Apex Legends Live Balance Update : Full Patch Notes

The first full balance update for Apex Legends is now live and Respawn has provided the full details which you can find below:

Overall, we feel that the current weapons present solid options for a variety of gameplay styles. We’ve found that the Skullpiercer Wingman has been on the stronger end, but it’s designed to be a weapon with a higher skill ceiling. Our adjustments are attempting to move it more into the hand cannon space and away from full auto Deagle. We’ve also adjusted the rate of fire of the Peacekeeper with Shotgun Bolt attachment, so players will have a larger window of vulnerability if they miss their shot. Additionally, the scarcity of energy ammo and lower number of energy weapons overall has made those weapons difficult to main, so we’ve increased energy weapon and ammo availability.

​WEAPON ADJUSTMENTS LIVE ON ALL PLATFORMS

• Wingman
  • Rate of fire reduced from 3.1 -> 2.6 shots per second.
  • Skullpiercer Headshot damage multiplier reduced from 2.5 -> 2.25
  • Increased base hip fire spread and decreased the rate at which hip fire spread decays (shrinks back down).
• Peacekeeper
  • Shotgun Bolt rechamber rate has been reduced for the Peacekeeper only.
    • Level 1 mitigation 10% -> 7.5%
    • Level 2 mitigation 20% -> 13%
    • Level 3 mitigation 25% -> 16%
• Wingman and Peacekeeper availability has been reduced in all zone tiers.
• Increased availability of energy weapons & ammo in all zone tiers.

​Why no P2020 or Mozambique buffs?

• We love y’all’s ‘Bique memes, so we’re hesitant to lose that 😛
• In all seriousness, our goal is to have a power curve of weapons. “Power curve” just means that some weapons will be weaker and more common, while others will be stronger and rarer. Some weapons are intentionally less powerful until fully purp’d with hopups and attachments, while other weapons on the bottom of the power curve are your early game, better-than-melee, but-gotta-upgrade-out-of-ASAP weapons. We’ve seen some good feedback from players about how to make these pistols more exciting without losing out on the goal above that we’re listening to. We’ll be continuing to watch player data and feedback and trying things out internally but for now, they’ll remain the same.

​ADDITIONAL PATCH NOTES

• Fixed some script errors that we identified were occasionally causing disconnects during matches.
  • Caustic occasionally causing disconnects while throwing is Ultimate.
  • Pathfinder occasionally causing disconnects when activating a Survey Beacon.
  • Players occasionally causing disconnects when removing an attachment.
  • Gibraltar occasionally causing disconnects when pulling up his Gun Shield.
  • Players occasionally causing disconnects when entering Spectate Mode.

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ADDRESSING LEGEND BALANCE AND HITBOX FEEDBACK

TL;DR Our goal is to be able to have characters with different rig sizes, hitboxes and ability kits, and still have each character be roughly equal in power level, win rate and viability of pick.

​For character balance, we look at a combination of things: pick rate, win rate, and character v. character matchup win rate among other metrics, and, of course, player feedback. The results between the 5 small and medium rig characters have been positive – they are all in a safe band of relatively equal power. Our large rig characters, however, are underpowered and their natural size appears to be a large contributor. We’re planning on adjusting the size of the large character hitboxes to better fit the model. If these changes are insufficient to bring these characters in line, we’re also considering a range of other changes such as natural damage reduction as well as individual kit power tweaks. Because many of these changes are significant, we want to make sure they are heavily tested before they go live, in the event they are necessary. Below is a quick overview on the roadmap of how we’re thinking about bringing large characters back in line.

Overall, we want to try to increase the power level of the large rig characters, before we consider large nerfs to everyone else. While we’ve made small adjustments, we’re hopeful that increasing the power of large rigs is healthier than nerfing everyone else.

​LEGEND ADJUSTMENTS WE’LL MAKE AT THE START OF SEASON 1

Major balance changes:

• Hit box size reductions and optimizations for Caustic, Pathfinder and Gibraltar
  • We’re better sizing hitboxes to character gear & model
  • Since these adjustments have a MAJOR impact on the game, we want to make sure there aren’t any major bugs, so we didn’t want to rush them out
  • If these adjustments prove to be insufficient, we’ll consider additional adjustments during Season 1

​Minor balance changes:

• Caustic
  • Traps – Reduced cooldown to 25 seconds from 30 seconds
  • Traps – Increased radius and proximity radius by about 10%
  • Traps – Removed a 1 second delay on the smoke dealing damage to players
• Pathfinder
  • Insider Knowledge – Increased the number of beacons in the world to 12 from 10
• Lifeline
  • Care Package – Removed slight chance that level 4 armor and helmets will drop
• Wraith
  • Into The Void – Cooldown increased from 20 -> 25 seconds
• Bangalore
  • Double Time – Reduced move speed bonus to 30% from 40%

You can find the full post from Respawn via the Apex Legends sub Reddit here : Apex Balance Update

Our Take

These are small adjustments to Apex Legends, but then, it doesn’t feel as though it needs major adjustments. We love that Respawn is balancing methodically rather than simply reacting to player feedback as it bodes well for the longevity of the title and maintaining a fine balance. We’re excited to see what the Battle Pass brings hopefully next week!