you an extra chunk of distance with Pathy’s Zipline. In a clip from user ‘EpicMrShank’ called ‘longest Pathfinder zip ever,’ you can see them trying to line up a shot at a nearby jump tower’s balloon. While the experiment was meant to get them to the balloon, the Zipline shot simply kept going past its target. The visual shows that it actually did hit the balloon, but EpicMrShank nor their team could actually get on it. A few moments later, they were finally able to use the Zipline, but not until it went much further than its intended mark. According to the player and their team, the bug let them tether the ultimate to an object some-230m away, which resulted in one of the longest Zipline rides the game has seen. Read more: How does Apex Legends crossplay beta work? – It seems that quite a few players found this to be incredibly amusing. Game Designer Daniel Z. Klein and Apex Security analyst Conor ‘Hideouts’ Ford were equally impressed, but the former might look to address this glitch sooner rather than later. “Excuse me, what?” Hideouts said. In jest, Klein asked people to “please stop breaking the game, (since he has) so many bugs on (him).” Klein also hinted that the “6.1 patch notes on the horizon” might take care of the issue, after one player jokingly suggested that could be a ‘new Pathy buff’ if Respawn wanted. It’s a bit tricky for people to recreate the Zipline bug, but even if you do, it might not be around long enough to properly implement in your Apex Legends games.

Apex Legends devs respond to “full-auto” Sentinel exploit Respawn EntertainmentAn exploit that makes the Sentinel sniper rifle shoot rapidly in Apex Legends has caught the attention of the developers, who are working on a fix right away. [jwplayer KEHOOBWR] Update: As of October 9, Respawn has removed the Sentinel entirely from Apex Legends while working on a fix for the game-breaking exploit. For more information, read on below on what the exploit entailed. In the meantime, enjoy not being shredded by a bugged gun as devs solve this issue. Due to an exploit with the Sentinel Sniper Rifle, we’ve decided to disable it while we work out a fix. More info to come as we have it. In the meantime, we have fixed an issue within Flashpoint that was causing the Ring to spawn on top of players at the start of the match. — Apex Legends (@PlayApex) October 9, 2020 The Sentinel, added in Season 4, is a high-damage bolt action sniper, which will deal out 70 damage to the body, and 140 to the head. To balance out this high-damage, the fire rate is reduced through the action or rechambering each round with the bolt. However, this exploit completely cuts out this bolt-action, allowing the rifle to be shot again instantly. Obviously, this makes this gun incredibly overpowered, allowing players to deal out heaps of damage before they even have to reload at all. Thankfully, developers Respawn are on the case. Sentinel ‘full-auto’ exploit in Apex Legends Although some players are dubbing this the ‘full-auto Sentinel’ bug, it’s more accurately ‘semi-auto’. But regardless of what it’s called, the weapon can fire out another shot instantly. We’re not going to share how to do the exploit – to save it from becoming anymore widespread – but all you need to know is that it’s incredibly easy to do and requires no special equipment or cheats. You can see an example of it in action here, thanks to u/wingedkeyboard on Reddit. Shortly after this clip started to climb the front page of Reddit, developer David Bocek confirmed that this wasn’t an intentional buff to the Sentinel, and that they are working on a fix. This is just another bug to add to the list of issues that have cropped up since the Aftermarket Event update. Another major problem at the moment is a visual glitch impacting Pathfinder every time he uses his grapple. And speaking of Pathfinder’s grapple, players have found that his new ‘buff’ is actually more of a nerf, as the cooldown is more often than not longer than it was before. We might be able to expect a small patch soon to iron out some of these niggling issues from the last update, but Respawn haven’t confirmed a date or time yet.

Apex Legends devs respond to frustrating ‘shooting while downed’ glitch Respawn EntertainmentRespawn developers have responded after a bizarre glitch, which allows players to shoot opponents while they are downed, was uncovered in Apex Legends. Following the release of the Old Ways Event on April 7, players have been eager to experience all of the new content that was added in the last update, such as the return of Kings Canyon to the permanent map rotation. During fans’ return to the old map, one player uncovered a strange glitch which allowed them to keep their gun out after being knocked by an enemy squad. The unusual glitch was seemingly caused by them using Revenant’s tactical ability just as the character’s health dropped below zero. The downed player was able to fire some shots towards the opponents after being downed and, although they did not get the revenge kill, it could still pose some problems for others who might encounter this glitch. “I popped my tactical as Revenant and was downed at the same time and was able to fire while still down!” u/LovelyxAngel explained, calling for it to be shared with Apex Legends devs. After the post picked up some traction on the Apex Legends subreddit, Respawn dev ‘RSPN_Hideouts’ responded and let players know that they are aware of the glitch and working towards a fix. “I got you brudda, thank you!” they replied, later revealing that they were also working on of the bizarre Mirage glitch that has been instantly self-reviving downed opponents. This is not the first time that an Apex Legends bug has allowed players to fire back after being knocked, as fans had found a similar glitch a few months prior which also had the capability to change the course of a match. However, with Respawn now working on removing many of these game-breaking issues, fans are hopeful that they won’t have to worry about such circumstances happening for much longer.

Apex Legends devs respond to fans asking for more Legend buffs Respawn/EATwo Apex Legends devs have responded to calls for Bangalore, Lifeline, and Revenant to receive buffs – noting that they’ve thought about it, but there’s nothing coming anytime soon. As Respawn Entertainment continues to update Apex Legends throughout the new seasons, legends are tweaked with different buffs and nerfs. Most recently, Lifeline, Octane, and Crypto were highlighted in the Lost Treasures Collection Event update with their buffs. Though, as players have their favorite legends, they want to see their character of choice given some love. They’ll regularly put ideas forward – be it directly to the developers or just on social media. As there have been calls for further changes already, two members of the Respawn have stepped forward to answer a few questions. Jason McCord, the Design Director on Apex Legends, fielded a question about Bangalore possibly receiving a buff in the coming weeks – though, he noted that there isn’t anything coming anytime soon. “Hearing a lot of Bangalore comments lately. Got us chatting about it,” he posted. “Nothing on the books, but we hear you!” Yep Ranked Split is on Worlds Edge starting.. Tuesday I think! And hearing a lot of Bangalore comments lately. Got us chatting about it. Nothing on the books, but we hear you! — Jason McCord (@Monsterclip_JM) June 26, 2020 As for Lifeline and Revenant, questions about their possible buffs were fielded by Daniel Klein. The Respawn dev noted that Revenant has seen an increase in win rate following his recent changes as his ultimate ability is now working as intended. In the case of Lifeline, she is also climbing the win rate ranks, and the devs did have different ideas for her DOC drone revive. Though, they were not used and Klein added that he thinks there isn’t any room for a buff to anyone right now. Comment byu/GENERAL-HONKYY from discussion inapexlegends Obviously, as season five unfolds, the lack of buffs could very well change – especially if one legend becomes overpowered and overused. We’ll just have to keep an eye on what Respawn decide to do when it comes to rolling out updates.

Apex Legends devs respond to Dropship instant death issues in Season 4 Respawn EntertainmentRespawn Entertainment have acknowledged a major issue with Apex Legends Season 4’s new Planet Harvester location on the World’s Edge map, which is causing players to die while still in the Dropship. As expected, there was a lot of hype surrounding the highly-anticipated launch of Season 4: Assimilation, which added a slew of new content and made major changes to the battle royale. One of those changes included the addition of the Planet Harvester point of interest, a massive, multi-level mining facility located at the heart of the map. One of the distinct features of the Planet Harvester is the red beam that protrudes from the station and can be seen from the entire island, something which Respawn hope will “give players a better sense of direction and understanding of the center of the map.” Unfortunately, this function has proved to be much more of a nuisance than what it’s worth, and is the cause of one of Season 4’s first major issues. Whenever the initial Dropship’s flight path happens to go through the beam, players who are still on the aircraft as it crosses the light suffer instant death. Planet Harvester is the new kill leader 💀 (Credit: u/robertchilling) pic.twitter.com/CtEUedGBav — Apex Legends News (@alphaINTEL) February 5, 2020 Respawn’s response to Dropship instant death problem Needless to say, this issue is pretty annoying because it can impact matches right from the start, effectively forcing players to jump from the ship earlier than they would like just to avoid dying. Shortly after this was brought to the forefront by players on social media and Reddit, a card acknowledging the matter was added to the official Apex Legends Trello page. It’s currently labeled as ‘Investigating,’ so there’s no time-table on when this problem will get fixed, but at least Respawn have responded to it and are looking for a solution. It’s definitely unfortunate that this issue exists, because it has taken away from an otherwise well-received set of changes to the World’s Edge map. The Apex Legends community seems to have mostly regarded these map tweaks positively, especially considering how Respawn have worked to diffuse some of the more hotly-contested drops. Apex Legends Season 4: Assimilation is now available for free on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

Apex Legends devs respond to calls for Prowler nerf amid “OP” complaints Respawn/EAApex Legends devs have confirmed that they’ll be looking into a nerf for the Prowler amid complaints from players that it is too powerful after coming out of supply drops. The start of Apex Legends Season 10: Emergence has seen a wave of new players coming to Respawn’s popular battle royale. Though, while the new update has gotten rave reviews, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Seer, the new legend, has already been labeled as too strong and ever so slightly broken by some fans, prompting the developers to reveal that a balancing update will come sooner rather than later. Additionally, the Prowler, which was previously only available in supply drops, has also drawn some criticism for being too strong. So, the devs are making a change there too. In their Season 10 AMA on the Apex Legends subreddit, a number of Respawn devs fielded a wide range of questions, with many focusing on bugs and fan complaints. One fan asked if anything would be done about Seer and the Prowler, given that players have already started lambasting the pair of them for being too good. “I can talk about the prowler, we are watching it and will be looking into a potential nerf coming soon,” replied Respawn dev Jello, not touching on Seer given that others had already done so. https://www.reddit.com/r/apexlegends/comments/ozci2p/respawn_here_we_just_shipped_apex_legends/h7yt2gr/ Plenty of players rejoiced in the fact that the weapon is going to be changed, even if there’s no set time or date for the update just yet. It remains to be seen just how Respawn will adjust the weapon as well. Some fans will want the damage and recoil changed to make it slightly less powerful and harder to master, but that’s on the devs.

Apex Legends devs respond to calls for more Legend “reworks” in Season 7 Respawn EntertainmentRespawn have revealed why some of the least-played or least-powerful Apex Legends characters, typically, do not receive massive ability overhauls or ‘reworks’ when the developers are looking to balance gameplay. [jwplayer QJBhIFLZ] Following the release of Horizon in Season 7, there’s now a total of fifteen unique characters that players can choose between in the Legend Select stage, ahead of competing in the Apex Games. Although each of these Legends has their own abilities and playstyle, it can be difficult to balance them all at once and, as a result, it usually leads to a few characters falling out of the meta for a short while. Apex devs will typically introduce small buffs throughout a season to help bring a struggling Legend up to par, but if any of the characters’ troubles persist across multiple seasons, fans often call for complete reworks to be considered. Mirage was one such Legend to receive a total rework. During the Reddit AMA on November 6, which saw Apex Legends devs open up about changes with the battle pass, one player asked if Respawn had any plans for Legend reworks in Season 7. Respawn Game Designer Daniel Klein responded, highlighting previous reworks and revealing that they often try to find other ways of balancing the Legends before adding anything that “meaningfully changes the play pattern of a character.” Comment byu/rkrigney from discussion inapexlegends He followed up by explaining that reworks can dramatically change a Legend’s playstyle and that it often requires players to completely re-learn a character, “we try to avoid reworks whenever we can because they invalidate previous player learnings.” “Reworks are a last resort for us: when it seems that there really is no other way to make the Legend either fun for the player or healthy for the rest of the game.” the Apex dev added. Klein shared that they have also considered reworks for characters who do not live up to their potential, pointing at Lifeline’s passive rework to make her stronger as a Support Legend. The senior game designer later revealed that many of the biggest changes, such as reworks and new Legend releases, are often saved until the start of each season, suggesting that the next rework would likely happen at the start of Season 8, if any characters require one at that time.

Apex Legends devs respond to broken Ranked matchmaking and smurfing complaints Respawn EntertainmentRespawn Entertainment has responded to complaints that some players have experienced unbalanced matchmaking in Apex Legends’ Ranked mode. Apex Legends has had a bit of a bumpy start to 2023, with widespread connection issues affecting players for hours upon hours. Additionally, fans in Europe have complained about strange matchmaking during Ranked, such as Element 6 pro player KSWINNIIE, which has only led to more frustration among the playerbase. Now, Respawn Entertainment has addressed the Ranked matchmaking situation in Europe and said the problem should hopefully be alleviated shortly. Respawn addresses Apex Legends Ranked complaints On January 20, 2023, Respawn’s official Twitter account posted the following: “A quick note to our European @PlayApex players: You may have noticed some unusual pairings in Ranked Matchmaking.” The tweet goes on to explain that “in our efforts to continuously improve Ranked, the team is running a test through Monday focused on smurf detection and matchmaking by true skill.” For those who may have missed it, Respawn has silently been testing new ways to improve SBMM, or Skill Based Matchmaking. These updates will eventually overhaul the way matchmaking works in Apex. Unfortunately, it seems there have been growing pains as a result of these changes and tests that’s left many players frustrated. Fun test for the players, nothing like ranked bronze and silver getting run over by fullstack preds, amazing. Good thing we came back after a month, this is FUN! — Dror Av (@OldManOnaPorch) January 20, 2023 “Fun test for the players, nothing like ranked bronze and silver getting run over by fullstack preds, amazing. Good thing we came back after a month, this is FUN!” said one player. I really like that actions are being taken and that there are comms, but do the players really have to suffer for that long trying to grind ranked, getting matched against 3stack preds/masters in bronze/silver? Atleast give region lock or anything like that, or even a split ext. — AXLP_LaZEReD (@AXLP_LaZEReD) January 20, 2023 While many appreciate the steps Respawn is taking to improve matchmaking, some have voiced their concerns about affecting play for so long while these tests continue. “I really like that actions are being taken and that there are comms, but do the players really have to suffer for that long trying to grind ranked, getting matched against 3stack preds/masters in bronze/silver? At least give region lock or anything like that, or even a split ext.” Hopefully, once Monday, January 23, 2023 rolls around the tests will finish and matchmaking will be in a better state. For now though, European fans trying to grind through Ranked should prepare themselves for a bit of instability.

Apex Legends devs respond to broken Mirage “buff” not working Respawn EntertainmentA Season 7 buff to Apex Legends’ Mirage, that was meant to fix an issue with his decoys’ footsteps not making noise, appears to have failed. The developers over at Respawn are looking into it. Mirage mains rejoiced back in early January, as Respawn confirmed that a Fight Night Event bug fix would actually make the Holographic Trickster’s abilities stronger. Mirage has the ability to spawn identical decoys to try and ‘bamboozle’ and ambush engaged enemies. However, his decoys do not make any footstep noise, making them easier to pick out as fakes. Most players thought this was intentional but, in the Fight Night patch notes, Respawn said they had ‘fixed an issue’ with Mirage’s decoys not making footstep noise. They confirmed it as a bug fix back in the Fight Night Event patch notes. The fix was released when the update dropped on January 5 – but it’s now clear that it is not working as intended. Read More: Respawn reiterates they’re not adding Solos – One Apex Legends player reached out to Jason McCord, Design Director at Respawn working on the battle royale, saying: “I was wondering if Mirage finally got that “bug fix” with his decoys making footsteps sounds. I’ve not heard any decoys making footsteps since the updated, even playing as Mirage.” In response, McCord simply responded: “I’m checking. Thanks for bringing it up.” Despite being touted as a bug fix, many players were keen to see the change added to Apex Legends given the fact that it would constitute a buff for the fast-talking legend. The changes – when fixed and working as was originally intended – will add another layer of distraction to his arsenal. Enemies will no longer be able to hear footsteps and identify the real Mirage. Footstep audio could indicate a decoy or the real character. Read More: All Apex Legends bugs being investigated – Given the response from Respawn’s Design Director, we can hopefully look forward to another update on this issue soon.

Apex Legends devs respond to broken Loba bracelet after Season 13 update Respawn EntertainmentApex Legends Season 13 is finally here, but the new update has broken Loba’s tactical again, leading to many frustrating deaths. Loba has famously had plenty of problems with her teleporting tactical in past Apex Legends seasons, with the ability simply failing to activate. Despite Respawn fixing this tactical in previous patches, the issue has resurfaced with the arrival of Season 13. Having a broken ability is obviously incredibly frustrating for the game’s community, especially since this problem has persisted since Season 5. After all, getting into a firefight and finding your tactical doesn’t actually work can often prove fatal. Loba tactical broken in Apex Legends Season 13 The issue seems to appear when players use Loba’s tactical near water, which is fairly common on Storm Point. This can obviously lead to some incredibly frustrating moments for Loba mains. Not being able to teleport away from an unwanted engagement or simply reposition is infuriating at the best of times, especially when it ends up costing you the game. In fact, there are even areas on Storm Point where Loba’s bracelet simply fails to activate at all. It has even been reported that Loba’s bracelet rarely works when used at The Downed Beast – a new POI on Storm Point. This high-tier loot location enables players to fight inside, around, and on top of a beast’s lifeless carcass. loba’s tactical being broken on stormpoint is currently being worked on! for now don’t teleport anywhere near water or your bracelet will cancel! thanks for the fast response pav! 👏🏽 https://t.co/qVJWFLjrIB — luwba 🐺 (@Psamatheh) May 10, 2022 Posting on Twitter, one user highlighted how inconsistent Loba’s tactical currently is on Storm Point. Fortunately, a member of Apex Legends’ live team support has responded to the issue, stating: “ The team is already aware and looking into this issue! Hoping to get a fix out ASAP.” Now that Respawn is aware of the broken tactical, hopefully, a fix will be deployed quickly. For now, though, it’s best to avoid using Loba on Storm Point or only utilizing her bracelet on flat areas of the map.

