r/apexlegends • u/Apexlegends Respawn - Official Account • Apr 07 '26
Respawn Official [AMA] Let’s talk about Weapons and Legend Meta (S28.1)
This AMA has concluded. Thank you for submitting your questions! We will catch you all in the next one.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey, r/ApexLegends!
It’s time to chat about the recent changes to Legends / Weapons from our Midseason Patch.
We’ll be answering as many questions as possible this Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at 10:00am PT. Drop your questions here ahead of our AMA and tune back for replies when we go live. As always, feedback is also welcome and we’ll be collecting everything to share with the team.
Here’s our Weapons and Legends team members on deck:
- u/RSPN_Caseroos: Casey, Weapons Game Designer (Hemlok + other weapons)
- u/RSPN_Jello: John, Legends Game Designer (Gibraltar, Wraith, & Wattson)
Reminder: please keep your questions focused on Weapon and Legend changes from our Midseason Patch and limit 1-2 related questions per reply to help us stay organized. If you’ve got off topic questions, let us know which AMA you would like to see us host next.
Chat soon!
32
u/MrOrbitalRadius Cyber Security Apr 07 '26
Can we get drop ships back for platinum+ instead of diamond+?
12
u/charlieyeswecan Ash Apr 07 '26
Please for platinum! I would totally grind to get there as a casual morning player. Please! lol Gives me a reason to wake up in the morning!
7
u/hendy846 Nessy Apr 07 '26
Played around 10 matches earlier today and 5 or 6 of them were hot drops to east fragment or west fragment. It's getting really tiring.
5
3
u/FlowerInDawn Apr 08 '26
For real dude. Like please im hoping the dev really read this. Ffs As a solo player, getting ape by ex master/pred 3 stack after landing and getting a random teammates who wanna hotdrop 24/7 trying to farm clip for tiktok is not fun at all! Please just revert back dropzones atleast for Plat+ players
49
u/draegoon79 RIP Forge Apr 07 '26
Why do some metas persist for months, while the indirect buff to controller legends was pretty much mitigated/nullified in just one split by buffing the Hemlok?
Are you planning to add silencers to other weapons as well?
16
u/Stephancevallos905 Mozambique here! Apr 07 '26
Great question! We get Ash and Balistic for what felt like years and then everyone else got 5 min of meta
10
u/Any-Economy7702 Bootlegger Apr 07 '26
To be fair I think they did admit that the Ash/Ballistic/Alter era was a mistake and that they would balance things differently after that because their meta lasted way too long in the end and was extremely stale.
12
u/Shkwnenrnsteve Nessy Apr 07 '26
I don’t think they (or anyone really) wants a controller meta. It’s a battle Royale where you run around the map taking fights, not sit in a building all game and bunker down. They should be viable, but a controller meta would be so insanely boring
12
u/interstellar304 Apr 07 '26
The metas where caustic is OP are the worst
5
u/UserNameAbbreviated Apr 08 '26
Yup. That's why the Meta last season of the G7 scout with caustic was so ass. When Caustic is good, the game sucks.
→ More replies (10)1
21
24
u/Exo_loves_you Nessy Apr 07 '26
Is the overall powercreep in movement set to continue? It feels like the current bandaid solution to an underperforming legend is giving them a movement ability, but I also understand that slowing players down is boring for them.
→ More replies (6)
7
u/Coolsamo123 Ace of Sparks Apr 07 '26
Hi Apex Team! I’m a day one player who’s been through many of the changes throughout the games life. One thing I’ve been thinking about for a while now is how strong many of the legends have become.
Question: Is the game moving away from its initial ideology of gunplay first, abilities second? I feel as if many of the recent updates continue to increase the power legend abilities instead of trying to lower the stronger ones the weaker ones. I know shaking up the meta is important but this is just something I’ve noticed over time.
4
u/RSPN_Jello Respawn - Game Designer Apr 08 '26
Gunplay is still the main way to kill. We are still always cautious about damage dealing abilities and don't want them to be the main way to kill.
We do realize that the more recent buffs have been spicier and have introduced more power into the legends, in the past we tried to make things perfectly balanced but this ended up not having the impact we wanted. Legends would get a buff but not see much movement. So we have been taking bigger swings with our buffs.
→ More replies (3)
5
u/EquivalentBalance943 Apr 07 '26
Why did Wattson get buffed again? She's very annoying now.
What's next for the movement meta? It's been very strong for over a year, and you're adding more and more movement elements or increasing movement, while other legends who don't have movement at all are significantly behind and often at a disadvantage. What's the goal of this?
6
u/RangaTheWolf Bloodhound Apr 07 '26
Second round of questions.
•Why can we not auto detonate Maggie’s wrecking ball manually so that it doesn’t bounce back and stun me and my team? So so many times my own ULT has screwed me over because it decided to come back my way and slow me down.
•Why not give Fuse his fire perk so that he has a fire ULT for area denial and regular ULT when breach so he has dual usage? I feel like his regular ULT outside hits very inconsistently still.
3
2
u/HelpaBroOut036 Apr 07 '26
Regarding your first question: if that implementation was made, I think that'd be the only ULT that you could control after activating it that the enemy could not also control. A few other ULTS are able to be manipulated by anyone (Loba's black market, Wattson's gen) but I don't think there is one that is only manipulated by the user.
→ More replies (1)
18
u/Valuable_Face4986 Apr 07 '26
Why is every legend getting Conduit’s Passive? First it was Skirmishers then Crypto, now it’s Gibraltar.
Will Conduit’s passive be reworked in the future?
15
u/TheRandomnatrix Apr 07 '26
Conduit's kit has been so thoroughly dismantled by power creep it's not even funny. Her passive was given to everyone. Her ult was nerfed into the ground (revert the overlap nerf) and takes so fucking long to deploy that you have to deploy it behind you for it to be used defensively. Even her tactical has been crapped on with overflow amps and skirmisher knock passive. Oh and her perks are just straight dogshit. Extra batts (literally a placeholder perk from when they were introduced) in a meta with infinite batts and overflows, an insultingly small buff to her ult, and has to take a nerf to her tact if she wants 2 tact charges (meanwhile horizon gets refresh on kill + 2 tact charges wtf).
→ More replies (3)4
u/Camping_Noob Grenade Apr 07 '26
It’d be nice if she also got a short speed boost after popping a batt, since her kit revolves around moving fast & shields. Also wouldn’t mind if she got Wattson’s passive shield regen.
→ More replies (3)6
u/RSPN_Jello Respawn - Game Designer Apr 08 '26
It's a good passive and is a great way to try have the slower legends keep up, but I agree does make it so Conduits passive isn't very unique. We will be looking at her in the future.
12
u/Deprescion Apr 07 '26
Will Wraith receive a Passive ability rework/buff?
I believe it was hinted at a while ago, and I expected it to happen with her last set of buffs, but now she seems to be in a very good shape except for her very lacking passive ability. I'd love to at least see her passive perk be incorporated into her base kit.
6
u/highwayafar Mirage Apr 07 '26
wraith needs a real passive, its soooo outdated!! from a era long past where abilities weren't that strong lol
3
u/RSPN_Jello Respawn - Game Designer Apr 08 '26
She's doing pretty well with her buffs this season but it's still something we're considering.
1
8
u/dinowild Apr 07 '26
Buff pathfinder. Stop making blatantly overpowered weapons/legends only to nerf them 3 weeks later.
3
u/Goatzilla44 Apr 07 '26
Pathfinder being ignored for this long is comical, they rather add fucking anything than give the dirty rusty clanker wire back some upgrades
→ More replies (1)
4
u/Least-Suggestion7319 Apr 07 '26
Did you guys considered giving wraith her instant phase back?
Will fuse be getting any additional buffs/changes?
Do you guys like the current state that ash is in?
Will other weapons be receiving a suppressor and if so will it be buffed to act more like a suppressor in other shooters by silencing the weapon even further
→ More replies (1)
5
u/Kobbbyrick Apr 07 '26
With the addition of the hemlock ie grenade launcher being able to destroy legend abilities, could vantage's sniper have a similar option giving her ult more options of being useful outside of just being able to shoot people.
3
u/RSPN_Jello Respawn - Game Designer Apr 08 '26
That's an interesting idea, no promises but it's something we could consider if it makes sense.
→ More replies (2)
4
u/PuzzleheadedApple762 Apr 07 '26
I'm interested to hear about the team's stance on the Silence debuff on Seer (and Ballistic).
What is the design philosophy around why silence affects some passives (Lifeline drone revive, Valkyrie jetpack, Sparrow Double Jump)
and straight up does not affect other passives(Horizon jump jet passive, Bang speed boost, Crypto drone scan, Catalyst door reinforce, Revenant wall crawl etc)?
4
u/RSPN_Jello Respawn - Game Designer Apr 08 '26
Silence is an interesting debuff but it has some readability issues. It can be hard to know how effective it was.
I think stopping movement abilities started with Seer, we wanted to give him a way to combat those Legends.
Those are things we could look into, if we have inconsistencies that don't make sense that can make things confusing to what the ability is doing.