Apex Legends devs respond to broken Gibraltar hit reg bug Respawn EntertainmentRespawn Entertainment are looking into yet another hit reg problem in Apex Legends where Gibraltar’s passive ability, Gun Shield, is actually stopping the legend from hitting his own shots on enemies in certain scenarios. The game’s developers are always sieving through feedback from players, and on November 18 one member of the community highlighted an alarming issue with Gibraltar’s passive. As many will know, Gibby is one of the strongest Legends in the game and features in the highest spots of many tier lists, though this new-found problem might explain why some of your bullets haven’t been as effective as they could have been. Apex Legends devs respond to Gibraltar Gun Shield bug Reddit user gtnpr found the bug, and commented: “No regs occur when I release ADS at the same time as shooting while using the gun shield.” It didn’t take the dev team long to stumble upon it, either. One of them replied to the post looking for more in the way of specific details to help them find a solution. They said: “Just curious, but if you have a friend also in the game, do they see you shoot a bullet? Does the bullet still hit for them? Info on what another player sees would be super helpful!” The developer confirmed they were looking into it, but “can’t [reproduce] it. Believe it or not almost all bugs like that you can’t easily reproduce, so more information is needed.” However, other players confirmed they too had experienced the issue, and it could be an explanation for some of the continued hit reg issues players are experiencing. The problem has not yet been added to the Trello board of investigated issues in Apex Legends, though based on these comments the team is on the job. Hopefully, it won’t be long before Gibby mains aren’t running into this — while still rare — frustrating issue in-game.

Apex Legends devs respond to bizarre complaints about female Legends Respawn EntertainmentApex Legends developers have responded after a handful of players complained that the game was adding too many female Legends, as Loba and Rampart could be followed by another female character. Apex Legends’ character pool is as diverse as any we’ve seen in any hero-based game. From humans to robots, non-binary to Pathfinder, it really does have it all. However, a small minority of players are being negative about the back-to-back female additions. Season 5 added Loba, while Season 6 has seen Rampart thrown into the mix. Although not confirmed, early Season 7 leaks appear to suggest that the next addition may also be female. Three consecutive female legends has, for some reason, frustrated some Apex players, with one saying: “I didn’t know I was playing a feminist game… Might as well just put a pink dress on Revenant.” The above comments were quoted by many who hit back at the player and encouraged them to simply enjoy the game, and let others do the same. Read More: When does Apex Legends Season 7 start? – Apex Legends developers were soon drawn into the conversation, with design director Jason McCord actually confirming that a brief discussion over female Legends took place internally. “We actually had a very short conversation about this,” he said. “‘Think people are gonna be mad that there are this many female legends in a row?’ ‘Uhhh, maybe? Who cares?’ ‘Agree – carry on’.” We actually had a very short conversation about this… “Think people are gonna be mad that there are this many female legends in a row?” “Uhhh, maybe? Who cares?” “Agree – carry on” https://t.co/MPvXKOMdu5 — Jason McCord (@MonsterclipRSPN) August 22, 2020 Apex Legends writer Tom Casiello also mocked the strange criticism, saying: “If you’re the kind of person keeping track of how many male Legends there are versus how many female Legends there are, might I suggest an alternate hobby?” If you’re the kind of person keeping track of how many male Legends there are versus how many female Legends there are, might I suggest an alternate hobby? There are plenty to pick from that are far more meaningful and productive than “Keeper of the Gender Scorecard”. https://t.co/GgRtglJ3px — Tom Casiello (@tommiecas) August 22, 2020 It is, of course, impossible to please everyone, but most players agree that the new Legends are consistently varying the gameplay and meta of Apex Legends, and that’s what truly makes the game so much fun for its millions of fans.

Apex Legends devs respond to backlash from pros over state of ranked Respawn EntertainmentA number of Apex Legends developers have taken to Twitter to respond to complaints from the community and pros over the poor state of ranked play. There’s no denying that every single online FPS title in the genre suffers from cheaters and DDoSers. However, it’s only when these hackers begin to make an appearance in the majority of games that a community begins to raise its voice. Well, that’s exactly what’s happened in Apex Legends, with pros and casuals alike complaining about the abundance of players using third-party software in their games. Whether it’s DDoS attacks that crash the matches or infinite laser beams that lock onto players from across the map, they’re all incredibly frustrating for players to experience. Now, after various pros have openly complained and #SaveApexRanked has been created on Twitter, a set of devs have responded to the community’s criticism and addressed the state of ranked. Apex Legends devs respond to backlash over state of ranked Apex Legends pro player NRG sweet began the Twitter discussion over the state of ranked on June 28 with a Twitlonger and the use of #SaveApexRanked. In his tweet, sweet details his frustration with ranked play and the abundance of cheaters that make it almost impossible to win a game at certain times of the day. On top of this, he voices that the community will no longer be satisfied with promises from Respawn and encourages them to speak with their actions. As expected, it didn’t take Apex’s director of communication, Ryan R. Rigney, long to respond. The Respawn employee acknowledged that sweet had raised a lot of valid complaints, but did argue that making out that the devs were attempting to trick the player base was unproductive. “There are very valid complaints in here, we’ve gotta crack down on cheating and make real progress… Idk why you’d reframe an effort to communicate as an attempt to fool players. Unproductive”. https://twitter.com/RKRigney/status/1409608753012301831 Apex Legends game designer, Brian Vidoc, also responded to the hashtag on Twitter, praising the community for their passion over the issues facing ranked. However, the employee emphasized how difficult the cheating problem is to resolve and asked the player base to be patient with the devs. “This #SaveApexRanked discourse really tells me one thing, people care so much about Apex… I get the frustration BUT game development is insanely difficult, it is nonsense any games ever get finished, but I get it, please be patient, we’ll fix it, we always do.” This #SaveApexRanked discourse really tells me one thing: People care so, so much about Apex. You could quit, but no: folks organized to make sure they are heard. They rally. The game has been such a huge part of all of our lives. I really do get it. Such passion! 1/3 — Brian Vidovic (@BrianOnTheRocks) June 29, 2021 Again, I get the frustration. BUT! Game development is insanely difficult. It is nonsense any games ever get finished TBH. But I get it. Please be patient. We’ll fix it. We always do. — Brian Vidovic (@BrianOnTheRocks) June 29, 2021 Although none of the devs revealed any more information about the actions being taken towards fixing Apex ranked, it’s obvious they’re doing everything they can to resolve the issue. The community’s decision to rally behind #SaveApexRanked has only emphasized how important the game is to a lot of players, and the devs can clearly see that. Let’s hope over the coming months, Respawn can make some serious progress and crackdown on players using third-party software.

Apex Legends devs respond to Anvil Receiver bug with Flatline & R301 Aculite YouTube / Respawn EntertainmentThe Apex Legends developers have responded to a bug affecting the popular R-301 Carbine and the VK-47 Flatline rifles when equipped with the a powerful hop-up. Respawn introduced the Anvil Receiver at the turn of Season 3, but the glitch is making the hop-up more of a detriment than an upgrade to the guns. Both rifles have the ability to switch the rate of fire from single round to automatic, and the Anvil Receiver increases the damage from the weapons while reducing the rate of fire and using more ammo. The glitch with the hop-up is keeping players from switching the rate of fire on the gun, making it locked onto single fire mode. Twitter user ‘DistinctGamer’ communicated the problem with Respawn dev and Senior Systems Designer Eric ‘Ghost’ Hewitt who said the team was already aware of it and taking care of the issue. To get a closer look at the bug, Reddit user ‘Aidan_Hendrix’ went into the Firing Range to test out the Anvil Receiver when they came across the bizarre glitch. In the clip, you can see that the weapon can switch between the Automatic mode and single fire without the hop-up, but when equipping the upgrade that’s not the case. Looking at the lower right part of the screen where the HUD shows the different firing modes, typically single fire is represented by a bullet while automatic shows an infinity sign. Moreover, there are small boxes just above those signs that highlight which of the two modes is currently being in use. But with the Anvil Receiver equipped, even after the player switches modes and the highlighted boxes change, their Flatline is stuck in single fire mode. “Omg that actually happened to me ingame,” user ‘DarthTaruno’ responded to the clip since they came across the same glitch. “I thought I misclicked the change fire mode then tried again looking at the icon and even though it said auto it was still single fire.” If more players happen to come across the bug, then it’s reassuring to know that the Apex devs are already on the case.

Apex Legends devs respond to another major sound glitch Respawn EntertainmentApex Legends developers Respawn Entertainment have finally addressed a major sound issue that has been plaguing the game and making it impossible for players to hear their opponents. Apex Legends is one of the most popular battle royale titles in the world, and since its release back in February 2019, has suffered from very few major bugs that ruin the experience for those who choose to hop into King’s Canyon. One massive issue that has plagued the game has been to do with audio issues. Players have regularly complained that footstep audio “comes and goes,” while in a Reddit post on September 12, /u/Fadenkreuzjohn explained that they were unable to hear any noises that came from directly in front or behind them. In the post, /u/Fadenkreuzjohn wrote: “Since I downloaded an update for Apex today, it seems like my sound in-game is bugged. I do not hear anything behind me, and directly in front of me. I have to turn about 15 degrees to the left or right to hear sound in front of me, which then sounds like it comes from a 90-degree angle either left or right (of me.)” The player confirmed that he had checked his sound drivers and audio settings too, but was having no luck. Thankfully, Respawn has addressed the issue, with Community Manager Garza_RSPN assuring those frustrated that he will be passing on the post to their audio team, as it has been a “really big issue” and the post will help them to “nail this issue down.” “Every single piece of info, no matter how small, does go a long way. Cheers, and thank you!” Some commenters have even found a way to fix it themselves, with many claiming that reverting the Windows Update from September 10 was solving the problem on their end, although Respawn intends to fix it on the client-side so others don’t have to do the same. The developers were unable to provide a timeline on a possible fix, but the fact that they are aware and already working on it should bode well for a patch in the near future.

Apex Legends devs respond to aim assist complaints but no changes planned yet Respawn EntertainmentApex Legends developers at Respawn Entertainment have confirmed they are still evaluating the power of aim assist in the battle royale as more players switch to controller as the superior input. Aim assist debates in shooter games are never-ending. Players on Keyboard & Mouse believe it’s an unfair advantage for controllers, while players on controller argue it simply levels the playing field. While it’s true that playing on a mouse has distinct advantages over aiming with a toggle, aim assist is intended to balance this. In Apex Legends though, many argue that it is over-balanced, resulting in aiming with controller simply being better than mouse. Respawn, the developers of Apex, have repeatedly acknowledged the complaints about aim assist in the past, but are yet to make any significant changes. Although they said they are still looking into it, they have no changes planned – for a number of reasons. Speaking at a press conference for the release of Season 18 on August 8, the developers were asked if players can expect any changes in the update to aim assist. No aim assist changes coming in Season 18 Unfortunately, for the aim assist haters, there are no changes coming anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean Respawn are unaware of the issues. “We’re definitely looking at aim assist,” Respawn said. “We don’t have any changes at this time, but it’s definitely something we want to address.” In Season 18, SMGs are getting a nerf, and part of this, Respawn said, is because controller has made SMG’s ‘meta’: “It’s becoming more apparent that the reason the SMG meta is the way it is is because of controller.” Why Respawn isn’t changing aim assist – yet So, why are Respawn not rolling out a nerf to aim assist? Because in order to do so, there is a lot of code that would need to be unraveled and put back together. The complexity of aim assist coding means it is not a simple thing to change. “It’s a technically deep and complex system,” the developers said. “We’re going to have to unspool a lot of stuff to get to a point where we feel like it’s in a better spot.” They described aim assist as a “very fragile system,” and that they would need to thoroughly assess changes to make sure they are “healthy” and “an improvement” to the current status quo. So, don’t expect any aim assist nerfs any time soon (good news for controller players), but don’t rule it out at some point in the future either.

Apex Legends devs respond to accidental tap strafing nerf Respawn EntertainmentOn August 15 players began reporting a change in Apex Legends that brutally nerfed tap strafing and the devs have now responded to the issue. When the bug was first noticed players were quick to wonder if Respawn was making good on their Season 11 promise to make significant changes to tap strafing but it seems now that this temporary nerf was simply accidental. While players would usually be able to rely on this tech to pull off all kinds of ridiculous movement, for the time being, they’re stuck to a 90-degree rotation which pretty much defeats the purpose of trying it. Apex Legends devs are looking into accidental tap strafing nerf Once the complaints started to flood in from players, the official Respawn Twitter account quickly assuaged the communal fear and let everyone know the game will eventually be back to normal. We’ve seen your reports about issues with tap strafing in [Apex Legends] after today and are looking into it,” they promised. “Thanks for being patient while we sort this one out.” In the time before the devs spoke about it though, the community kicked up the classic debate on whether it belongs in the game at all. Pro players like ImperialHal and Scuwry had their fun posting memes about the situation while more casual players continued the fight to have the trick permanently removed. Unfortunately for the latter, that doesn’t seem to be happening any time soon, although this could be a sign that Respawn has been playing around with the mechanics involved in order to implement those aforementioned changes.

Apex Legends devs respond to growing demands for “Operation Health” season Respawn EntertainmentIt looks like the Apex Legends Operation Health campaign may be over before it ever really began — a Respawn developer has admitted while they “love the idea,” in theory, the reality is that it’s just not feasible for the battle royale. Amid ongoing Apex Legends server issues, a cacophony of bugs, glitches, and game crashes, players have come up with a Rainbow Six-inspired idea. The idea is for Respawn to spend a whole season focusing on errors, Legend inconsistencies, infamous Apex Legends bugs, and more. Rainbow Six Siege did the same back in 2017, two years after its release, in a bid to get their struggling game engine and lagging servers back under control. In theory, the idea is sound, especially after this week’s issues. Respawn are a little less sold, however, and one Apex Legends tech developer has already poured cold water on the growing “Operation Health” demands. Respawn’s RobotHavGunz was talking about the latest Apex Legends server issues on Reddit on September 20 when he was asked about “Operation Health,” and whether it was something the developers were considering. His response was clear: it’s not on Respawn’s radar, for now. “The problem with something like an Operation Health [season] is that it’s not really reflective of how game development works. There’s also the separate-but-very-much-related issue of, people might say that’s what they want, but that doesn’t actually it’s what they want. I don’t really have much of an insight there. “Live Operation development bears a fair amount of resemblance to just-in-time manufacturing. There are a ton of dependencies, cross-collaboration. “I’m certainly not someone that would be a decider,” he added. “And, I totally get the request. [That said], I think, as admirable as it [the Operation Health demands] might seem to players, it’s probably not actually a good thing. “On both sides of things, there are plenty of people who would sit idle during a period where the only work that was done was, essentially, bug fixes.” So, that Respawn response basically ends the “Operation Health” plans, before they’ve even reached a symphony in the Apex Legends player base. That doesn’t mean Respawn isn’t hard at work on Apex Legends fixes, game improvements, and server upgrades, however. The developers are already sinking their teeth into the latest Season 10 issues — expected to be fixed by Sep. 22 — and are always looking at ways to improve their battle royale. RobotHavGunz made an Apex promise too: “As someone who loves quashing bugs, I’ll do my part to have ‘Operation Health’ be part of my every day.”

Apex Legends devs respond to complaints that Battle Pass progress is too slow Respawn Entertainment, developers of Apex Legends, have responded after players complained that it took too long to rank up the tiers in the new Season 1 Battle Pass. The launch of Season 1 in Apex Legends, named ‘Wild Frontier’, was highly anticipated, as players looked forward to have new content, as well as a new reason to ‘grind’ the game, by way of the battle pass. Like Fortnite, the Battle Pass in Apex Legends rewards players with a new item each time they rank up a ‘tier’, and this is done through earning XP in game. However, in addition to complaints that the rewards themselves were mediocre, players have also found the amount of time it takes to level up a single tier, feels a bit too long. A post on the Apex Legends subreddit highlighted that it required more XP to rank up tier 1 to tier 2 of the Battle Pass, than it does to rank up your character level from 97 to 98. However, an Apex Legends developer was quick to point out that this isn’t exactly an accurate reflection of the time it takes to rank up the battle pass, explaining: You only did half the work :/ You’re assuming that XP / Hour is the same in both progression tracks, which it is not. You get more XP / Hour in Battle Pass as long as you leverage the character XP bonuses.The battle pass takes approximately ~100 hours if you use the bonuses and get a few kills here and there. Which is a little over 1 hour of in game time per day. For the average player leveraging BP bonuses, leveling Battle Pass 1-100 is faster than Player Level 1-100 by ~25ish hours. Season 1 is expected to end at the start of June, meaning players who play a little each day should have plenty of time to rank up most of the Battle Pass tiers. CardSo, if you want to reach tier 100 of the Apex Legends Battle Pass, be prepared to spend almost as much time as it would to reach account level 100, minus about 25 hours or so. You can actually skip the first 25 levels too, by purchasing the Battle Pass ‘bundle’ option, but this will cost you 2,800 Apex coins, rather than the standard 950 for the regular Battle Pass.