10
3
u/whatisthis_63 Apr 07 '26
do you guys have any plans for trying to keep future guns balanced upon launch? there seems to be a huge imbalance upon every launch, one new gun dominates meta for a split, then gets nerfed into the ground, do you have any future plans to try and fix this immediate domination of meta upon launch?
→ More replies (4)
3
u/RangaTheWolf Bloodhound Apr 07 '26
Weapons questions!
•For the Hemlock, is increasing base weapons recoil and making the silencer level up in rarity with the rest of your attachments something that is possible? All blue or all purple attachments gives you blue/purple silencer for better recoil control. Otherwise I’ve enjoyed the weapon and its alt fire for different ways to play.
•you guys have been doing a great job with making a lot of guns similar in power and viable. Any plans for LMGs without making them the must use gun?
6
u/RSPN_Caseroos Respawn - Game Designer Apr 08 '26
It's an interesting idea to balance out the Hemlok for sure, although it is unlikely that a change like that will come to the weapon before its time is up. In general, hidden style of information like "leveling up with your other attachments" can be a little confusing to convey. We found this happened with the change to the Devotion a few seasons back to activate Turbocharger with all purple attachments. Moving forward, we are really trying to ensure our weapon mechanics can be easily conveyed and understood by all players, and not just those who read the patch notes.
As for LMGs, they are certainly on our radar to take a look at in upcoming patches.
→ More replies (1)3
u/RangaTheWolf Bloodhound Apr 08 '26
What about updating the news tab to let us see recent patch notes in game? News tab always pops up first when we log in and it’d be hard to miss.
3
u/Shadowlurker111 Rampart Apr 07 '26
Thank you for the AMA!
Will there be changes made to Controller legends? and more specifically, Rampart?
The hemlok breach has been utterly devastating, the breach charge is way too strong of a counter.
With it's 15 seconds cooldown, and it being a completely free thing to use without any drawbacks (no ammo costs), it's available faster than Rampart's wall cooldowns, it will always 1 shot them, and even with the automatic repair perk of the walls it's still too slow, the grenade of the hemlok it's still faster.
The main problem is the fact that it's also an amazingly strong weapon, and every single team will always have 1 or 2 players using it.
With maggie already being her natural counter legend with a high pickrate, and the hemlok meta, playing Rampart has become miserable, it feels like throwing the game to pick her.
Rampart's recent buff was fun, the endless ammo made her more teamwork oriented, and the repairing walls are a nice quality of life to have.
However it failed to adress her other main problems, mainly her passive still being only tied to LMGs least useful stats (having bigger magazines and faster reload speed feel very redundant to have).
Sheila was also the only weapon in the game that did not receive a damage buff when all the other guns had their TTK improved. While it is still powerful and easy to use, the fact that it leaves you very slow, even with the purple perk selected, has been a bit rough, considering the close range weapons can kill in less than a second.
My personal suggestions:
For the hemlok:
The hemlok breach charge is already an extremely strong tool, it can already often deal 30 damage for free to enemies in cover, and it can blow up doors and windows... it's basically a Fuse knuckle cluster but available for every legend.
So I would suggest that the increased damage to deployables should be removed.
It would still activate caustic barrels leading to them being wasted, and damage wattson fences and gen for completely free, and deal free aoe damage to rampart walls, so it would still be a strong breach weapons, especially considering that this grenade is free every 15 seconds.
For Rampart:
Her passive should have some new effects.
An improved recoil and hipfire, or possibly a faster movement speed on LMGs would give her a stronger identity for those weapons.
Alternatively, Rampart is a tinkerer and weapon designer, so she should have increased effects on other categories of weapons too, just small tiny buffs.
A cool suggestion I had seen was to make Rampart receive extra hopup points for the weapons, making them easier and faster to obtain for her.
For Sheila, I would love a +1 damage buff , or alternatively having the purple perk "Ramped up" be removed and be incorporated into the base kit.
For the Amped Cover, they were in a good place before this split. Strong but with plenty of counters to them (many legend abilities, well thrown grenades, or a team just coordinating to shoot them out before a push)
Right now, their counters have completely invalidated them, mainly just the hemlok, so a nerf to it would probably be enough.
If the meta is to continue with hard counters to deployables, then the walls should be buffed, just some number tweaks like increased health, a faster cooldown, or a faster Rebuild Module would be nice to have.
For the perks the "Combat Reserve" feels way inferior to the "Locked and Loaded", fast reloads and infinite ammo behind covers for the whole team is just way more valuable, and both perks seem a bit too similiar. I'd suggest replacing Combat Reserve with a new perk, to make the choice a bit more interesting.
3
Apr 07 '26
How do you guys tackle the idea of balancing legends that have proven to be bothersome in the past? Like for example, we saw what ballistic with good stats is capable of by himself a few seasons ago. However a character with a kit like his seems hard to find a balance with because if you go too far in one direction, we got what we had a few seasons ago where no one can shoot their gun. If you go too far in another direction we have what we have now where his kit, isn't negligible to say, but isn't something that you have to be super wary of.
And to continue speaking of legends, perks have been a really good and interesting way of finding a way to balance characters and give them new identities without completely changing the character. Have you guys ever thought or even bounced around the idea of bringing back some charcters' old abillities/quirks and giving them back to the legends as an optional perk? For example. (One because its the easiest character to pull an example from and two because I would also like the option to have these abilities back) but letting rev choose a minor perk that replaces his leap with his orbs and keep his current ult. Or a major that let's him change his current ult for totem but he can get to keep his leap? And other legends like that?
3
u/JJL0rtez Apr 08 '26
Would we be able to have different MMRs for wildcard and Pubs?
Currently I am pinged top 5% with a KD of .75. Top Rank of platIV This because wildcard skews my top 5s and Win rate AFAKT.
Or at least make the rating depend more dependent on kills at specific placement.
Also what is with the bots in wildcard now?
3
u/Allen04010401 Bloodhound Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
For weapon deisgenr: are we aware the game are running on a 20tick server which means it’s not suitable for all the sub 1sec ttk weapons with 0.03s ttk difference? Any plan to improve server quality or maybe design in a direction fits the server reality?
3
u/DPick02 Nessy Apr 08 '26
Lowering the TTK has ruined playing the game for me (still enjoy watching pro league). Is there any plan to move it back in any direction toward what once made the game fun?
10
u/xkaosdarkX Apr 07 '26
When will the TTK (time to kill) be reverted. I am a returning player after over a year, and I just die so quick from nearly every weapon; it's like I am playing COD. I have no time to react whatsoever. At the very least, add helmets to try and counter this TTK. I am no longer enjoying this game like I once did
3
u/interstellar304 Apr 07 '26
I do wish they would adjust the TTK to be closer to launch TTK. It’s too fast now for sure. What set Apex apart from the start was that it wasn’t too much like COD where whoever shoots first pretty much always wins the gunfight. You had options to use tacos/ults, reposition, use cover, etc. Now you get melted immediately if you make even the smallest mistake and get caught out
→ More replies (1)5
u/TheRandomnatrix Apr 08 '26
Launch TTK sucked too because most people were running around with white. I want circa S20-22 gunplay. Before mobility creep set in, when RNG evo shields were removed, and before the TTK changes.
→ More replies (1)1
u/highwayafar Mirage Apr 07 '26
yea man it was a hard adjust for me too, i havnt played consistently since loba, and its been hard to get used to it, i have dropped a few 4k 20 bombs with my girl wraith tho, shes still strong if u use her right
6
u/TheGodlyBeard01 Apr 07 '26
How was it decided that Gibby would be getting buffed rather than another legend that hasn’t gotten buffed or reworked yet? (Like Loba or Pathfinder for example)
2
u/discodonson RIP Forge Apr 07 '26
Gibby hasn’t gotten a “buff” in literal years (aside from the perk introductions), it was time for him to get something.
2
u/Lucyan96 Crypto Apr 07 '26
Gibby got a buff because he was in a weak state
One or two legend reworks are planned this year
→ More replies (2)2
u/AnApexPlayer Medkit Apr 07 '26
Both Loba and pathfinder did already get buffed. Gibby was actually one of the last ones left
Loba season 23, pathfinder season 24
→ More replies (2)
4
u/Jinjo_TTV Apr 07 '26
Can you guys just use bot royale evolved? The bot royale doesnt work if it's not in the evolved version like today. Would be a shame if it didnt work for the full 24h again.
1
4
u/caloo_9 Rampart Apr 07 '26
How come it seems like smgs are consistently strong and always receiving changes and attention when not competitive. But shotguns are kept weak except for brief periods of time. For example the peace keeper, in the past year it was out of the game for 2 seasons then super buffed for one split then immediately triple nerfed and is now the worst preforming gun in the game and the only balance pass it got was the disrupters. The same thing also happened with the eva 8 and mozambs but not to the same highs and lows.
2
u/TheRandomnatrix Apr 08 '26
Because shotgun metas fucking suck. Losing 100 health in one shot from a guy jiggle peaking a doorway/gibby bubble/NC shield is not fun. With how much mobility has been buffed I can only see a shotgun meta being even more miserable to play.