Apex Legends devs respond to backlash over Season 1 battle pass rewards Respawn EntertainmentAfter much anticipation, Respawn Entertainment finally unveiled the battle pass for Apex Legends Season 1: Wild Frontier – but all the hype was washed away for some, as the rewards for ranking up the tiers were considered underwhelming, to say the least. Released on February 4, Apex Legends was an instant hit, but players quickly became eager for new content to keep the game fresh. Season 1 was slated for release sometime in March, and after weeks of growing impatience, was finally announced on March 18, with a launch set for March 19. After the initial elation subsided, and players investigated the contents of the battle pass, the excitement was quickly soured, with many voicing their disappointment with the “bland” rewards. Many of the character and weapon skins were admittedly dull, with plenty of browns and dark greens, maybe lacking some of the gold and colorful sheen that was expected. After the announcement of Season 1, Respawn released a blog post, in which they explained their “philosophy” for the first battle pass as a way of directly addressing some of the complaints. “We’ve tried to create a battle pass where first-time spenders can get a strong base of weapon and character cosmetics to fill out their initial collection at a deep discount,” the blog post states. They also explain why there are not “challenges”, like those that are used in Fortnite to help players rank up their battle pass faster. “You’ll notice the first version isn’t built around a complex quest system where you need to do a 720 backflip off of Watchtower Artemis and get two Wingman headshots before hitting the ground. While we think there’s really cool design space in quests and challenges for future Battle Passes, we wanted the initial version to allow our players to just play and learn the game.” Although some players might appreciate not having to grind out tricky challenges, others are disappointed, as it can also add an extra layer to the gameplay, especially when dealing with the battle royale genre, which, while fun, can also get stale quickly if there isn’t any ‘layering’, like challenges provide. More: Apex Legends Season 1: Wild Frontier Update – Early patch notes, Battle Pass, new Legend and more – Perhaps the coolest thing about the Season 1 battle pass though, is that players can earn enough coins by ranking it up to get the Season 2 battle pass for free, assuming it is the same price as Season 1 at 950 Apex coins. As for the skins and cosmetics themselves, the greys, browns, and greens on show in the first skins which all players get with the battle pass, appears to just be a design choice – but it’s one that has not resonated well with players.

Apex Legends devs respond as players call to copy key Fortnite ranked feature Respawn/EARespawn Entertainment have responded to calls from Apex Legends fans for them to copy Fortnite’s Cash Cups system in a bid to save competitive play. While most Apex Legends players are happy enough to stick to casual multiplayer lobbies, there are plenty of others who want to challenge themselves against the best of the best. This means dropping into Ranked Leagues and trying to work your way up the leaderboards. Ranked, has had its fair share of issues, though, much to the annoyance of players. They’ve had constant complaints about the distribution of Ranked points and levels, and there have been fears about dwindling interest in it. TSM star Philip ‘ImperialHal’ Dosen recently suggested that Respawn should follow in Epic Games’ footsteps by adding Cash Cups to competitive and Ranked play, so players can make money for their efforts and help things “thrive” moving forward. Apex Legends devs respond to calls to copy Fortnite Cash Cups Plenty of fans have echoed Hal’s call over the last few weeks, and now they’ve gotten a response from Repsawn. The question popped up during the devs’ AMA on the Competitive Apex subreddit, with fans referencing both Fortnite and Rocket League’s in-game tournaments as something to follow. “The team is always looking for ways we can bring our players closer to competitive Apex, but we don’t have anything we can share today,” replied one of the Respawn devs. “What would you like to see from in game tournaments in Apex?” Obviously, it wasn’t the answer that most fans had hoped for, but at least the devs have left the door open to something happening later down the line. They’ve already confirmed a host of details about year four of the ALGS, so things are certainly moving forward on the competitive side of the battle royale.

Apex Legends devs respond after new Bangalore skin starts crashing everyone’s games RespawnRespawn devs responded after players started complaining the new Mil-Spec Bangalore skin was crashing their games while equipped. In addition to her new episode of Stories from the Outlands, Bangalore also got a brand-new skin on January 4. Called Mil-Spec, the skin is inspired by the new cinematic, and while it looks great, it’s leading to some unintended problems for players. Bangalore Mil-Spec skin crashing Apex Legends In the video above, as soon as the player selects Bangalore with her new skin equipped the game freezes up and shuts down. It’s not an isolated incident either. More players started to report the same problem throughout the day on January 4, quickly taking that post to the top of the Apex subreddit. This all led to a reply in the comments from an Apex dev a few hours later, telling players they were working on the problem. Comment byu/ConnerTheCrusader from discussion inapexlegends However, there’s no telling how long it will take to fix, and when the skin will be able to be used by the players hopping in and locking Bangalore after watching Gridiron. So, while it might be a buzzkill, the best way to ensure that this doesn’t happen to you is to simply not equip the Mil-Spec skin. At least, until the problem is all fixed.

Apex Legends devs respond after accidentally nerfing Bangalore Respawn/EAApex Legends devs have responded to an issue with Bangalore’s smoke, as it’s been given a significant nerf after the Chaos Theory update, making it much less effective. As Apex Legends has a roster of unique characters, Respawn Entertainment have had to walk a fine line when it comes to buffs and nerfs. They’ve said previously that they can’t give a legend too much power, even if they are behind on being buffed, and they can’t completely nerf someone who is strong – it takes multiple changes to strike a balance. On this occasion, however, the change to Bangalore doesn’t seem to have been deliberate, but rather an unintended change caused as a side-effect of another tweak. In the Chaos Theory update, a change was made to FX particles, which has affected Caustic’s gas, Bangalore’s smoke, and Gibraltar’s Ultimate. Essentially, the reduction in particles has made it much more see-through – rendering Bangalore’s tactical pretty useless. They don’t have that visual block of the smoke to help them create a hiding space or flush out scared enemies. Read More: Apex Legends Arena mode: Leaks and teasers – As a result, players have been reporting the issue and asking Respawn to revert the change so that Bangalore’s ability can be useful again.

Apex Legends devs remove Volt SMG from LTM after mistake Respawn Entertainment[jwplayer ePrNLj8A] Apex Legends developers Respawn Entertainment have confirmed they removed the Volt SMG from Armed and Dangerous game after it accidentally appeared in the snipers and shotguns only mode. When Season 6 of Apex Legends launched back in mid-August, fans were treated to a brand new SMG: the Volt. This extremely low-recoil gun allows players to pop off kills with ease and has been pretty well-received by the community, with many players using and some people saying it’s a bit overpowered. When the weapon accidentally showed up in the Armed and Dangerous LTM, however, many fans were confused, with some people thinking it could be a new feature of the mode that Respawn didn’t let people know about. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case. Respawn Entertainment has confirmed via Apex Legend’s official Twitter account that they have removed the Volt SMG from the LTM. Morning, Legends! As an FYI, we’ve adjusted the loot pool in Armed and Dangerous, removing the Volt and Energy Mags. We’ve also re-added the Mobile Respawn Beacon. Go give it a shot. 😉 — Apex Legends (@PlayApex) September 17, 2020 For those that don’t know, Armed and Dangerous essentially restricts all weapons aside from snipers and shotguns from being used. There are a number of other restrictions implemented, including a difference in armor and Gold-tier weapons, but generally speaking it is mainly recognized as a shotguns/snipers only mode. If that’s the case, how, you might ask, did an SMG make its way into the game? According to Twitter user and Apex Legends dataminer Biast12, this is because the code for Armed and Dangerous wasn’t changed since the last time it was in the battle royale, which was before the Volt was added. nah it’s just because they are just using the old code for the LTM = a version where the volt wasn’t a part of the game = it’s not coded to not spawn in the LTM — Biast12 (Tobias) (@Biast12) September 16, 2020 This means that the mode didn’t recognize the weapon as an SMG and allowed it and its ammo to spawn in-game. All in all, while this is a pretty major screw-up, especially for a weapon as powerful as the Volt, it’s good that the developers removed it as quickly as possible.

Apex Legends devs reject calls to revert Ranked back to old versions Electronic ArtsThe developers working on Apex Legends have stated that the future of the game’s Ranked system will not be reverting to previous versions, as they want competitive Apex Legends to be more focused on “playing to win” rather than getting kills. In a recent AMA on the official Apex Legends subreddit, The devs were asked if they were looking to revert the Ranked system back to the old one used for seasons 7 to 11. However, the devs said that they believed this version of Ranked was too focused on getting kills, and that they wanted a version that was more oriented around winning the match overall. Apex Legends devs confirm Ranked will be less focused on getting kills The developers were asked by one player about the future of the Ranked system, who said: “Do you plan to revert to the previous ranked system (S7-S11)? And why?” The developers responded: “No, we are going to continue forward with this Ranked system at this time. We felt prior systems were too focused on racking up kills and not focused on winning the match. “We want to put focus on playing to win and we feel the path we’re pursuing now is headed in that direction. “The current system is not perfect, but we will keep iterating on it to achieve our goal of putting focus on winning the match.” Reactions to this response ranged from positive to negative; some players were disappointed that there wouldn’t be a focus on kills due to the emergence of ratting, where players hide from others to stay alive as long as possible. However, others were more receptive to the idea, with one commenter saying: “So happy to hear this. You have a lot of people who agree this direction is better, but there need to be many adjustments.” Hopefully, players will be happy with the new ranked system as we get ready for the new season. For more news and updates on Apex Legends and Season 18, check out the changes that are on the way to solve the controversial ratting problem.

Apex Legends devs promise to fix infinite Heat Shield exploit Respawn EntertainmentApex Legends players have found an exploit to get infinite use out of the new Heat Shields, but Respawn are already locking down a fix for the next patch. Respawn introduced the new survival item, complete with its own inventory slot, that protects players from the damaging effects when you’re outside of the circle. An item like this has seen its fair share of requests in multiple battle royales, and Apex delivered in a big way that players are already enjoying. Unfortunately, it came with a small kink: the Heat Shields can be maneuvered to be reused an infinite amount of times. Multiple clips have been surfacing of how the exploit looks in-game. Needless to say, Respawn isn’t keen on leaving that kind of bug in the game, and are going to patch up the Heat Shield to prevent it from happening. Apex Legends Game Director, Chad Grenier, gave a preview of what to expect in the next patch that should be released Monday, March 15. Among them will be a fix to the Heat Shields since some players have already been seen using them well outside the ring in the early game to loot up or in the final circles to pick up easy wins. While Respawn introduced the item to give people this kind of flexibility, the exploit has been providing unbalanced effects around the map. We’re working on a hotfix to address several issues that will hopefully go out Monday morning. Here is a list of what’s in the patch so far. More fixes coming after this but sharing what’s next. Some items redacted because they’re for content that has not been turned on yet. pic.twitter.com/LQEAo3jkOS — Chad Grenier (@ChadGrenier) March 10, 2021 “Had two games in Ranked tonight that had squads trying to do this,” one user said, encountering the exploit in his game. “Got down to Top 2 with only us in the ring and luckily both times a friend was running Crypto so he just popped them with his drone. Otherwise we would have been hella salty.” Apex Legends has been working on a bunch of fixes for its game. One that’s been getting a ton of traction is the problem with Loba’s bracelet after the update – which has a simple fix that even boggled a developer’s mind.

Apex Legends devs promise fix for infuriating hit registration bug after discovering cause Respawn EntertainmentApex Legends developers Respawn Entertainment have provided fans of the game with a major update as they attempt to fix the hit registration issues which have been plaguing the game over recent weeks. Apex Legends quickly became one of the most popular games in the world on its release back in February, thanks to its initial launch being relatively bug-free. Since then though, the game has struggled to overcome a number of issues that have affected the gameplay for players, and there may not be a more frustrating bug that the hit registration problems that have saw bullets fail to connect with opponents even though they should have. Hit registration issues plague Apex Legends Hit registration issues are not a new thing for Apex Legends. Following the release of the Season 1 update back in March, players have been complaining that a number of their bullets fail to connect with enemy players, even though their crosshairs are right on the opponent. Over a month later, things don’t seem to be getting any better, with players still posting on the game’s subreddit about the ghost bullets that continuously fail to find their target while they are playing the game. Clips are still appearing on the subreddit, including one from /u/joshuav85 which shows the players first free bullets connect perfectly, before the fourth and final shot disappears into the ether, even though it appeared to be directly aimed at the opponent. Respawn confirm fixes on the way In their Respawn Check-In from May 10, Respawn confirmed that while the development team search for possible explanations for the bug, they were able to “reproduce and locally fix many cases of incorrect hit registration,” citing that mismatches between the game client and server in posing characters during animations is one of the contributing factors to the bug. Read More: Top 20 highest earning Apex Legends pros – Apex Legends believe that the next update will go a long way to fixing these major issues, but gave a warning to fans that they “were not out of the woods yet,” and may continue to see similar instances take place following the update. When they finally are able to solve the hit registration in Apex Legends, Respawn claim it will leave them in a position where hit detection will be “more solid than ever,” giving fans hope that things will be looking up in the near future. While these fixes are scheduled to appear in the next update, there is no official word on when players will be able to get their hands on it, so patience will be required in the meantime until the developers announce an official date for release.

Apex Legends devs promise changes in Season 18 to solve “ratting” problem EADevelopers working on Apex Legends have pledged that future seasons will address the issue of “ratting” in the game. The controversial “ratting” technique, which relies on avoiding as many fights as possible and running down the timer to stay in the game as long as possible, has divided the player base. These “rats” are frequently slammed for not playing the game how it was intended, although some players maintain that it is a legitimate strategy. Things boiled over when a recent devblog slammed ratting as an unrewarding way to play, which divided the community further. The blog read: “We’ve noticed a particular pattern in both Ranked and ALGS levels: teams stay outside of the ring and delay interacting with other teams to gain points. Hiding and avoiding firefights isn’t a rewarding way to play Apex Legends.” Apex Legends devs pledge future seasons will address “ratting” The devs confirmed that they would adjust ring timings to make mid-game encounters more likely, as well as cranking up ring damage to disincentivize staying in the zone to avoid players. They also said that popular ratting spots would be tweaked to make them less safe. In a recent AMA on the official Apex Legends subreddit, developers clarified their position on ratting further when a player asked them to elaborate on the blog post. They asked: “While you did say in the blog ratting is unfun can you say more directly that is still a legitimate way to play a battle royale? There is a portion of this community that needs to hear that from you as they are causing hate towards other players. You can reduce hate and make this a better community.” The devs replied: “We want the focus in Ranked to be playing to win. Part of winning the match is survival and being tactical in what fights you take. “What we DO NOT want to happen is exploitative play. Hiding in positions and just refusing to engage to win is not good and healthy for the game. We want all players to run the race, and not wait for as many teams as possible to crash out. “We have a lot of work to do here and expect more changes to come season over season as we see player behavior evolve.” For more news and updates on Apex Legends, check out our guide to the Revenant Reborn rework ahead of Season 18

Apex Legends devs playtesting more Loba buffs for Season 8 RespawnLoba has already received buffs in Apex Legends Season 8, but mains of the Translocating Thief have demanded just a little bit more, and Respawn are entertaining the idea. This time, the buffs are coming to her tactical ability, Burglar’s Best Friend. [jwplayer vP8vm9zZ] Loba never quite landed as well in Apex Legends compared to some of the other post-launch releases. Picks like Horizon and now Fuse are dominating the Outlands, but Loba never really shone. There’s a lot of hidden power in the Translocating Thief’s kit between her bracelet teleport and her ability to see Purple and Gold items from miles away. Loba mains want this to be realized, but Respawn is hesitant. She’s already seen some buffs to her ultimate in Season 8, allowing her to peek into care packages. However, there’s some issues with buffing her bracelet, as it can quickly turn OP. “Why are we so conservative balancing her tactical? There’s good reasons! Combat readability, that is to say having a good idea where the enemy could have gone to in this case, is super important for making Apex feel as good as it does,” developer Daniel Klein said on Reddit. “If you ever fail to see [or] hear the throw, you might suddenly have a Loba behind you you didn’t expect, and that feels awful.” That doesn’t mean they’re neglecting her though. There’s two changes planned for later in Season 8 that’ll excite Loba mains. One, Respawn are fixing a bug that has caused her teleport to fail in multiple areas. Two, they’re potentially removing the slow penalty when she throws her bracelet. “Her tactical still has a bunch of areas where it fails. That’s a bug! Whenever we find those, we try to fix ’em for you as soon as possible,” Klein added. “We’re currently playtesting a version that doesn’t slow you down at all while the bracelet is in the air and that doesn’t slow you down when you arrive at your target location. Bit scary, but been testing well so far.” There’s no ETA for these buffs, but they might be enough for more players to pick up the Translocating Thief.

Apex Legends devs planning more Titanfall content for future seasons Respawn EntertainmentThere’s a variety of Titanfall characters, guns, and references in Apex Legends and according to the devs, they’re planning on adding more in the future. Although Apex Legends isn’t part of the Titanfall franchise, the game is set in the same universe meaning there’s a variety of references for fans to enjoy. With Valkyrie arriving in Season 9, the Rampage LMG in Season 10, and now Ash joining the roster in Season 11. a lot of Apex fans are wondering if Titanfall’s influence is going to continue into the future. Well, to the excitement of a lot of players, the devs have finally addressed the topic and revealed the Titanfall content isn’t coming to a close anytime soon. Respawn reveal more Titanfall content is coming to Apex In a recent interview ahead of Season 11, Apex Legends devs were asked whether Titanfall content was going to continue to be a focus for them in upcoming seasons. With Respawn taking a huge step in adding Ash to the game, it’s led the community to speculate on which other Titanfall characters may enter the Apex Games in future updates. Although there were no hints over what Titanfall features fans can expect, the devs did reveal there are more references in the pipeline, even if they’re not as significant as what’s been added in Escape. “I think you’ll continue to see parts big and small of Titanfall coming to Apex but I don’t think it will be as big as this season obviously,” they said. “It’s not like every season it’s going to have some new Titanfall thing”. The devs did reassure players that they want Apex to remain independent and not become reliant on Titanfall content, confirming that there won’t be huge references every single season. However, as a lot of them worked on Titanfall, they’re incredibly passionate about the franchise, so it only makes sense to add features to Apex when it works and makes sense. “We still want Apex to be its own thing,” they added, “but the passion of the team continues to be, hey, a lot of us have worked on Titanfall, we love Titanfall, let’s bring these in when it feels ready”. So, while Titans won’t be dropping into your Apex matches anytime soon, expect plenty more features and references from the iconic franchise.