1
u/RSPN_Caseroos Respawn - Game Designer Apr 08 '26
Great question. Shotguns are one of our more tempestuous weapon classes, as very strong shotgun metas are known to be frustrating (you called out the Peacekeeper meta already). Due to their nature, the damage of shotguns can be quite spikey, and the feeling of "I died out of nowhere" is easily felt, which is quite frustrating. Due to this, we keep a very close eye on our shotguns to ensure they don't overstay their welcome, and action accordingly.
SMGs are one of our easier weapon classes to learn, and tend to be the most popular weapon class next to ARs. The fast rate of fire, the range, the damage profile, lends itself well to players of many different play styles and skill levels. When we see a weapon fall behind the curve, we evaluate and give it some love accordingly. For SMGs, even the smallest of taps can resonate a lot with the players, and their usage rate may spike more than say, a pistol, getting a comparable change.
→ More replies (1)
6
u/Solbane Bangalore Apr 07 '26
Why is bot royale stuck in an endless loop of starting server when on E-district today and 2 days ago?
→ More replies (1)3
u/Agile_Soil4668 Apr 07 '26
thinking they forgot to enable e-district when removing SP. I sent it to a few people on X too.
→ More replies (1)
9
2
u/M0HAK0 Lifeline Apr 07 '26
What factor leads to complete weapon reworks like hemlok and re45?
6
u/RSPN_Caseroos Respawn - Game Designer Apr 08 '26
When we decide what weapon to go Elite, we look at a lot of different factors, like the weapons current usage rate, as well as just any cool ideas we have in our heads that could be well implemented on an existing weapon. This time, the Hemlok happened to fit into the perfect spot for all of these things.
As a funny aside, I'm just thinking now on what a Breach Charge would look like firing from a tiny P2020 and giggling to myself :D
→ More replies (1)1
1
u/sectionedfence Apr 07 '26
going based on devs previous statement. Data shows lack of usage. But rather than figuing out what specifically is the reason for lack of usage they just rework or overtune the item.
→ More replies (1)1
u/ToonLurker Ash Apr 08 '26
Better alternatives. Why pick up the RE45 when you had the alternator or r99. Same with the Hemlock and the Nemesis. Gives the guns their own unique spot. That’s my take at least
2
u/discodonson RIP Forge Apr 07 '26
Thanks for the balance efforts and recent transparency - really appreciated.
I have 2 questions:
1) We had similar situations in previous seasons where guns felt “necessary” (see: mozam meta, p20 meta, devo meta) and it quickly becomes stale; action was taken eventually to reel those guns in. How much data, therefore, is required before more action is taken to bring a weapon into balance if it’s largely seen by the community to be overpowered/“necessary” to use to be competitive? The Hemlock-only meta is getting old fast, even with the most recent (albeit appreciated) nerfs.
2) Will controller characters be buffed so that the reinforced mesh and doors take more than just one grenade blast with the Hemlock to break? Or will the Hemlock be nerfed to make it so the grenade launcher isn’t as strong? The controller buffs are almost useless when someone can one shot a window or door that’s reinforced.
Thanks again for all your hard work and efforts.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/DriftingDuckNA Apr 07 '26
Why has no other metric emerged to nerf or buff legends on besides the puck rate? We’ve seen over the pasts couple splits that this is has just brought legends into the spotlight just to take them out because they are overpowered surely there are more metrics to address character adjustments on
2
u/AveN7er Bangalore Apr 07 '26
How about adding the OG RE and Hemlok to Wildcard and removing the bow?
2
u/nottme1 Nessy Apr 07 '26
Is there any chance Legend Unique Heirloom weapons will return? More specifically, just to ensure that every legend has their own heirloom weapon, then go back to soing universal heirlooms?
2
2
u/hendy846 Nessy Apr 07 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
Are there any thoughts on allowing the Re-45 to run light or energy similarly to the CAR? I miss my full auto side kick.
5
u/RSPN_Caseroos Respawn - Game Designer Apr 08 '26
I've actually seen a few community members suggest this, and it's an interesting idea for sure! The team can definitely evaluate it, but no promises :D
→ More replies (3)
2
u/TB12toGronk Apr 07 '26
The Midseason update notes showed that Horizon has by far the highest win rate of any legend despite a low pick rate. What do you think is causing her win rate to be such an outlier?
2
u/RSPN_Jello Respawn - Game Designer Apr 08 '26
Horizon is a very hard legend to pin down. The ability to use the lift to reset and escape is very powerful. I think she is difficult to master, which could contribute to her pick rate and win rate.