Apex Legends devs planning Lifeline nerfs to balance healing & “meme” ultimate” Respawn EntertainmentLifeline is one of the most ‘unbalanced’ heroes in Apex Legends with an overpowered passive and an underwhelming ultimate, but the devs are planning to fix the issue in Season 9. Apex Legends Season 9 is still a while away, but the devs have already been working on some buffs and nerfs to address issues in the current meta. We already know Gibraltar and Horizon will receive some much-needed nerfs. However, it seems like Lifeline is going to get some, too. Apex Legends players have become increasingly frustrated with Lifeline’s passive ability, Combat Revive, which allows her to deploy a drone to revive teammates and shield them from damage in the process. The consensus is it’s too overpowered and needs a nerf. But at the same time, her ultimate has been underwhelming for a long time now. Fortunately, the devs talked about it in a recent thread, and it sounds like they’ve got some interesting balance changes in mind. “I think we should try a version without the shield and see how that goes,” they said, in response to a question about Lifeline’s passive. However, they understand removing it completely might “gut her,” so they’re also flirting with the idea of adding a “per-teammate cooldown” to the shield. But it’s not all doom and gloom. The developers also plan to give her “meme” ultimate, which looks at a squad’s loot and guarantees at least one upgrade, a much-needed buff. “We got a playlist in testing… that does some smart things about the ultimate,” they said. “All we had to do was [apply] a minimum of smarts to picking what’s in it, and suddenly the skill was good. I’m not gonna talk about it much more because the earliest it might ship is Season 9. But I’m hopeful, as someone who plays a lot of Lifeline and wishes her tactical and ultimate weren’t memes.” It’s still in the early stages of planning and testing. However, the developers confirmed they are on the case. A lot can change in the two months leading up to the new season, and the changes might not survive the test of time. But the developers will almost certainly find a way to balance Lifeline without nerfing her into oblivion. We can’t wait to see what solutions they come up with.

Apex Legends devs planning Charge Rifle nerf but its not coming soon Respawn/EARespawn Entertainment have confirmed that they’re working on a long-awaited nerf for the Charge Rifle, but it won’t be coming in Season 14. Just like many of its battle royale rivals, Apex Legends has had its fair share of issues with overpowered weapons and items over the last few seasons as Respawn have constantly tried to get things tuned properly. At the start of Season 13, a handful of weapons went under the knife – including a handful of LMGs and the L-Star – but that allowed other guns to come to prominence in their place. The Charge Rifle, which has been nerfed previously, has been giving players headaches over the last few months, but the frustrations have only increased with the popular Armed and Dangerous mode – seeing as it’s one of the stronger weapons in that LTM. Charge Rifle nerf in the works for Apex Legends With Season 14: Hunted on the horizon, many players have called on Respawn to knock the sniper rifle down a peg or two. Though, that won’t be happening. “There’s no plans to do anything about the Charge Rifle in Season 14”, senior game designer Eric Canavese confirmed to TheLoadout. However, there are irons in the fire for the sniper to be changed. “We understand some of the issues with the Charge Rifle… We know how it spikes a bit differently… So, we are thinking about it, we’re working on it, but we have nothing to announce and no plans we can talk about at the moment.” While the devs may not have plans to change the weapon in Season 14, if it remains a big talking point throughout the new update, we may see something happen around the mid-season update – it just depends on how big of an issue it becomes. As of now, though, expect to see the Charge Rifle still chunking shields and health from range as we try to get to grips with Vantage and everything else in the new season.

Apex Legends devs offer Double XP amid Battle Pass controversy Respawn EntertainmentApex Legends Season 7 has largely been a positive change for the game, with the introduction of Horizon and new map Olympus, but there has been one major problem for dedicated players: the Battle Pass. [jwplayer OXyCJ7sp] When the season launched, the battle pass was considerably harder to level up, something the devs have since addressed and made changes to make it easier. Just when it seemed the battle pass was back to normal, though, players discovered that Battle Stars were resetting each week, sometimes meaning that your grind was completely worthless if you didn’t make it to 10 stars that week. It’s fair to say that this hasn’t been the ideal start for the developers or players who get the battle pass each season, so the devs at Respawn have made an offer to make up for the issues players have complained about with double XP. Apex devs turn on Double XP Addressing the recurring complaints from players, Apex Legends devs posted to Twitter on November 12 saying that they had pushed out two major updates. One was that they were changing ring damage going forward for Rings 3-5, but the other will probably be more enticing for players: double XP. Until the next patch, all players will be earning double XP to make up for the bug causing some battle pass progress to be lost — something players will surely welcome with open arms. We’ve just pushed out two updates: – Fixed an issue causing some BP progress to be lost. To make up for that bug, we’ve turned on Double XP. It’ll run until next week’s patch. – Changed Ring Damage: Ring 3 goes from 5% per tick to 10%. Ring 4 and Ring 5 go from 10% to 20%. — Apex Legends (@PlayApex) November 12, 2020 While the season might have started with some difficulties for both players and devs alike, it looks like things are heading down the right track again. This double XP offer should help players who feel like they lost a lot of potential battle pass progress since Season 7 launched. Of course, we’ll have to wait a while to see how this affects players’ overall completion of the S7 Battle Pass. After all, it might not end up quite as drastic as some think it has.

Apex Legends devs nerfing controller movement in major balance shift Respawn EntertainmentApex Legends’ devs are set to nerf controllers’ movement and configs to ‘protect’ the game’s competitive integrity. The debate of controller vs mouse and keyboard has long been raging on in gaming, especially in Apex as controllers have taken over the game with a plethora of top pros like ImperialHal and Albralelie making the switch. And as the controller players dominate Ranked, with the amount of mouse and keyboard players at the top lagging behind, Respawn has announced nerfs to controllers. “Heads up, Legends. We’ve been rolling out some changers to [Apex Legends] to better protect the game’s competitive integrity,” Respawn announced in a tweet. Apex Legends devs to roll out major nerfs to controllers “We are making changes to remove automated strafing on controller and will also be making changes to prevent the chaining of cfg files via the +exec command during game time.” To put it simply, the devs are disabling certain configs on controllers that would normally allow a greater range of movement that is normally possible in the game. So configs for movements like Neo-strafing and supergliding is now disabled. They also made clear and warned that the use of third-party tools, hardware, firmware, or software, is absolutely not allowed and still considered cheating. This reminder comes as software like reWASD made a splash in games like CoD and The Finals, with the Cronus Zen being banned from the PS5 after a recent firmware update. “As such, we will continue to evaluate potential exploits and take further action as needed,” the devs ended the announcement. For now, it seems the devs will be nerfing controller movement, however, is not touching controller’s aim assist as of yet. But the massive nerf is now being celebrated by the community at large. “The amount of people who don’t realize MnK doesn’t need configs to do movement is astounding. We’re doing it with human input, you abuse a macro. We are not the same,” TSM’s Albralelie said of the nerfs.

Apex Legends devs are making big Storm Point map changes next update Respawn EntertainmentRespawn are making several big changes to new Apex Legends map Storm Point next update, including how battle royale circles work on the tropical island, how much cover is littered around the Season 11 battlefield, and more. Apex Legends has undergone huge seasonal changes earlier this month, not least of all thanks to Respawn’s latest battlefield Storm Point that dropped on Nov. 2. The tropical paradise turned battle royale warzone has been relatively well-received since release — outside holdouts like Shroud, who has his worries about the new Apex map — but that doesn’t mean it’s not without its faults. Cover is sparse and endgame circles have become a major issue in ranked playlists, leading to unbalanced final firefights. Last week, Apex Legends level designer Rodney Reece asked Respawn’s battle royale fandom for videos, screenshots, and evidence relating to anything slightly off about the Storm Point map, ranging from “bad circle ending locations,” major glitches, and more. On Nov. 10, the developer told eager fans Respawn had heard them loud and clear, and would now be working on the piles of feedback. “Thanks to everyone who sent bugs and circle feedback on Storm Point. You made a difference. Lots of bugs smashed and lots of circle clean-up will be out in the map soon,” the map-focused dev confirmed. On top of the end-circle focus, Respawn is changing Storm Point cover, including most barricades and rocks, particularly around Barometer. Reece explained: “[We have changed] things like rocks, which are now larger to provide more cover, [and] some areas have new cover and more in general around chokes.” Players won’t have to wait long for the new Storm Point changes either; Reece confirmed Respawn will ship the updates “long before the season is over.” Thanks to everyone who sent bugs and circle feedback on Storm Point. You made a difference. Lots of bugs smashed and lots of circle clean-up will be in the map soon. (Long before the season is over). #ApexLegends pic.twitter.com/nMnHgWJpFC — Rodney Reece (@RodneyReece7) November 11, 2021 They added any end-circle “should never end on wildlife locations or buildings,” explaining that if it does, players should report that as an Apex Legends bug. The new Storm Point changes aren’t the only tweaks Respawn is already making in the latest season either. Apex Legends made sweeping updates to how ranked progression works ahead of Season 11, and are already diving back into the systems for more changes in the next update. Legends and weapons have yet to come up, however, with Season 11 so far spared from any meta-breaking “must-picks” for Apex guns or characters alike.

Apex Legends devs already planning L-STAR changes for mid-Season 9 update Respawn EntertainmentApex Legends’ L-STAR has failed to make a splash on the battle royale in recent months; the Energy LMG gets ditched for basically any other gun in the class as soon as possible. However, the devs are looking at ways to make it more viable — just not right away in Season 9. The L-STAR is a bit of an anomaly in Apex Legends. The Energy LMG doesn’t have your regular magazine system, instead working on an ‘overload’ mechanic, giving you an infinite magazine at the expense of having to cool down every so often. Up close, it’s a huge threat. That makes it great in the early game in drop fights. However, if someone yoinks your ammo, you’re left with nothing but a paperweight. It doesn’t have a ‘magazine’, so there’s no bullets in the L-STAR when you pick it up. You need the ammo stacks. Apex Legends players have since petitioned to try and give the L-STAR some base ammo. While Respawn is hesitant to add that, developers have added that they are looking at L-STAR changes as a whole in Season 9, but they’ll come after the launch of the Legacy update. “It’s not a problem every time because guns have their ammo spawn next to them, but it definitely is too common that you get one with 0 ammo and can’t use it,” developer David ‘AmusedApricot’ Bocek explained on Reddit. The idea of adding flat ammo to the L-STAR isn’t the solution, in Bocek’s eyes, because it can be abused in a lot of edge cases to farm energy ammo. To try and exclude those cases would make things too confusing for casual players. Instead, they’ve got other solutions in mind. Read More: Apex Legends reveals new Legend Valkyrie – “There’s one that we think is a decent solution, it has some weirdness but I think it’s worth it for the benefits. But, from the technical side, it gets pretty hairy and has the potential for lots of bugs,” Bocek admitted. “We have some initial work done, but it wasn’t ready for the next season launch.” While he didn’t explain the exact changes, hopefully, it won’t be much longer until the L-STAR becomes a bit nicer to use — at least in this aspect.

Apex Legends devs looking to fix hybrid mouse and controller aim assist exploit RespawnFixing an extremely devastating Apex Legends exploit allowing players to use controller aim assist with a mouse and keyboard is on the developers’ to-do list, but pros have doubts it’ll be solved soon. Controller players that would otherwise struggle keeping up with their PC brethren in multiplayer cross-platform games such as Apex Legends benefit greatly from the aim assist tool. While aim assist has been a controversial addition to many games, there’s no denying that it’s needed to give controller users a fair shot when competing against the pin-point accuracy a mouse provides. That said, some Apex Legends players have been taking advantage of it, and use an exploit that gives mouse and keyboard users the power of controller aim assist. It’s been acknowledged by the dev team and they’ll look into fixing it. I have no idea how long that will take because there is definitely bigger problems to worry about right now but at least they are aware. — FURIA Jxmo (@Jxmo_1) July 4, 2021 Cloud9 Apex Legends star PVPX rallied against this exploit on Twitter, calling on Respawn to do something about it. “Hybrid (use of MnK + Controller at the same time) needs to be removed from Apex Legends,” he said and revealed he would be contacting a dev privately to solve the problem. In a video, PVPX showed that players would tape down the left trigger on their controller while it’s plugged into their PC and set their sprint bound to LT so the game would think it’s permanently controller. https://twitter.com/brandyberry_14/status/1411776726384979968 “You can play mouse and keyboard and it never swaps to the mouse and keyboard input. You get aim assist on mouse and keyboard,” he explained while shooting at targets. “Dude, it’s like I’m aim-botting!” In a follow-up tweet, he explained how the devs plan on fixing it, but didn’t hold out on it being anytime soon. “I have no idea how long that will take because there is definitely bigger problems to worry about right now but at least they are aware.” Some of those problems include fixing DDoS attacks and hackers plaguing Titanfall, which have been ongoing for two years. In early July, a hacker hijacked Apex Legends to spread awareness of the “Save Titanfall” movement. It’s unclear how simple of a fix this will be for the dev team, but at least they’re working on finally taking care of this major integrity issue with the game.

Apex Legends devs looking into OP punches that are like MW2’s Commando Respawn EntertainmentAs Apex Legends continues to evolve, the punching mechanic remains an integral part of gameplay, although players, and now Respawn, have noticed that it can be a little overpowered. With Apex Legends’ newest Collection event, Genesis now complete, we’re in the final stretch of Season 9. Part of this is the Thrillseekers mini-event. Bringing us an all-new series of limited-time skins, as well as new Arenas map, Overflow, and it’s a good one. Coming into the event, though, there’s something that players are begging Respawn to nerf. No, it isn’t the Spitfire or EVA-8 – it’s the (not so) humble punch mechanic. Apex Legends punch is OP Often when players are fighting along the boundaries of the ring, the temptation to punch people out into the flames for a quick and easy kill is all too real. However, one player has shown just how insane the melee attack is in a Twitter clip. In a 1v1 against an enemy Wraith, the enemy is able to land multiple hits on them, despite the massive distance between each player. Stating “yeah punching isn’t an issue at all,” the clip went viral on Twitter. Yeah punching isn’t an issue at all @PlayApex pic.twitter.com/bWcrdu3v2R — Light (@lightstarjo) July 14, 2021 Respawn “looking into” OP punches In response, Apex Legends Producer, Josh Medina, has confirmed that the devs will be checking the One Punch Man-style punches. Read More: How to fix Apex Legends Code: Wheel error – “Reminds me of commando and Tac Knife,” he notes, referencing the infamous Commando perk from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Designed to increase melee distance, players could hit you with a knife attack from ridiculous distances. “I’ll see if anyone has looked into this,” he said. Reminds me of commando and Tac Knife 🔪 lol I’ll see if anyone has looked into this — Josh Medina (@lowkeydbjosh) July 14, 2021 So if you’re sick to death of tagged by melee attacks from way too far away, Respawn are on the case.

Apex Legends devs keeping eyes on Caustic after hefty Chaos Theory nerfs Respawn EntertainmentCaustic was nerfed hard in the Apex Legends Chaos Theory update, but the developers responded to claims they had gone too far and said they’re keeping an eye on the situation. Caustic is one of the most polarizing characters in Apex Legends. He’s fun to play; however, he’s a nightmare to play against, especially in close quarters. After being one of the most dominant legends for a while — at least casually — he was finally nerfed in the Apex Legends Chaos Theory update. His Ultimate Nox Gas Grenade’s cooldown was increased from 2.5 minutes to 3.5 minutes, and its damage was reduced from 6 – 12 health per tick to a flat rate of 5. It’s a massive nerf. But some players felt like the developers had gone too far. One of them expressed their concerns in a Reddit post, and the thread blew up. However, the devs are assuring players that compensation buffs are on the table if the nerfs hit too hard. “If he pans out to be too weak after these changes, we’ll act accordingly,” developer John ‘JayBiebs’ Larson said. “Granted, the ult got hit hard with the minute increase [and] damage nerf, [but] barrels and gas in general still offer a ton of utility in a lot of scenarios.” “Caustic needed a nerf, and I anticipate this will bring him more in line with other traditionally defensive players while maintaining his area denial power and versatility. We have to wait and see how it plays out in the live game. I’ll be playing Caustic myself, reading feedback, and monitoring the data.” Most people agree that he needed a nerf, but not to the point where his skills are ineffective. If anything, the developers might need to tone them back a little, depending on player feedback. It will be interesting to see how the situation plays out and whether the nerfs will stand.

Apex Legends loot fix is coming in next Season 9 update Respawn EntertainmentApex Legends Season 9 next patch promises to implement fixes for a whole host of issues, including problems with loot spawns. Apex Legends highly anticipated ninth season, Legacy, didn’t quite off to the running start that a lot of fans were hoping for due to server issues. A host of connection problems meant that, unfortunately, fans weren’t able to get their hands on new Legend Valkyrie as soon as they thought they would. Even with the servers all fixed, one issue that remains is the loot pool. Thankfully, the devs are on the case. Apex players discover loot problems Popular streamer Daltoosh took to Twitter on May 6 to discuss his thoughts on the new Season, pointing out a significant decrease in the number of backpacks and rare armors. Writing that “backpacks seem rare, blue and [purple] armor feel less common than before and there seems to be a metric f**kload of shield cells everywhere,” a brief glance at the comments showed that the issue was a systemic one. Backpacks seem rare, blue and purp armor feel less common than before and there seems to be a metric fuckload of shield cells everywhere. Not sure if it’s just me so if other people wanna chime in feel free — Daltoosh🎒 (@daltoosh) May 6, 2021 Apex Producer promises that fix is coming In response to Daltoosh’s original comment, Apex Legends’ Producer, Josh Medina, jumped in to let fans know that the devs were aware of this issue. He’s now on confirmed that a fix is in the works and that it will be implemented in the patch that drops on the week beginning May 17. Writing that “along with next weeks patch we should resolve the issue around Loot items in [Battle Royale] especially backpacks,” he promises that players are in for “lots of hot fixes.” Along with next weeks patch we should resolve the issue around Loot items in BR especially backpacks lol Lots of hot fixes coming your way in the next week 😎 https://t.co/yUo1cBaZof — Josh Medina (@lowkeydbjosh) May 11, 2021 These will also rectify the unintentional Wattson nerf that’s rendered her Tactical fences absolutely useless. So good news for both Wattson mains and the larger playerbase alike! We’ll finally be able to snag a backpack five minutes into our games instead of twenty.

Apex Legends devs fix account reset issues following bugged update Respawn EntertainmentRespawn has responded to multiple players complaining of lost progression and Apex Legends account resets among other issues. Multiple Apex Legends players have reported account resets and loss progression in the Respawn title across X and Reddit after the April 2 update. One player posted that they went from level 300 to 189, lowering their stats across the board and that they seemed to no longer own the game’s battle pass. Others have said they have lost heirlooms, had cross-progression removed, badges disappear, and had Apex Legends coins given or taken away. Respawn has responded to player outcry, posting on social media that they are looking into the issue. “We’ve seen your reports about account resets in Apex Legends and are investigating. We’ll let you know as soon as we have an update on the issue,” the developer said. The update was only supposed to reset players’ rank back a few levels for the new split and update that store rotation. Respawn sent out another update later that day, saying they have rolled out an update to fix the issue and any account logging in after it will not see any lost progression or content. “For players who are missing progress or content after our update this morning – please hang tight for now. We’re working on an additional fix to restore your accounts to their state before our update, and we’ll let you know as soon as it’s ready,” the developer said. Respawn later took the Apex servers down to deploy a fix and apologized to players for the inconvenience. Hours later, the company announced that player’s accounts should be mostly fixed and that the servers are back online. “As a result of this evening’s rollback, we’re working to restore progress made throughout the course of yesterday. Additionally, we’ve had to postpone the new Ranked Split and will roll it out at a later date — more info to come,” the statement said. This assumed bugged update comes just a few weeks following a high-profile hack during a professional Apex Legends match that impacted multiple players. This specific incident seems to be more of an issue on Respawn’s end, instead of an intentional cyber sabatoge, however it does not instil confidence in the developer from the community to have these two misfortunes occur back to back. This article will be updated as Respawn releases more information.

Accidental Wattson nerfs ‘will be fixed’ in next Apex Legends Legacy update Respawn EntertainmentApex Legends devs Respawn have confirmed the major Wattson nerfs that accidentally shipped in Season 9: Legacy should be solved by the time the battle royale’s next update rolls around. Season 9: Legacy dropped in Apex Legends on May 4, making a number of significant changes to the battle royale’s established meta. Players now spawn in with basic equipment, called a Starter Kit. Valkyrie, too, has dropped in-game, bringing with her a plethora of utility, mobility, and fire-power. Despite the exciting new additions, Legacy has found itself frustratingly plagued with server and connection issues, as well as some issues with loot not dropping as it is supposed to. There also appear to be some pretty big issues with Apex’s Static Defender Wattson, in the form of a major – and totally unintentional – nerf. The issues were highlighted on Twitter by @lilakeyLK, who said: “[Wattson’s] fences no longer stun or slow enemies… I’d imagine this is because the Arc Star stun/slow has been removed, and they probably had some shared code (…I’m an expert, totally)… it’s a massive nerf to her kit in the meantime.” Attached to the tweet was a clip showing Bangalore moving seamlessly through a Wattson fence, without incurring any movement penalties. A first-person POV of passing through a fence shows some visual distortion but no penalties other than that. The tweet garnered a lot of attention, including from Respawn developer ‘pav’, who responded: “Sending this off to the team. Thanks!” Since that original tweet, the Apex Legends devs seem to have been hard at work on solving the unintended Wattson nerfs. In fact, they appear to have solved the problem entirely; Respawn comms director Ryan K. Rigney confirmed on Twitter on May 11 that they were “aiming to get Wattson fence fixes out in a patch next week,” before adding “that one sucks.” The unintentional Wattson nerfs being fixed took the back seat this week, however, in favour of the over-powered Bocek Bow. The new compound weapon was nerfed in patch 1.67 alongside several Spitfire changes.

Apex Legends devs investigate battle pass bug that makes it impossible to complete Respawn EntertainmentApex Legends developers have begun investigating a bug that is preventing battle pass level-ups. It seems the string of bugs and glitches affecting Apex Legends Season 13 is set to continue to the second half of the season. While the recent July 13 update fixed Wraith’s hit-reg bug and Loba’s bracelet again not working, a new glitch has popped up among the community. Respawn Entertainment developers are now looking into reports that Season 13’s battle pass isn’t progressing for some players, making it impossible to complete. Apex Legends devs investigate battle pass bug The bug first came to the developer’s attention on July 13, with Twitter user YuukiSoulless tweeted out the issue to Respawn’s live support member, Pav. The player claimed they had “leveled up 3 times” but the battle pass was seemingly stuck at Level 67. Pav responded to the tweet confirming that the “team is investigating this issue right now.” Unfortunately, it seems as though Respawn has yet to figure out a solution to the bug, as the following day, Pav responded to another tweet, this time with a screenshot of the issue. The following day, another player posted a video of the glitch in motion. In the video, the player earns enough battle pass experience to level up from level 105 to 106, but after the match summary ends and the player arrives back at the lobby, the battle pass level remains at 105. This could potentially be a big problem for players striving to complete the battle pass before Season 13’s reaches its end. While Season 14 is expected to start around August 8, 2022, that doesn’t leave much time left for players still working to earn their battle pass rewards for Season 13. For now, it seems the only solution for those affected is to reach out to EAHelp on Twitter or visit EA’s official help website here until Respawn rolls out a patch.

Apex Legends devs hit Wingman with huge nerf after making it OP in Season 20 EA / Respawn EntertainmentApex Legends developers have nerfed the popular Wingman pistol in Season 20, after making it overpowered with the new season changes. Respawn placed the Wingman in the care package, a welcome move as both casual and pro-Apex Legends players alike felt it was too strong to remain ground loot. Since being in the care package players have still loved using the Wingman, utilizing the digital threat scope and large ammo reserve to mow down enemy legends through smoke or at range. Respawn have now deemed the Wingman too powerful though, and have quickly rolled out a patch to bring it back down to earth. Apex Legends Wingman nerfs “Heads up, legends: we’ve tweaked the Wingman in @PlayApex a bit,” said Respawn, detailing four changes in total. Ammo Reserves 110 to 90: The Wingman’s ammo reserve has been cut by 20 bullets, meaning players will have to choose their shots more carefully. Boosted Loader has been removed: The Boosted Loader perk allowed players to gain extra bullets in their magazine by timed reloads perfectly, but this is no longer an option. The Optic is permanently a 1x HCOG: Previously, the care package Wingman arrived fitted with a removable Digital Threat scope. However, players will now no longer get the option to use the Wingman with a Digital Threat, nor any other scope, and must use the 1x HCOG. The Wingman has always been a strong Apex Legends gun, whether inside a Supply Drop or not, and only time will take whether these changes have any significant effect on it’s place in the meta.

Apex Legends devs hint at scan meta changes coming in future updates Respawn EntertainmentApex Legends devs have addressed the scan meta that has taken over the game in the last few seasons and hinted that a set of changes are potentially on the horizon. Balancing characters in Apex Legends can be a difficult task for the devs, especially if they’re overpowered at release, as there’s always a risk that a nerf will take away from what makes the Legend fun. While Escape’s Incisive Instigator Ash is sitting comfortably with a 9.2% overall pick rate, last season’s Legend Seer has plummeted in popularity to a 2.1% pick rate. Respawn decided to buff Seer’s Tactical slightly in the recently released Raiders Collection event patch notes, and they also addressed the infamous scan or “reveal meta” that the Ambush master helped to create. Apex Legends devs address future of scan or “reveal meta” During the Seer section of the Raiders Collection Event patch notes, the devs addressed the scan meta that took over Season 10 and forced them to implement some huge nerfs to the Ambush Master. Hinting at some potential changes in the future, they expressed that they’d be evaluating the Legends that fall into the scan or “reveal meta” and attempting to improve it over time: “We want to improve its feel while continuing to evaluate the reveal meta as a whole.” This makes sense as Seer has completely fallen out of the meta and simply buffing his kit isn’t a long-term solution. It may require Respawn to change some of the scan abilities on a number of Legends, which could be what they’re hinting at by saying that they’re looking to “improve the feel” of the scan meta. For now, it’s hard to know what changes Respawn has in mind, but with Seer sitting at such a low pick rate, it’s likely he’ll need tweaking if they ever want him back as a strong pick. With the devs evaluating the meta as a whole, we’ll just have to wait and see which direction they decide to take the scan and reveal Legends, especially with new arrivals in future seasons.

Apex Legends devs hint at new undiscovered Star Wars easter egg Just hours after the Apex Legends community finished their hunt for the firing range easter egg, which brought training dummies to life in the practice yard, Respawn devs have hinted there’s still other secrets hidden in the game. Apex players across the internet have been caught in an elaborate easter egg hunt over the past few days, after Rayme Vinson dropped hints about secrets hidden in the Firing Range, leading many to go to extreme limits to find the egg. There was a wash of relief, then, when Reddit user ‘Maddazefc’ discovered the NPC test dummies activation on December 4, bringing the elaborate treasure hunt in Respawn’s battle royale to an end—only for Manny Hagopian to drop another. According to the game writer, who worked on Respawn’s Titanfall franchise, as well as Apex and more recently Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, he slipped a little easter egg of his own into the game, right when Fallen Order first released. Apparently, the new secret, which Hagopian has shared relatively few details on so far, has been right under our noses since at least October, and maybe earlier depending on when the writer got his hands on the code. “As everyone seems to be excited about easter eggs now, I’m reminded of a Star Wars Jedi one I put in Apex Legends before the launch of Fallen Order,” he admitted on Twitter on December 4. “I wonder if anyone has found it yet…” As everyone seems to be excited about Easter Eggs now, I’m reminded of a #JediFallenOrder one I put in #ApexLegends before the launch of JFO. I wonder if anyone has found it yet…. — Manny “No Fart Jokes Plez” Hagopian (@MannyHagopian) December 5, 2019 It makes sense for there to be a bit of crossover between Respawn’s two flagship games at the moment, especially considering other battle royales like Fortnite are buying into Star Wars hype, and have held crossovers with franchises like the Avengers in the past. Apart from a leaked Pathfinder skin based around a color-palette change to look like Fallen Order hero Cal Kestis’ sidekick droid BD-1, Apex hasn’t had much to do with Disney’s franchise, which players have been disappointed with considering a huge Star Destroyer was parked above Fortnite’s map during its last event. Now, it seems like, there’s at least a little slice of Fallen Order hidden somewhere in Apex’s Season 3 adventures, if players can find it. Just like Vinson and his training program easter egg hints, Hagopian has conceded he may have to give players a few bread crumbs to find the secret that he dropped into the game, starting straight after revealing the existence of the egg. “Clue one: ‘With 4 he flies toward a future of double,’” the developer revealed, before adding that players shouldn’t expect something as cool as “king Rayme Vinson.” “Keep in mind, I write words for both games.” This suggested Hagopian has potentially hidden a voice line, or interaction, into the code for one or more of the characters, based around something to do with Fallen Order’s well-received storyline, which he had a hand in creating. The dev has also promised more clues in the coming days if players haven’t been able to find the egg yet, so keep an eye out if you want to get a bit of help in finding the slice of Star Wars hidden somewhere in World’s Edge and Apex’s third season. And with the fact that both Vinson and Hagopian have dropped their own eggs into the game, hunters should be on the lookout for clues from other developers—if there’s two to find, there’s probably more already hidden.

Apex Legends devs have plans for Horizon changes after her big nerfs Respawn/EARespawn Entertainment have revealed that they’ve got changes lined up for Horizon, but they aren’t revealing exactly what Apex Legends fans can expect just yet. After weeks of waiting, Respawn have finally confirmed that the next Apex Legends Collection Event will be known as Genesis, bring back Kings Canyon, and Revenant will get an heirloom. On top of the retuning map and new cosmetics, there will also be changes to the current crop of legends. Players have already made their feelings known about the Wattson ‘buff’ that has been lined up, calling it a “troll” and an “insult” to Wattson mains. Horizon mains also wanted changes, but the Scottish astrophysicist was absent from the list of buffs and nerfs. Some Horizon users quickly made their disappointment known across social media, offering up ideas for ways in which the Apex Legends devs could change her – mainly in terms of giving her a slight buff. While he didn’t say exactly what they’ve got planned, Respawn’s Josh Medina did confirm that they’re cooking up some changes for Horizon. “She got stuff in the oven,” he said, replying to SoaR Gaming’s Andre ‘Draynilla’ Jospeh, attaching a timer clock emoji as well. There’s no telling exactly when these changes may drop into the battle royale, perhaps at the start of next season, seeing as they may have missed the cut for the Collection Event. Respawn have already said that they’ve got “good” changes coming for Rampart in Season 10, but they’ll come during a mid-season update, rather than at the very start. Maybe Horizon is on a similar path as Rampart, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Apex Legends devs give update on fix for code:wheel error ruining games Respawn/EARespawn Entertainment have responded as numerous Apex Legends players have flagged that the ‘code: wheel’ error message is ruining their matches at vital points. Just like another multiplayer game, Apex Legends has had its fair share of issues in the past – be it with map exploits, legend abilities not working, overpowered guns, and way beyond. There are also issues on the server-side of things, usually ending up a match suffering from lag or ultimately crashing at some point. The most infamous, and annoying, of these issues was the code: leaf error message that popped up to prevent players from finding matches. Thankfully, that got ironed out by Respawn, but another error has taken its place – code: wheel. This error code has started popping up with more regularity following the Genesis Collection Event update, and there doesn’t appear to be any rhyme or reason as to why. The error isn’t an entirely new one, either, as it’s popped up before. Some players have experienced it in the legend select stage, which then prevents them from joining a game. Others say it’s happened to them with fighting it out with another team in the final circle. Well, it’s on Respawn’s radar to fix. “I’m going to keep this short as I don’t have much to offer; We are investigating,” said Respawn’s exgeniar, responding to Reddit comments about the issue. Other devs also got involved with the comments, suggesting that they may be able to get it fixed soon. “We are working on it, hoping for a resolution tomorrow,” added lead software engineer Samy ‘ricklesauceur’ Duc. This is just one clip of that damn endless CODE:WHEEL & LEAF, It’s been 2 straight days that this has been happening to me and it also looks like I’m not the only one having this problem. I don’t know if the Devs are aware of this issue, i hope that it gets resolve, literally unplayable in my case byu/kyriega inapexlegends Comment byu/kyriega from discussion inapexlegends While Duc says that the devs are hoping for a resolution soon, roadblocks could pop up that mean a fix gets delayed. Respawn are also trying to iron out a few other server-side issues, so it could just be that they roll out a hotfix rather than a full-blown update. Though, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Apex Legends devs give another update on potential solos mode Respawn/EARespawn Entertainment have, again, shut down the idea of bringing a solo mode to Apex Legends despite the fact players are unrelenting in their quest to see it added. When Apex Legends first launched, it was set up in a pretty unique way to other battle royales. Instead of offering solos, duos, trios, and quads, Respawn’s game only allowed you to play in teams of three before a duo mode followed. Naturally, players were hoping that they’d get a solos mode before long too, but that hasn’t been the case. Sure, there are workarounds like using the ‘no fill’ option in duos and trios, but a dedicated solos mode remains at the top of many request lists. So, with Season 18 finally launching, it was one of the main things put to the devs. However, Respawn aren’t playing ball. Respawn shut down solos mode idea for Apex Legends again Around the new season, the devs have been providing plenty of answers about the changes they’ve made to the battle royale – and that included a question-and-answer session with the game’s dedicated subreddit. Naturally, plenty of questions were asked about Revenant Reborn and the weapon meta, but that age-old question about a potential solos mode popped up too. According to the Redditors involved in the Q&A, Respawn said it’s “not planned” as a mode for the battle royale given that Apex is a team game, and they even shut down the idea of it being a part of the Mixtape rotation. That answer will no doubt disappoint plenty of Apex players who have been desperate for a Solos mode for quite some time. As noted, there are ways to play solo in duos and trios mode by using the no-fill option. Though, you’ll be outnumbered in most situations, so it’s hardly ideal.

Apex Legends devs gift free pack to players affected by game-breaking Bangalore skin Respawn EntertainmentTo compensate for the game-crashing MIL-SPEC Bangalore skin, Respawn has gifted affected Apex Legends players a free thematic pack. To celebrate Bangalore’s Stories From the Outlands cinematic, Respawn released a Legendary MIL-SPEC skin available in the store to buy for premium currency. This skin was bought by countless players who immediately began queuing for a match to test it out in-game. Unfortunately, the community quickly realized that if a player had the skin equipped and picked Bangalore during character selection, the game would instantly crash. Of course, the devs were quick to act and temporarily disabled the cosmetic until a fix was implemented on January 13. Now, to apologize for the inconvenience, Respawn has left a small gift for anyone who was affected by the bug. Respawn compensate those affected by Bangalore MIL-SPEC bug As the MIL-SPEC skin was only available to purchase via premium currency, Respawn received a lot of backlash over the game-breaking bug. So, to apologize for the issue, the devs have gifted any players affected with a free thematic Bangalore pack. It’s worth noting that the pack will only be available to those who purchased the MIL-SPEC skin between January 4 and January 13, as this was the time in which it was disabled. The free gift should appear automatically in your account if you qualify for the pack, so there are no steps you need to follow to get your hands on one. As a final follow-up on the @playapex bug that impacted the Bangalore MIL-SPEC skin: We will be granting 1 Bangalore thematic pack today to all players who purchased the skin from Jan 4-13. — Respawn (@Respawn) January 20, 2022 While a single thematic pack may seem slightly underwhelming, a lot of players have expressed their appreciation towards Respawn for taking responsibility and compensating those affected. “Free things for a bug? That’s awesome, hope y’all continue doing this for other big issues.” We’ll have to see if Respawn continues to gift players free packs in the future when major bugs affect the playerbase. However, this may be an isolated event as those affected purchased the skin with premium currency, making it a particularly frustrating problem.