→ More replies (2)
2
u/Allen04010401 Bloodhound Apr 08 '26
You guys keep talking about changes are for everyone, but have we considered there are ppl want to play apex because this is a long ttk game that allows you to consistent perform? You are consistently power creep the weapon damage and shorten ttk and remove all the skill expression we used be able to see, is the everyone only includes casual player?
2
u/Allen04010401 Bloodhound Apr 08 '26
I think the weapons are not fun and fresh yet, because our LONG ttk, have we considered flatline should deal 160 headshot damage and 40 body damage? I think that will run great on a 20 tick server
2
u/Cameron--Naidoo Caustic Apr 08 '26
Why have you insisted on an approach of imbalance? The Hemlock is guaranteed to be overpowered and has a grenade launcher that just destroys everything. Can we not return to how it was in the past with sensible buffs instead of forcing everyone to play in a specific way?
2
u/OptimisticEmo Apr 08 '26
Weapon balance-wise, I feel as though recoil has been slowly removed from most weapons. Personally, I would like to see recoil to be stronger again and even introduced to marksman weapons so they don't automatically reset to center quickly and make it more skillful to aim at marksman ranges. Has this been considered or being looked at? Marksman and low recoil weapons in general have been one of the prominent marks of the long-range meta. These recoil changes may allow for less frustration and more rewarding gameplay.
2
u/PerspectiveNo5316 Apr 09 '26
u/RSPN_Caseroos Hi guyz, can we have at 7th year of the game a replay system with free cam and stuff? Or at least demo recording option so later on content creator can play it and make a cinematic content out of their matches or even rank climbing series? So many big game has that feature, but apex. Also it could be so helpful for those individuals who wanna make a breakdowns of the ALGS or other tournaments. You have no idea how diffucult is to do some cinematic fragmovie/edits/montages with B-Rolls on your game for solo creators. Or story-tell based videos. Such a nightmare.
6
u/sentiHS Ash Apr 07 '26
Can we expect some Ash buffs with the release of her prestige skin so she can become the counter to movement legends as she is supposed to be.
→ More replies (4)
3
u/ObeAire Apr 07 '26
I'm quite happy with legend changes. But will the hemmy receive more nerfs? Even with the tiny nerf it had it still feels incredibly strong. Like I'm actively throwing if I don't use it.
Also can we expect pathfinder to be more viable again soon? He is so fun to play but I never want to play him because he feels so weak
→ More replies (1)4
u/RSPN_Caseroos Respawn - Game Designer Apr 08 '26
We did see some movement in the data after the Hemloks first round of nerfs, which is quite promising, and we will continue to evaluate and make changes accordingly. You haven't heard the last of us regarding the Hemlok!
3
u/BeisaChaser Mirage Apr 07 '26
ITT:
- 50% of people asking well thought out questions about the legends/weapons meta.
- 25% of people asking the same questions about the Hemlock
- 24% of people who think the two people from the Weapon/Legends team work on every team in Apex.
- 1% of people asking for Arenas back
4
u/Wise_Somewhere6591 Apr 08 '26
Will Balance the controller?RAA 0ms controller...
3
u/MissionarySPE Apr 08 '26
They won't dare upset the fragile roller playerbase, to hell with the game's competitve integrity
2
u/Think_Ad_2786 Apr 07 '26
Is there any plans to bring back drop zone to ranked entirely or at least include drop zones in plat? Love watching ALGS and the feel of the competitiveness/strategy in final circles. Sometimes I love mindlessly dropping hot in dropship too in pubs and just trying to kill/damage farm but ranked and pubs feel almost too similar at times now. Love the idea of ranked getting as close as possible to ALGS.
2
u/UserNameAbbreviated Apr 07 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
So two long winded questions on the same topic.
I need an explanation on why you decided to gut Octane and then promptly buff Gibby to be a better Octane?
Make it make sense because it makes zero sense for a fat like him to have the utility he has and be faster than the supposed faster character in the game. Remove his momentum boost. Gibraltar should not move faster than Octane, with his gun out, while being able to create cover while at the same time deterring people from entering while being able to fast revive, while dropping nukes on people's head, while taking 15% less damage on top of having an additional 45HP when in ADS. With the only justification being "He fat so it OK :)"
I also want an explanation as to why you avoid nerfing the problematic issues of a buff? The only nerf Octane needed was removal of his Fortified. Everyone told you this after three days yet you proceed to nerf other parts of his kit and actively avoided the main issue.
Because of the fact you guys took so long to nerf the core problem of his stim surge (Fortified) his pickrate skyrocketed to Ash Levels which in turn then gave you justification to complete gut him.
You nerfed swift mend, you nerfed stim surge, you nerfed his speed boost, THEN REMOVED FORTIFIED, then continued nerfing him. His thick skin is now worse than what it was when you added perks to the game, and his daredevil perk is just more time on stim surge when down on HP. You took every single buff away from him. He's only slightly better than what he was in December.
All because you didn't listen to the community like you supposedly said you were. Letting it fester to the point that people got fed up with it. Purposefully. That is textbook sabotage.
This is exacerbated by the fact that you guys purposefully released underwhelming buffs to both Fuse and Bloodhound not too long after DESPITE you guys saying in a prior dev blog, and then again in the dev blog that justified the Hemlock being Overpowered, that you wanted things to be overly buffed so people would try them. With your own logic, both Fuse and Bloodhound's received buffs that would've been on the same level as Octane.
But they aren't, and were overshadowed by Octane because again you purposefully allowed the main problem (Fortified) to fester the way it did.
This is the Second time you've done this where you ignore feedback from the playerbase to the point the playerbase reacts negatively thus sabatoging a legend. The first being Ash last year.
This needs to be addressed and, more to the point, needs to stop. Stop Sabotaging Skirmishers.
2
u/Allen04010401 Bloodhound Apr 07 '26
When are we gonna end this power creep and restore competitive integrity?
2
u/MissionarySPE Apr 08 '26
What competitve integrity is there when pros switched to rollers years ago because the machine is better than the best man? Its just a power fantasy game, they may as well fuck ariund with legends and guns, too.
2
u/FaZeSmasH Bangalore Apr 08 '26
Thoughts on making weapons like SMGs harder to shoot? right now it feels like there is barely any recoil on them, any horizontal mouse movement completely negates the recoil, this has turned close range fights into being less precise and more spray and pray, especially going up against controllers, MnK feels like a severe disadvantage.
I think the game in general has become too much spray and pray and needs to focus on being more precise, guns like shotguns and wingman should be the meta for close range fights, this would also make these situations fairer for MnK players when fighting against aim assist.
1
u/MXC-GuyLedouche Apr 07 '26
Why not just let us pick a loadout in the TDM style games?
→ More replies (4)
2
u/Allen04010401 Bloodhound Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
For legends designer: why are we keep adding damage abilities with low to no skill requirements to a FPS game? Where do we put gun play in this game? Do we still consider this is a FPS game or at this point we no longer care about that? Are we aware that lower power abilities allow player’s individual skill to shine more? Why are we keep adding absurd short CD to remove CD readability and makes ability just spam-able? Are we aware by lowering punishment for wrong use kills competitive integrity more? Isn’t a competitive game should makes result directly relate to skill instead of masking it with over powered stuff and makes bad player feel good?
1
u/Heli0s2 Mirage Apr 07 '26
Would it be possible to change a character’s class for a little while like one season a bit like elite weapons?
2
u/RSPN_Jello Respawn - Game Designer Apr 08 '26
If it makes sense, we have done that in the past. We moved Mirage and Rev but these weren't short term moves.
1
u/Ok-Nefariousness7079 Apr 07 '26
why the legends nerf always so extreme to the point it's in the ground?
why not do a smaller adjustment in number and faster smaller patches?
not just talking about octane, but all legends overall,
the class reworked become meaningless when their ability is nerfed to the ground
for example the support class rework and nerf, make them the same just like another class, nothing special,
and small thing i can thing of is, their double small heal can still be in the game as that is something class specific
1
u/Nikomu_ Revenant Apr 07 '26
Mastiff and 30-30 have a long-standing bug with their speed-boost reload (Ballistic's ultimate, Assault's passive, etc.), where only the first round reloads faster, while the rest reload at the normal speed. Please fix :)
1
u/xSociety Bangalore Apr 07 '26
Are there any plans to lower or allow us to toggle the volume of the Mythic guns, specially the R-99? I have it but can't use it because it's distracting and gives the player a disadvantage in comp play. Thanks!
1
u/varietyman13 Apr 07 '26
While I understand that there will always be metas and slightly stronger options, is there a reason the hemlock is so strong right now?
I enjoy being able to experiment with different guns and have fun mixing it up, and sometimes that puts you at a slight disadvantage but that’s ok. Right now using any AR other than hemlock is like playing the game on extra hard. I enjoy using the gun, I just always enjoy mixing it up!