Apex Legends devs are finally reverting accidental Wattson nerfs ruining Legend Respawn EntertainmentRespawn have revealed they’re finally working on fixing the accidental Wattson nerfs that broke the Apex Legends character’s defensive ultimate and punted the French legend deeper into meta irrelevance in Season 10. Wattson has been struggling to make an impact in Apex Legends over the past few months, thanks to a Season 10 glitch accidentally shipped in the battle royale’s Evolution update. The main problem, Wattson players quickly discovered, was her Pylon ultimate was no longer blocking projectiles at the same range it was in Season 9 and earlier. Some grenades would also detonate in the radius despite the ult being live, directly nerfing Wattson’s strongest ability. The glitch immediately tanked Wattson’s win rate. Even worse, what Respawn has now confirmed is a coding error was popping up in Arenas and the Firing Range too, ruining Wattson across the entire game. That was on September 16, exactly a month ago, and Wattson has yet to be touched, despite the problem being flagged. The issues have seen many fans of the French defender jump ship over the past few weeks, dropping her Apex Legends play rate down to a meager 1.7% this season. Breathe easy though Wattson players — the wait is over. Respawn have remained relatively quiet on the accidental nerfs outside of a brief promise it had been “sent to the team” a month, but dev Ryan K. Rigney broke that streak on October 14 during an impromptu Q&A on Reddit. Rigney confirmed Respawn’s dev team is already “working on the ultimate fix now,” but remained hushed about any other planned Wattson changes. He also added he was “unsure” about when the ultimate fix will ship. There’s a good chance the solution may come sooner rather than later, however. Dexerto expects Respawn to aim for the Season 11 update in just over two weeks. Wattson is also in line for several changes in the Apex Legends Season 11 update, including a handful of buffs to make up for Respawn removing Low Profile from her, as well as several hitbox nerfs to “keep her in check.” That’s not all Wattson players can expect next month either; designer John Larson has revealed the Apex Legends devs are working on increasing the French legend’s “fun factor” to bump her play rate up. He said, “There’s a lot of usability there we can change, a lot of changes with the ultimate.” Wattson will be joined in the upcoming Season 11 patch notes by Gibraltar and Crypto. Valkyrie’s popularity spike put her in Respawn’s crosshairs too.

Apex Legends devs finally fix “annoying” ranked trials issue Respawn EntertainmentRespawn have released an update to their hit game Apex Legends, changing the way that ranked trials work to make it easier for players to rank up – and they’re delighted. Respawn released Apex Legends Season 19 with a whole host of balance changes like nerfs to the 30-30 Repeater and Hemlok. The developers also gave buffs to other weapons and legends, like a buff to the Bocek, but the biggest change – besides the arrival of the new Legend, Conduit – arrived in the form of an overhaul to ranked. The requirements to reach higher ranks in Apex Legends were changed. Players no longer only needed LP to rank up, but also had to complete “Promotional Trials,” to rank up, like needing to win a game and also get 3 top 10 placements. However, on December 20, Respawn announced that they had made changes to the Promotional Trials, and here is everything you need to know about them. Respawn adjust Apex Legends Season 19 Ranked Trials Promotional Trials previously involved a main condition, getting a win, and a secondary condition. Respawn has adjusted Apex Legends’ ranked game mode to make the secondary condition easier to achieve for reaching ranks Platinum and below. An example of this would be now only needing to get two top 10 placements instead of needing three top 10 placements to rank up. Players responded with mixed feelings about the changes, with some liking it, and others thinking there were more urgent problems with the game. Apex Legends content creator SoaR Dray thought the update was a step in the right direction for making ranked more accessible for solo players: “WWWW. great update to help solo q players. would love to see less of an entry cost for solo q players too,” they commented. However other players felt that the change didn’t change their feelings towards Season 19. “You should fix matchmaking, for me promo trials weren’t an issue,” another person complained. Another player agreed pointing out a need for hidden MMR. “Can we not have a hidden MMR..? I’d like to play with people who are actually my level. I get rookies and bronze teammates in diamond/master ranks.. and they’re LOST LOST,” they said. This update comes after news that shocked the Apex Legends community after a suspected Discord for cheaters was exposed.

Apex Legends devs finally confirm fix for broken Valkyrie Ultimate Respawn EntertainmentThe long-standing bug completely breaking Valkyrie’s Ultimate is finally being patched in Apex Legends, with the devs confirming that a fix is “imminent”. With a new Legend being released every season in Apex Legends, it’s hard to know whether their popularity will last, or whether they’ll fade into the background and become a niche pick. One character that’s always maintained her place as a fan-favorite Legend is Valkyrie, the Winged Avenger. Arriving in Season 9, Valkyrie’s high-flying playstyle makes her difficult to pilot properly, but rewarding if you can master her kit. Due to her impressive mobility and verticality, Revenant and her have always been a strong combination, but a frustrating bug with the character’s Ultimates has sometimes held the pair back. Well, after two seasons, the devs have finally confirmed a fix is on the way and it’s got Valk mains very excited. Devs confirm fix for long-standing Valkyrie Ultimate bug If a player uses Revenant’s Death Totem then attempts to use Skyward dive with Valkyrie, they’re left suspended in the air and unable to exit the animation. This will always result in the squad being wiped as they’re unable to fight back. Despite calls to fix the glitch back in Season 9, it remains an issue for Valk and Revenant mains in Escape, as showcased by Brazenjasobian. However, shortly after the thread was created, an Apex Legends dev responded to the glitch and revealed that a fix for the bug is “imminent”. After two seasons of frustration, Valkyrie and Revenant players will soon be able to combine their Ultimate’s together without having to worry about being suspended mid-air. Although the patch that includes this fix hasn’t been rolled out yet, we can expect it to arrive very soon. While resolving this issue won’t make won’t turn Valkyrie into a top-tier Legend overnight, it’s great to see such a long-standing issue put to rest.

Apex Legends devs finally address bizarre invisibility glitch Respawn EntertainmentApex Legends developers Respawn Entertainment have responded to an issue that has caused players and their opponents to become invisible at random points during matches. Apex Legends launched back in February 2019, and while its launch featured very little bugs, the game has become increasingly hampered by glitches and issues as time has gone on. A recent issue has caused a lot of frustration among fans of the popular battle royale title, as players and enemies randomly disappear during matches, making it almost impossible to kill them or even deal damage. What makes this glitch so difficult to play against is the fact that players are completely invisible, apart from their weapon. While seeing a floating rifle floating past you may be funny for a moment, it’s not quite as humorous when they spin around, shoot you, and ultimately eliminate you from the match, as shown by Reddit user /u/kevine11. What has been causing the issue is currently unknown, but unsurprisingly fans of the game are annoyed by the problems and have been calling on Respawn to fix it as quickly as possible. Versions of this glitch have been reported as far back as April, but finally Respawn has addressed the issue, with a member of the development team taking to a Reddit thread about the glitch to confirm that they knew it was happening. “Hi all,” wrote Community Manager Jayfresh. “We’re aware of this and looking into it.” When Respawn will actually issue a fix for the glitch is unknown, but fans of the game will be hoping that it is sooner rather than later, as they continue to find themselves gunned down by enemies that they can’t see. It’s possible that the developers could release an update next week, but nothing has been confirmed just yet.

Apex Legends devs finally adding leavers penalty to Control LTM Respawn/EARespawn Entertainment are cleaning up some of the issues with the new Control LTM in Apex Legends, as they’ll finally be adding a leavers penalty for those players who abandon their squads. With the arrival of Apex Legends Season 12: Defiance, Respawn Entertainment brought in Control as the first, brand-new limited-time mode for the first time in a few updates. The 9-vs-9 mode works similar to Call of Duty’s iconic Domination mode, as teams fight it out for control of three separate points on the map, hoping to either rack up the goal of 1250 points or by locking out their opponents with complete domination. When the momentum of a game is going against a squad, it isn’t a shock to see them head back to the main menu, leaving their team down at least a player or two. While they aren’t punished for quitting early like they would be in the normal battle royale mode, that is changing before long. Players who leave Control matches before they are actually over will, soon, be subject to a penalty for doing so, as Respawn will be bringing in changes. The developers updated their Trello board, confirming that the early leavers’ punishment will be coming in a patch down the road. Though, there is no mention of just when that’ll be. If Respawn institutes the same punishments for quitting Control games early, players can expect to have a delay in their matchmaking as they’ll be sidelined for a few minutes. Additionally, the devs also be fixing the issue where players are unable to get the auto-recharge on their shield due to friendly Caustic gas being activated. So, even though it’s an LTM, Control is getting some love, which is good news for the vast numbers of players who have already taken a shine to the new mode.

Apex Legends devs exploring Wattson changes after “troll” Nessie buff Respawn/EARespawn Entertainment have revealed that they’re looking into some real changes for Wattson after fans complained about a “troll” buff coming in the Genesis Collection Event update. After countless rumors and plenty of speculation, Respawn Entertainment confirmed that the next Apex Legends Collection Event will be called Genesis and will signal the return of Kings’ Canyon. On top of the returning map and new cosmetics, the battle royale will also go through some changes, with a whole host of weapons being balanced, as well as a handful of legend changes. Amongst the announced changes is a meme buff for Wattson that will allow her to place down more Nessie toys. While some fans found it funny, not everyone did, and they quickly expressed their dismay at the lack of real change. Some fans labeled the change as a “troll” and “insult” from Respawn themselves, given that they recently said that the legend wouldn’t be buffed anytime soon. However, it wasn’t long before the Apex Legends developers responded and confirmed they’re exploring making some changes to Wattson, but it’s a tricky tightrope to walk. “Yeah, we’re working on stuff,” said Respawn’s Daniel Klein. “No ETA because it’s still very exploratory, but goals would be to make it more in the moment fun and powerful to play Wattson while removing some of the invisible power (because as I keep saying, Wattson does sport VERY high win rates).” Comment byu/paradoxally from discussion inapexlegends The ‘invisible power’ that Wattson has, as Respawn have described before, relates to how her abilities make you alter your gameplay. If you see a fence place down and you change your route, the Wattson has impacted you without actually dealing damage. It’s a difficult tightrope for Respawn to walk, but Wattson mains will be hoping they figure out some real changes sooner rather than later.

Apex Legends devs explain why World’s Edge train is stopped in Season 6 Respawn EntertainmentRespawn Entertainment have explained why the loot-filled train that roams the World’s Edge map will be stopped for Apex Legends Season 6, which is set to drop on August 18. The Apex Legends Season 6 launch is set to be the game’s largest update in the last few months, making a host of changes to the current meta. Obviously, the biggest change will be the introduction of Rampart, the new Legend. However, the World’s Edge map is also in for a significant shakeup, with a number of POIs receiving major changes. One of these is the loot-filled train, that carries top tier loot all around the World’s Edge environment. With news of the Season 6 map updates came news of the train’s course being halted. Thankfully, Respawn explained why they have chosen to dismantle the train and spread the fragments around World’s Edge. “The train has been stopped!” Respawn said. “For Season 6, the train has been dismantled and scattered around the tracks of World’s Edge. This single change helped us achieve one of our goals of providing more rotational options through some particularly scary chokepoints.” As it sounds, players will be able to find parts of the train distributed around the tracks, where there will still be loot and other valuable items. Respawn finished: “Nearly all tunnels that used to be clear for the train (and therefore, almost never used), now have static train cars and other cover, as well as some small amounts of loot.” Essentially, Season 6 will make more areas of the map relevant, areas that in the past would have simply been an area for the train to travel through. While the train has been stopped, the loot that can be found on it is still available – just spread out across the train’s old route, rather than in one moving location. Obviously, this change is subject to player feedback and Respawn’s will, so don’t expect this to be the last time the train is altered in Apex’s life-cycle.

Apex Legends devs explain why they’re skipping a new Legend in Season 16 Respawn EntertainmentRespawn Entertainment have confirmed that, for the first time in Apex Legends’ history, Season 16 will not bring a new Legend into the fray. Now, they’ve explained exactly why that is. Apex Legends players have grown accustomed to the addition of a new character with the inception of each season. Season 15 brought Catalyst, Season 14 brought Vantage, and so on. Season 16, as had been rumored via leaks, will skip the addition of a new legend. There’ll still be the typical buffs and nerfs to keep the meta evolving, but there won’t be an all-new character for players to get familiar with. The deviation from the established formula may be frustrating for some players who were hoping for new gear or abilities to learn but, ahead of the new season’s launch, Respawn have explained their thinking. Apex Legends devs reveal why Season 16 has no new legend They explained that Apex Legends’ player base has grown and improved with the game, meaning they want to place Season 16’s focus on evolving the meta and making the game playable for all players, rather than on new content. Game Director Steve Ferreira said: “This year we’re taking a hard look at how we can evolve the core gameplay experience to better match where players are today, as either a new player joining Apex for the first time, or as a seasoned Apex veteran.” On the same note, Design Director Evan Nikoloch said that the pause is aimed at everyone being able to ‘learn and master’ the new meta. This will come in the form of changes to Legend classification and major balancing adjustments. Throwing a new Legend into the mix, he suggested, might be too much for players to learn and understand. Nikoloch did confirm that Season 17 will return to the formula in terms of introducing a new legend. In short, the focus of Respawn this season is to overhaul what players know about Apex Legends, even if it means keeping the character pool as it is in the short term.

Apex Legends devs explain why they won’t change Wraith’s “outdated” passive Respawn/EARespawn Entertainment have explained why they haven’t got any plans to update Wraith’s tactical despite some Apex Legends fans feeling that it is a bit “outdated” these days. As new legends have been added to the mix in Apex Legends, some of the original characters have lagged behind a bit in terms of power and usefulness. Respawn Entertainment has put some of the original legends under the knife, updating them with reworked abilities and significant buffs. Though, not everyone has gotten this treatment after all this time. Wraith has undergone plenty of buffs and nerfs, but her abilities are largely the same as when the battle royale first launched. However, some players feel that she may need a rework, at least to her Voices from the Void passive, which warns players when they’ve been aimed at or enemies have died nearby. Apex Legends devs won’t update Wraith passive yet The passive, which has sort of been spread across other legends like Ash and Seer with similar abilities, is seen by some players as being slightly “outdated” and they want a change. Responding to one annoyed fan during the recent ‘Weapons and Legends’ AMA, Respawn’s Devan McGuire said things aren’t likely to change. “Just because a passive has been around for a while, doesn’t mean it doesn’t still have value,” the Apex dev said. “Generally, we prioritize changes to Legends that have problems to be solved, or have an imbalance in power that allows them to dominate unfairly or prevents them from being competitively viable. At present, we don’t feel that Wraith is victim to these concerns in a way that adjusting her passive would address.” Even though she’s not the undisputed top dog anymore in terms of pick rate, Wraith is still comfortably inside the top three most-used legends, so her competitive viability remains high. She may get looked at later down the line if that pick rate falls further, but for now, you’ll just have to keep rocking the same kit as ever.

Apex Legends devs explain why they won’t add Warzone-like loadouts Respawn/EARespawn Entertainment has, again, shut down the idea that Apex Legends might follow in the footsteps of Call of Duty: Warzone by adding weapon loadouts for players to get their preferred set of loot. For the most part, the formula of battle royale games has stayed the same and followed the path set by the likes of H1Z1 and PUBG. You drop into a game, loot up, and try to survive for as long as possible. With Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Call of Duty: Warzone taking over, there have been plenty of innovations, especially when it comes to getting loot. You now have the likes of loot vaults, care packages, and NPCs that all have high-value loot for you to take possession of. In the case of Warzone, they’ve raised the game with the introductions of loadouts, which allow players to set up their preferred weapons and pieces of equipment to grab during the fight to survive. Apex has, kind of, followed suit with game modes such as Arenas and Control, where players can pick what weapons they want to fight with before the action unfolds. However, if you’re counting on that happening in the main battle royale mode, well, you’re out of luck. Speaking to media ahead of the launch of Season 13, Respawn were quizzed on the possibility of bringing their own loadout-like system to the forefront. Evan Nikolich, Senior Design Director on Apex, shut it down with a simple message, stating that the devs “believe RNG is core to the BR experience.” Though, he did note that they have given players a bit more control over their loot with the addition of weapon crafting to replicators. As noted, Respawn hasn’t shied away from shutting down the idea of loadouts and it’s unlikely we’ll see a system implemented anytime soon. That could, of course, change at some point down the line, but they’d have to make sure that it makes sense for the battle royale experience, rather than just following what others are doing.

Apex Legends devs explain why they scrapped bomb-style mode for Arenas Respawn EntertainmentApex Legends Arenas mode has quickly become one of the game’s best additions, but the 3v3 round-based mode could have turned out very differently. Arenas is the latest addition to Apex Legends in Season 9, bringing with it adrenaline-fueled matches that share similarities with other round-based shooters. Instead of duking it out on the game’s massive 60 player battle royale mode, Arenas offers 3v3 firefights on smaller custom tailored maps. Not only does the new mode enable players to test their might against other squads, but it also helps players get straight into the action. Despite the positive reception around Arenas, many fans have been calling for leaver penalties and a ranked mode. Fortunately, Respawn has been eager to address these issues and has even hinted at the content they’d like to bring to Arenas. However, during a recent AMA, an Apex Legends dev outlined how the game’s Arenas could have been very different from the one we see today. Apex Legends tested a bomb style mode for Arenas As many players have noted, Apex Legends Arenas shares many similarities with other round-based shooters. Purchasing weapons, upgrading items, and earning cash are certainly very reminiscent of CS:GO and Valorant. The only thing missing is that of a plantable bomb. However, speaking over on the official Apex Legends Reddit page, Lead Game Designer Carlos Pineda gave insights on this feature. “We definitely playtested a bomb mode early in Arenas development,” says the Respawn developer. “It was… not as good as you think it would be… it creates a weird situation where you start looking at characters in context of the objective, and it really exposes how many of the characters aren’t built for a bomb mode.” It’s this design difference that directly contrasts games like Valorant, where the characters are purely designed around defending objectives and attacking them. While Apex Legends has a handful of traditional characters that would excel in a bomb mode, the vast majority would certainly struggle to shine. “At the end of the day, it was really important for Arenas that character abilities feel valuable. Now I get that not EVERY ability is valuable in Arenas, but 90% is way better than 25%.” It’s certainly not hard to see why Respawn has been keen to avoid an Arenas bomb mode, particularly when it would impact the meta so significantly. Whether Arenas will see the introduction of a bomb-style mode in the future remains to be seen, but for now, Respawn is focused on fixing the mode’s current issues.

Apex Legends devs explain why they didn’t buff snipers in Season 7 Respawn EntertainmentWhile snipers might be universally some of the most popular weapons in shooter games, some Apex Legends players were disappointed to not see them get a buff for Season 7 — but now a dev has explained why. [jwplayer iH0jrCdt] Snipers are iconic in FPS games, be it Modern Warfare 2’s Intervention or the AWP in Counter-Strike, but they’ve always somewhat struggled for relevancy within the Apex Legends meta, with it not quite as easy to take long-range engagements and win without pushing the opposing team. For those who have always been prone to sniping, this can be somewhat disappointing, and players have hoped to see some kind of buff for snipers to better equip them to take out enemies at a distance. As it goes, that hasn’t exactly happened with the launch of Season 7, and now a dev has explained why. Discussing the Season 7 patch notes on Reddit, Respawn designer David Bocek explained why, despite the Sentinel getting a slight buff with an improved energized ability, snipers won’t be getting a buff across the board. In a long, detailed comment, Bocek explained that “in season 2 with the DMR buff and season 3/4 with double sniper releases and World’s Edge being more sniper friendly, we were pushing to add more depth and long-range combat to the game,” but that “the execution definitely was not perfect.” That made them rethink how sniper rifles could work in Apex, settling on the notion that “the secret is to stop trying to make snipers strong enough to meaningfully have a negative impact on an enemy team.” Instead, they want to “focus on how to make using snipers more beneficial to the using team.” Bocek adds that what really helped snipers was Evo Armor everywhere, “getting a meaningful advantage that makes snipers more worth it, but you aren’t doing it at the direct expense of another player and making them frustrated.” As the dev concluded, it’s about balancing the wishes of players who are sniping, and players who are being sniped at: “Ideally the people who want to snipe because they like that gameplay can enjoy it and feel rewarded enough without making the broader community angry.” This won’t be the news some players want to hear, but it’s hard to argue with the logic behind Respawn’s reluctance to make snipers more effective in Apex. Snipers can and should still be used situationally, but you probably shouldn’t be expecting to be wiping entire lobbies with them any time soon.

Apex Legends devs explain why there’ll never be a sequel like Warzone 2.0 Respawn EntertainmentWith Respawn’s battle royale now over four years old, some fans have wondered whether it’ll get a sequel like its rival, Warzone 2.0. However, Apex Legends’ devs have explained why that will never happen. Apex Legends is now over four years old, with its original launch date of February 4, 2019. Since then, it’s spawned sixteen seasons of post-launch content and been played by over 130 million players. Its age has led some to the conclusion that it’ll soon be usurped by a sequel, in much the way the first Warzone was phased out in favor of a sequel by Activision. However, that appears to be a non-starter for Apex Legends, with Respawn explaining their exact thinking ahead of Season 16’s release. Respawn explain why there’ll never be Apex Legends 2 Specifically, Senior Design Director Evan Nikolich said that they’re keen to stick with Apex Legends and that the game will evolve, but not be replaced. “We’re committed to the philosophy of evolving the game,” he commented, “and we’ll keep building on the core game. There’s never going to be a sequel, [it] will always be Apex Legends. We react to the community and evolve, and continue to pivot in future seasons, adding new content, new legends too.” Season 16, for the first time in Apex Legends’ history, does not bring a new Legend to the fray. Respawn explained their emphasis has been on overhauling the meta and making the game more enjoyable for newer players and veterans. That looks to be the plan for the long haul, with the devs clearly favoring major updates over a move to a new game altogether. It’s certainly worked for other long-form live service titles, like Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege, which is approaching eight years old. Here’s hoping we see Apex still getting love from Respawn and EA in 2027.

Apex Legends devs explain why nerfing “must pick” Legends & guns is vital Respawn/EARespawn Entertainment have explained why they feel it’s important to nerf legends and weapons that become “must use” in Apex Legends as they aim to make it a “forever” game. Just like its battle royale rivals, Apex Legends has gone through a number of different metas over the last few years. Though, unlike those, Apex also has additional concerns around its roster of legends. Many players will stick with their favorite characters – be it because of their abilities or what cosmetics they’ve got unlocked for them – but there are times when it’s difficult to find success in the Apex Games without using one or two different characters. Most recently, Valkyrie has taken that spot as a must-use character because of her Skyward Dive ultimate, but Respawn believes it’s important to try and root out these types of metas. Respawn don’t want “must pick” metas in Apex Legends Ahead of the launch of Season 14: Hunted, Respawn senior design director Evan Nikolic explained the team is always thriving to keep things from going stale. “Anytime we see a meta gravitating towards something that becomes a must pick, a must do, that’s a non-choice that’s not interesting to us,” Nikolic told GamesRadar. “So we have to go in there and tend to the garden, pull out a few weeds, trim the trees a bit, and get more interesting choices back in there.” The Apex developers also want the battle royale to be around “forever” and that means keeping things new and interesting, while also being at the cutting edge with new innovations. With Season 14: Hunted, they are bringing in some sweeping changes with the updates to Kings Canyon and tweaking weapons, but there are plenty of players who aren’t happy with the current state of the game. So, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens moving forward with the battle royale.

Apex Legends devs explain reason behind Spitfire ammo change Respawn EntertainmentIn a recent AMA, Respawn developers addressed why the team changed the M600 Spitfire LMG to use Light ammo instead of Heavy in Season 14. Apex Legends’ Season 14 brought a lot of changes to the game, including a brand new Recon Legend and some major weapon updates. Two of the biggest changes came in the form of the ammo-type adjustments for both the Wingman and Spitfire LMG, with the Wingman now using sniper ammo while the Spitfire uses light ammo. Now, a recent AMA gave the dev team over at Respawn the opportunity to explain why they decided to change the Spitfire’s ammo type after 13 seasons. Spitfire ammo change explained As mentioned above, the explanation comes as part of a lengthy AMA held on the Apex Legends subreddit. Reddit user Aixcix asked what the reasoning behind the Spitfire’s ammo change was and explained that they felt there was a “real imbalance between the Light vs. Heavy Weapons in the lootpool.” In response, Apex Legends Senior Game Designer Eric Canavese responded that “It’s not always just the number of weapons within each ammo type,” in regards to the feelings of imbalance. “We look at many factors and one of the determining factors in this decision was the balance of medium to late game viable weapons within the ammo types.” This change was meant to provide balance to the early and late game weapon offerings, as opposed to the number of weapons in each ammo category. Cavanese went on to explain that “The early game light ammo offerings are plenty, but lack robustness towards the later stages of the game, whereas Heavy ammo had quite a fleshed out late game line up.” He brought up the example of when the R301 was added to the Crafter last season while the G7 Scout was brought into the Care Package. In that case, Cavanese explained that “it didn’t feel like light had enough viable weapons in the late game which pushed us into a lopsided heavy meta.” Considering many light weapons like the P2020, RE-45, and Alternator rarely see play in the late game, this change has already made quite the impact in its first season.

Apex Legends devs explain why they haven’t nerfed Seer despite dominance Respawn EntertainmentSeer has been the talk of the town in Apex Legends with players getting sick of his intel-gathering abilities. There are pleas for nerfs, which Respawn are hearing, but the developers haven’t been able to find the right changes for him just yet. It’s hard to get into a game of Apex Legends right now without being scanned by a Seer from every direction. While other scan Legends — Bloodhound, Valkyrie, and Crypto — have always had their place in the meta, Seer has replaced them all basically. The chorus of complaints is racking up from players as they beg Respawn for nerfs to the Ambush Artist. Pro players and casuals alike want something to happen, but the Apex Legends team hasn’t pulled the trigger. There’s a simple reason for it, according to developer Devan McGuire: they haven’t found the right Seer nerf yet. “Considering Seer’s recent rise into the Meta, we’re noticing the power of Seer’s passive taken to great extremes, and it’s been a big topic of discussion in our balance meetings,” he explained on Reddit. “We have no updates at this point, but targeting the power of Seer’s passive is something we have been actively looking into.” Seer’s passive ability, Heart Seeker, can hunt out enemies within 75 meters. All Seer has to do is spin around with his arms out and he can get a sense of who is around. This is incredibly useful knowledge when pushing into a new area on the map. It was the first thing Respawn nerfed once Seer dropped in Apex Legends Season 10, but it’s still one of the most powerful tools in the game to this day. It’s effectively a no cooldown scan with nearly 100% accuracy on an enemy’s position. That ability has also been a struggle for the developers to balance from day one. McGuire explained to players originally Seer’s Heart Seeker would notify enemies when they were being scanned — but it would actually hinder the Ambush Artist more than help. “Early in Seer’s development we actually prototyped giving enemies feedback when the heartbeat locked on,” he said. “Given that it was tied to Seer’s camera movement and actions it became an irritation to have any notification propagate to other clients and clouded other audio/scan combat information that actively affected the player. “It also angered Seer teammates to have enemies jump on them because the Seer was just ‘looking around’ and proc’d the intel to the opponents. “We even had the heartbeat play in the enemy player’s head at one point that told them they were being tracked. It was terrifying, and induced panic in players to feel constantly haunted by this presence, so we backed away from it.” The current iteration of Seer’s passive is much more powerful, so there has to be a balance. With pressure in regards to nerfing the wider scan meta too, there’s a lot Respawn has to consider when pushing out changes for him. The one thing they won’t do is give up his identity though, and until they find a way which includes the best of both worlds, there won’t be any Seer nerfs — or wider scan meta changes — in Apex Legends. “We are actively looking into the frustration that can come from these abilities and finding ways to reduce it without crippling the identity of the Legends who wield them,” McGuire added.

Apex Legends devs explain iron sight changes amid ‘pay-to-win’ controversy RespawnApex Legends developers Respawn Entertainment have provided more context to the battle royale’s iron sight changes, after players raised concerns over the ‘pay-to-win’ nature of some weapons’ base optics. Iron sights are difficult to balance for the devs of any shooter. They naturally vary depending on a weapon’s design, meaning every gun offers a slightly different base optic. That has proved problematic in Apex Legends, with players raising serious concerns about ‘pay-to-win’ iron sights on certain weapons. In particular, the VK-47 Flatline has come under scrutiny for its Heat Sink and Revelations weapons skins, which players believe afford unfair advantages to users because of their iron sights. Apex Legends devs announce nerfs to Flatline iron sights As weapon skins are purchasable for players, some have accused the BR of being ‘pay-to-win’, with those willing to invest money gaining in-game benefits. On September 16, though, Respawn provided an ‘Update on Iron Sights’, explaining that changes are being made to the contentious Flatline skins. They said: “Default iron sights are designed to push players to loot for better optics. We also believe that skins shouldn’t be a factor in the sights functionality as well… To make things as fair as possible, we wanted to address feedback for the Heat Sink skin and also update other skins we thought could be improved.” Attached were images of the adjusted iron sights, with the comments ending: “We believe that any competitive edge in Apex Legends should be gained by honing your skills and not due to any perceived advantages from buying gun skins.” Respawn went on to add more context via Reddit, where they expanded on the decision to nerf the weapon skins themselves, rather than the base Flatline. “We know that players will need a period of adjustment and that for those who primarily have been using Heat Sink—it does suck for now,” they acknowledged. “But we did need to make a decision that displays a classic example of a designer’s job: to diagnose and separate what the player and the game needs from what is wanted.” There could well be further adjustments down the line depending on player feedback and the stats behind the powerful AR. In spite of the potentially contentious changes, many praised Respawn for their transparency and the attention to detail in explaining the adjustments.

Apex Legends devs explain how Storm Point map will counter third-parties Respawn EntertainmentThird parties in Apex Legends have been a frustration for players since the game’s release, but the devs have claimed the Season 11 Storm Point map is designed to solve the issue. While a lot of gameplay issues in Apex Legends can be solved with a patch or update, third-partying is a lot more complicated and has always been something that Respawn has struggled to solve. For players, there’s nothing more frustrating than taking down an enemy squad, and then being immediately killed by another group that was waiting in the wings. This has become a particular problem on Kings Canyon, with pros even calling on the devs to make drastic changes to the way in which the map is laid out. Luckily, Respawn appears to have taken the feedback on board and claimed that Season 11’s Storm Point is designed to counter third parties. Respawn claims Storm Point will solve third-party problem While Kings Canyon, Worlds Edge, and Olympus are loved by the Apex Legends community, there has been criticism about their design over the years. As a result, a lot of players are hoping Storm Point addresses these issues, particularly when it comes to third parties and loot distribution. Luckily, it appears the devs have taken the feedback on board, revealing in the blog that the new tropical map is a product of studying how Apex players behave in matches and catering the map to fit their needs. “Storm Point is the sum of two years of design work and a close study of how Apex Legends plays in public”. Not only that, Respawn explained that a tremendous amount of thought has been put into designing the map to reduce third-party encounters, loot distribution issues, and improve combat engagement. “There are hundreds of micro-decisions built into the map to address bad third-party encounters, optimal loot flow, and combat engagement for a better gameplay experience”. This is incredibly exciting news for Apex players, as third-partying has been a recurring issue for the community since the title was released back in 2019. Only time will tell whether Storm Point will be the solution to the problem, but as the update goes live on November 2, there isn’t too long to wait.

Apex Legends devs explain how Season 2’s Ranked Leagues work A ranked mode is coming to Apex Legends Season 2 called Ranked Leagues and Respawn went in depth with how it will all work. With battle royale games rapidly becoming popular esports, it makes sense for Apex Legends to ride that wave with the inclusion of Ranked Leagues in Season 2. This new mode will give more competitive players something to grind towards as they start in the lowly Bronze rank and are able to climb all the way to the Apex Predator rank. We knew a competitive Apex Legends scene was on the horizon but we didn’t know what exactly to expect until now. After a lot of speculation from fans, the curtain has been dropped. On top of the ranked mode that will give you bragging rights over friends, you’ll also unlock special rewards at the end of the season depending on how far you climbed. This system will always try to match you up with players of similar skill type but the developers say this will not always be possible depending on when you are playing and what you are ranked. They say that you could be a Silver player getting matched with a Gold on occasion but they will be trying to get it as close as possible. Since Apex Legends has different classes, a special score will be implemented that rewards support players just as much as they’d reward the 15 kill Wraith player. This means all of you Gibraltar and Caustic players out there have nothing to worry about. Ranked Points are what will be used to play in the competitive playlist and players will either lose or gain them throughout a match. It costs RP to get into a match and you are able to earn back your points if you get kills, high placements, wins, etc. When does Ranked League begin? Ranked League kicks off with the start of Season 2 which is on July 2. There’s a lot to chew on with this new update and you can read the entire Reddit post from Respawn about the Ranked League implementation below. Hey everyone! We’re some of the Apex team responsible for Ranked mode (Tangentiallogic, pinedsman, and SpamminBandies), and we’re here to talk about the new Ranked Leagues feature in Apex Legends. Let’s dive into our philosophy, goals, and the nuts and bolts of how Ranked Leagues will work when they launch with Season 2 on July 2. We believe that Apex is a dynamic game that takes time and effort to master. Ranked Leagues should be the place where competitive players (or players who feel competitive now and then) can go to prove their skills and gain recognition for their efforts. Goals for Ranked Leagues With Ranked Leagues, we want to bring something new to Apex Legends that makes the game even more fun for our players. Let’s talk a little about our goals for the Ranked League feature overall. Reward competitive players for the time they invest in Apex Legends. We do this through a ranked ladder that shows how you stack up against the rest of the playerbase. Additionally, you will receive in-game rewards at the end of the season based on the rank you achieve. – Ensure competitive integrity through skill-based matchmaking. No one can really say they’re the best if all they do is stomp n00bs in Skulltown, so matchmaking in Ranked Leagues is focused on putting players of similar skill in the same match. You won’t always be playing against players of your exact tier (Silver players may compete with Gold players, for instance) but it will be as close as possible for your region and time of day. – Create a space at the top of the ladder for the best players to establish a high-skill meta without forcing a playstyle. We do this by rewarding match placement and kills, with some specific limits. After all, support or strategic players shouldn’t be rewarded less because they’re not getting 15 kills a game. We’re approaching scoring with an even hand that ensures the focus is on winning above all else. – Create a true measure of skill in Apex Legends. We’re starting out with a score-based ranked system (detailed in the Scoring section below), but we don’t intend for this to last forever. We’ll be watching Ranked players closely to see what determines success on the ladder, what types of players climb the quickest, and how the high-skill metagame plays out. Our goal is to take data from the launch of Ranked Leagues and adjust the system over time. So, players should expect seasonal soft-resets where your ranks get pushed back down for a new season, as well as changes to the scoring system, matchmaking system, and ultimately the ranked format entirely over the course of future seasons. – RANKS Ranked Leagues features six competitive tiers: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, and Apex Predator. All of the tiers except Apex Predator have four divisions; Gold IV, Gold III, Gold II, and Gold I, for example, with Gold I being the top division in Gold tier. All players will start in Bronze IV for the launch of Ranked Leagues, but future Series should have a starting placement if you’ve climbed the ladder in previous Series. SCORING Players climb the ladder using a set scoring system, and we’ve tried to keep the system transparent so you can focus on what it takes to rank up. Scores are tracked via Ranked Points (RP) and your score moves up and down throughout the season. Each Ranked match will cost RP to play based on your tier: Bronze matches are free – Silver matches cost 1RP – Gold matches cost 2RP – Platinum matches cost 3RP – Diamond matches cost 4RP – Apex Predator matches cost 5RP – During the match you earn RP based on performance. Kills are worth 1RP up to a maximum of 5RP per match. Placing Top 10 is worth 2RP, Top 5 is 4RP, Top 3 earns 7RP, and a win will bank 12RP. Each placement score is exclusive, so if you finish in the Top 5, you won’t earn 6RP for a Top 10 and Top 5 finish combined. That means the maximum score you can earn per match is 17RP, before the match entry fee. PLAYING WITH FRIENDS Ranked Leagues will require each player to be level 10 or higher to join. When you queue up with other friends in your lobby, the matchmaker will find a match for the highest ranked player in that lobby, but each player will pay the appropriate match cost for their current rank. This is intended to not let high-ranked players completely carry their lower-ranked friends. If you queue up with your Diamond II friend as a Bronze III player, get ready for a difficult match! LADDER MOVEMENT For the launch of Ranked Leagues, we’re starting everyone in Bronze, and as you score you climb and fall within a tier. There is currently no demotion if you drop into a lower tier, so if you earn your way into Platinum IV, no amount of losses will demote you back to Gold I – you are guaranteed to finish that Series in Platinum. However, demotion is possible between divisions, so if you’re Gold II and fall below 380 RP, you will move back down to Gold III. (We may revisit demotions in the future based on data we get from our first Series.) Matches become more difficult the higher you climb, so we expect to see many players find their actual skill level and plateau towards the end of the first Series. REWARDS Ultimately, the best reward in a ranked system is the recognition of your skill and the rank you achieve. That being said, we also want to reward people who really put in the time and compete on the ladder. We’ll be giving out Series 1 rank badges to every player based on the tier they reach by the end of the Series. We’re still working on other rewards that will let you show off your accomplishments, and we will share more details on the rest of the rewards later in Season 2. PENALTIES We regard Ranked as a high-stakes, high-reward environment. This means that we are expecting players in Ranked to show a higher level of commitment to playing out their matches, even when things aren’t necessarily going their way. Players who abandon their teammates will be hit with a matchmaking penalty in both regular and Ranked matches. Penalties will result in a player being barred from joining a match for escalating amounts of time based on how often they have abandoned in Ranked. An abandon is defined as leaving the game before the match is over for you; this includes leaving during character select, leaving while you are alive, and leaving when you are dead but can still be respawned by teammates. Penalty times start out at five minutes, and repeat abandons will increase that time up to a week. LOSS FORGIVENESS Similar to the Elite queue, there will be loss forgiveness in Ranked. Loss forgiveness is defined as zeroing out any potential losses in RP for a match. For example, in a Diamond match where you came in last place but had two kills, you would normally have a -2 adjustment to your RP (-4 from the Platinum entry cost, +2 for kills, for a net loss of -2). With loss forgiveness, however, you would have a net loss adjusted to 0. However, this will only apply if you stand to lose RP from the match – if you had five kills and loss forgiveness, your RP would still be net +1. We will grant players loss forgiveness when their matchmade teammates abandon the game, and for other cases where we determine you are not to blame for leaving a game e.g. client errors. We plan to be more lenient at the start of the Series but will be vigilant in monitoring player behavior. We will become stricter about granting loss forgiveness if we detect it is being abused. MATCHMAKING UPDATES We’ll be watching matchmaking data constantly and making updates on the fly. This should help us answer questions like how long players should wait for a match with only players in their own tier, how large the gap between ranks represented in a match should be, etc. We will be providing updates as and when this happens through our usual communication channels (Reddit / Twitter). That’s what we have planned for the first Series of Apex Legends Ranked Leagues. As with everything else in Apex, expect us to learn as we go and make changes to the system over time. We’re sure to learn a bunch as you all start climbing the ladder. As always, hit us up on the usual channels to ask questions or give feedback. See you in the arena!

Apex Legends devs explain how ALGS impacted Season 19 changes Joe Brady/ ALGSIn a recent interview, Apex Legends developers explained how watching the 2023 ALGS Championship shaped some of the biggest changes to the game in the Season 19 update. Season 19 of Apex Legends has been out for about a day as players are now getting used to the new changes. The new season brought along a host of changes in an update that implemented cross-progression and massive nerfs to Bangalore and Catalyst. In an interview with TheGamer, Repawn game designer John Larson and experience design director Aaron Rutledge explained how the changes to Bangalore and the new ranked challenges came about due to watching the professional scene. Larson said he saw how the ALGS was a “30-30 festival” and that Catalyst and Bangalore created what he called a “can’t-see-sh** meta.” “We’ve had this before in terms of the Caustic meta back in the day, where you’re like, ‘OK, this is not as pleasant as we’d like it to be from both a player or spectator perspective.’ So a significant amount of [the nerfs to Catalyst and Bangalore] was influenced by just what we saw in the ALGS,” Larson told TheGamer. The 30-30 Repeater saw its hip fire spread increase and both Bangalore and Catalyst received massive changes to their ability cooldowns in the Season 19 patch. Some Season 19 changes came from ALGS play Rutledge, on the other hand, described how watching the ALGS informed adjustments to the ranked system. He said ranked’s new challenges, which discourage players from camping in one area the entire game, comes from watching how the pros rotate around the map and look for more loot or fights. “If you think about the general player population and ALGS, I’d love to see ranked bridge that gap right between just a shoot and loot fest, to the extremely strategic, rotational, calculated play of ALGS. If I can get the high end of ranked to bridge that gap, then I think we’ve done a good job,” he said. The professional scene seems pretty mixed on the changes in Season 19 overall. Some have said the Bangalore nerfs are overkill, and those calling for her to be changed were “clowns,” while some have said the game still feels largely the same so far.

Apex Legends devs experimenting with loot changes after Locked & Loaded mode Respawn EntertainmentRespawn’s Lead Game Designer working on Apex Legends has suggested that major loot changes could be on their way to the battle royale following the popularity of the Locked and Loaded takeover. As far as LTMs go, few have been as popular as the Locked and Loaded takeover, which temporarily adjusted Apex Legends’ base rules. It saw players drop in with basic equipment, including all white-level gear and a Mozambique shotgun. The changes, some argued, were an improvement on the game’s default settings, where players drop in with no equipment or weapons. Dropping in with some gear allowed them to fight off enemies in early game scenarios, and removed some of the randomness so many players are ambivalent towards. The positive noises from the Apex community were met by devs explaining that they were “considering” looting changes, but they have now elaborated further and highlighted some of the key factors they are considering. On the same Reddit post, Apex Legends Lead Game Designer Daniel Klein explained the issues they are mulling over ahead of making any major changes to looting. He touched upon how integral looting is to early game scenarios, and how it forms a large part of the battle royale formula. “Current thinking,” he said, “and this is all still in flux, is that landing with white body armor, helmet, and incap shield is probably fine; white backpack probably not; removing white helmets and incap shields from the loot pool is good; removing white body shields isn’t because this leads to too many blue and purple body shields and white body shields are an important source of shield swaps in the early game; etc.” Comment byu/blitz_na from discussion inapexlegends He concluded: “We wanna hit the right balance between putting obviously good things into the game in a timely manner and making sure the game is healthy for many, many years to come. We firmly believe Apex will still be played in a decade from now.” It sounds like there’s an awful lot to consider for Respawn before making any significant changes to early game loot. It’s certainly important to remember that the game will have been designed to reflect players dropping in with no equipment, and so changes to loot commonality and more will be necessary if the Locked and Loaded changes become permanent.

Apex Legends devs drop big hint about which Legend is getting next Heirloom RespawnCould we already know who’s getting the next Apex Legends heirloom? Developers are dropping hints that it could coincide with a Legend who needs a much-needed buff, narrowing the options to a few community favorites. Respawn are always looking for ways to keep the Apex Legends roster in check. We’ve already seen a few legends get buffed and nerfed in Season 10, as well as some weapons, and there are no signs of them slowing down anytime soon. It’s not all about in-game performance, though. Fans have been eagerly anticipating the next Heirloom item, too. With eight legends still yet to receive one, your guess is as good as any. But that’s changed now after lead developer Daniel Z. Klein dropped a massive hint. In a conversation about the new skins and items coinciding with legend buffs, Klein explained that there’s no connection between them at all. “They’re all parallel workstreams that don’t touch each other,” he said. However, he mentioned there was an instance where a legend got a buff and an Heirloom in the same patch and hinted it was going to happen again. “We did have a major buff for one of our characters (Revenant) in the same patch his heirloom came out,” he said. “There’s gonna be another one like that in the future.” There’s gonna be another one like that in the future and again we sort of realized how the timelines lined up as we were working on it. If either piece of content needed more time we would have slipped it — danielzklein@bsky.social (@danielzklein) July 27, 2021 As for who he could be referring to, the likeliest candidates are Crypto, Loba, and Wattson, considering they could all do with a buff — well, unless you’re Wattson with Respawn looking at nerfs instead — and still don’t have an Heirloom item. Horizon could be a shoo-in as well, although it’s less likely since she hasn’t been around as long. However, most people are putting their money on Crypto. After all, Respawn confirmed they’re “actively working” on making him more viable, which he desperately needs.

Apex Legends devs considering Revenant buffs as pick rate plummets Respawn EntertainmentRespawn Entertainment is considering giving Revenant, formerly one of Apex Legends‘ most popular characters, a buff, as his pick rate has dropped sharply. The game‘s Season 14 is only a month away, and Revenant’s pick rate is at its lowest, plunging to the lows of 0.5%. On July 15, when a fan questioned the legend’s status in the current meta on Twitter, a designer replied with some serious hopes of giving him a noteworthy buff in the future. A possible Revenant buff is on the cards Revenant is the lowest-picked legend among all the characters when you look at stats for Gold ranks and higher. One of the main reasons for his low pick rate is that he often needs to be paired with another legend to make the most out of his abilities. The kit that he boasts of is very situational, meaning it’s not always easy to use to its fullest potential. The Totem, his ultimate, can prove to be a great tool to escape difficult combat scenarios and also aid to victory in the end. John Larson, one of the designers leading balance at Respawn Entertainment, responded. “We know his pick rate is low,” he explained, “and we’re motivated to do his thematic design justice with rewarding gameplay.” He even joked about his heirloom saying, “Unfortunately his heirloom already came out so we don’t have much incentive to buff him,” (this is not to be taken seriously, of course). Although everything is still unclear about how the developers are going to overhaul Revenant, the changes they are going to make will surely look promising. The pick rate fate also depends on the community and how they are going to welcome the changes. In case the character does get a rework and the players like it, the legend’s pick rate will surely spike. At the time of writing, there’s no concrete timeline on when Revenant changes are going to arrive. We will update as soon as new information from the studio comes up, so make sure to check back regularly.

Respawn considering adding Apex Legends region lock to solve server issues Respawn EntertainmentApex Legends’ servers have been struggling, especially for players in smaller regions. In an attempt to “guarantee competitive integrity”, Respawn are considering adding a region lock to ranked play, but players are concerned the changes won’t address other issues like cheating. Apex Legends’ server issues have been a hot topic across recent seasons. General server instability and outages have combined with players an abundance of high-ping players ‘ruining’ ranked, making it hard to queue up at times. This issue is especially prevalent as you climb the ranks of the Apex Games. However, Respawn are eyeing fixes to Apex Legends’ server issues — focusing primarily on keeping all players at low ping. “We are investigating ways of guaranteeing competitive integrity at the highest rank of Apex Legends, including work to improve the netcode when you fight a player with a bad connection to the server,” Respawn said in a December 22 tweet. We are investigating ways of guaranteeing competitive integrity at the highest rank of Apex Legends, including work to improve the netcode when you fight a player with a bad connection to the server. We also recently tested a soft region lock for Masters and Predators… — Respawn (@Respawn) December 21, 2021 High ping does give some players an advantage in Apex Legends, which may seem counter-intuitive. However, it can make you harder to hit in gunfights, so as long as you compensate for the lag you can make it work. One of the solutions the Apex Legends developers are considering is adding a “soft region lock” to high-level players. This would force players onto their closest server, rather than picking and choosing which region they queue up on. A two-week experiment of the region lock for players ranked in Master and Predator saw “most regions regaining a portion of their native players” rather than playing on a higher ping server. However, players are concerned about the number of cheaters on smaller servers. Apex Legends pros have voiced their concerns on playing on the lower population servers because of the amount of cheaters, which in turn pushes them to play on high ping. Respawn have acknowledged pushing players off certain servers like USA and European ones onto smaller ones like Brazil and Japan could have an effect on this, as well as queue times, but the ultimate goal is to improve the experience for everyone. “We understand that many of you prefer to play on servers outside your region for various reasons, including a concern for cheaters but please know we are continuing to work on addressing these concerns with our game security team and we will continue to evaluate ways to improve the quality of competitive matches in the coming months.” We will update you once Respawn confirms Apex Legends server changes down the line.

Apex Legends devs considering different buff ideas for Loba Respawn EntertainmentDaniel Klein, lead game designer at Respawn Entertainment, has suggested that a Loba buff could come soon to Apex Legends, but that the High Society Thief is currently in a “pretty good” spot. Added back in Season 5, Loba has perhaps had less of an impact on the Apex Legends meta than some of her counterparts. She’s not necessarily underpowered, but it’s hard to really class her as a game-changing legend in Apex’s Season 7 meta. The buff to Black Market Boutique enabled her to become a significant contributor to her teams, pulling her out of the dwindling period she found herself in during Season 6. However, her relative mediocrity when compared to some of the game’s stronger characters – Wraith, Gibraltar, and Bloodhound – has naturally led to her fans asking for a buff. One Redditor, ‘ApexFan12′, suggested a small Loba buff to Daniel Klein, Respawn’s Lead Game Designer. Klein can be found frequently active on Reddit, interacting and replying with fans of the battle royale. “You know how Pathfinder’s cooldown is based on how far he goes,” the Redditor said, “I was wondering if there’s any way you can do the same thing with Loba, where her tactical cooldown is based on how far her bracelet goes… There’s been many times where I’ve accidentally thrown it right in front of me and then have to wait 30 seconds for it to recharge.” The suggestion seemed to appeal to Klein, who replied: “Definitely could do that! Could also just shave off time in general. I think the animations pre and post use could also do with some tightening. Thing is, she’s pretty good right now. Will let her rest for a patch or two.” Responding to another user about simply making the bracelet travel faster in the air, Klein described that buff as a “last resort”. “It would require some work on the visual effect to make it look good and it has the highest risk of negatively impacting combat legibility,” he said. “Point taken on the beautiful arrival animation; maybe most of our shortening needs to be in the taking off animation. Like I said though, this is experimental stuff we’re still play-testing and there’s a good chance we won’t ship it if it’s not healthy for the game.” Klein’s comment that they are going to “let her rest” suggests that the change, if it comes at all, will likely drop after Season 8’s inception. It’s fair to wait and see how Loba is affected by the introduction of Fuse and the balancing adjustments that will come with the launch of a new season. Barring any delays, Season 8 is set to drop in Apex Legends on February 2.

Apex Legends devs consider badge overhaul after Season 14 rewards issues Respawn/EAAn Apex Legends dev has suggested that Respawn may make a change to badges, at least on the code side of things, to get around issues with rewards being handed out. With the start of any new Apex Legends season, it’s more than just the new legend, new items, and weapons that players look forward to. Many of them quickly look to see what rewards they can get their hands on. The majority of these rewards come in the form of badges and trackers that can be used to deck out your player banner that displays if you’re the Apex Champion – as well as when you eliminate an enemy player. The upper echelon of these badges are those given out for Ranked play – so you can display the fact you’re an Apex Predator or Top 500 player to the world. Though, with the start of Season 14, there have been some issues on the rewards front. Respawn could over overhaul Apex Legends badges after rewards issues At the start of the season, players reported that they were lacking some of the rewards they’d earn, and urged Respawn to correct things. It took a little longer than planned, but the Apex developers managed to get things ironed out. As a result of the issues, Respawn’s RobotHavGunz – the game’s technical designer – has suggested there will be a change made to the code to make it easier to dish out badges in future. “Badges are a much more complex system than they might appear, and so EA support literally cannot do anything to help these players,” they commented on the Apex subreddit. “We can’t just “give” players these specific badges (because of how the system is built), though rewriting the badge system so that we can do exactly that is increasingly looking like it might be the best option.” If the changes are made, it wouldn’t mean an influx of new badges or rewards, but rather it’d just be easier to claim them. Nor would you see anything in the menus, it would all just be done under the hood with the game’s coding. There likely wouldn’t be a two-week wait before they finally appear in your account, as we’ve seen happen previously. So, it would be one less headache.