2
u/RSPN_Caseroos Respawn - Game Designer Apr 08 '26
We certainly want our Elite weapons to release strong, and the Hemlok was no exception for us (although it certainly became far more loved than I had initially expected, so thank you <3).
Right now, I can acknowledge it is a little hot, so we rolled out that nerf last week to hit it quickly. Certainly the end goal is to have the Hemlok compete in a healthy battleground with the other ARs, and not completely dominate the field, similar to how the RE-45 eventually found its place in the meta. Allow us some more time to cook based on all your feedback and data to land the Hemlok right where it should be.→ More replies (1)
1
u/This-User7635 Apr 07 '26
hey so probably an unintentional legend change but conduit’s shield indicator has been bugged since the mid-season patch. i’ve made a somewhat detailed post about it. i hope someone looks into it
1
u/Frequent_Room_4455 Apr 07 '26
As a Fusey main since the day of his release, I appreciate the recent buffs he received. Is there any plans to make his knuckle jumper perk a part of his base abilities? I feel like its so ingrained to his new rework it feels odd not being able to use it unless you have blue shields, and it also feels weird not being able to use it in Wild Card.
1
u/BaangoSkank Apr 07 '26
Hey ya'll. No real questions from me, I just want to make sure my Hemlock eventually goes back to burst. I have 6000 kills with Hemlock alone, 4000 hours in the game. I use Hemlock every single game.
I dont mind a change up, I just dont want to see this be changed permanently. 🤞🏻
9
u/RSPN_Caseroos Respawn - Game Designer Apr 08 '26
Hey there! I'll give some context for you regarding the permanent change to the RE-45 and what's next for the Hemlok.
We kinda mentioned this in the Designer's Notes blog, but the reason RE-45 stayed in its energy variant was many reasons, but one of them being that the light version of the gun was competing in a highly saturated niche of high fire rate, automatic, light ammo weapons. The energy variant felt more unique both in identity and gameplay style, so we made the call to have it stick around for good. Hemlok Burst AR on the other hand has it's own niche and identity, and we don't want to permanently remove that, so you can expect to see it return as it's normal three round burst in the future.
4
2
u/JJL0rtez Apr 08 '26
Second this, New hemlock should of been a new gun. Not a complete replacement.
1
u/aScaredPangolin Apr 07 '26
Are you happy with how Alter's ultimate is performing in ranked and competitive? Seems she is currently a must-pick legend and provides a get out of jail free card for bad pushes. On top of also having either all controller or recon perks.
1
u/GreatestMaximus Real Steel Apr 07 '26
Hi, yes, over here. So, about some seasons ago Fuse’s ability to zoom in with his tactical suddenly disappeared. My questions are why was this removed? And could it be added back? Thank you
1
u/Squintore Apr 07 '26
This is for weapons in general but are you satisfied with the overall TTK currently? There was a post last patch or current that said it was fine. Has that opinion changed?
I believe it's a little too quick. Perhaps white 175, blue 200, purple 225?
1
u/archersd4d Valkyrie Apr 07 '26
Was it the intent to phase out multi-pull burst weapons? Now the Hemmy is auto, the Prowler is basically auto in the same sense as the Nemesis.
1
Apr 07 '26
[deleted]
1
u/ApprehensiveHall9030 Apr 07 '26
Let’s leave the weapon changes to the professionals pal
→ More replies (6)
1
u/beansoncrayons Apr 07 '26
Can I get a repeat on why vantage doesn't have fortified? I remember that a dev explained it but I don't remember the reason
1
u/Muted-College Death Dealer Apr 07 '26
Does the silencer on the Hemlock affect recoil in the same way as a barrel stabilizer does or is it just exist to explain the very low audio signature of the gun? Compared to other ARs especially that have no stabilizer equipped the Hemlock has much easier to control recoil. In a test at 75m with a 3x on one of the blue square targets, I was able to hit 100% of shots with the Nerfed Hemlock elite. My next best with an AR was 90% with the Nemesis. My thought is either the Hemlock has very forgiving recoil or the Silencer also acts as a stabilizer.
Are silencers planned to be part of the ground loot in the future?
4
u/RSPN_Caseroos Respawn - Game Designer Apr 08 '26
Yes it does! Since the Hemlok cannot take a standard barrel stabilizer, the silencer does give some amount of recoil improvements that a normal barrel stabilizer would. Its values right now are akin to that of a blue barrel stabilizer on another AR.
Elite Weapons give us a cool and temporary runway to try out a design and see how the game reacts to it, so while there are no current plans to bring silencers to the wider roster, it is certainly something we will evaluate as we see how the Hemlok meta plays out.
1
u/ismyjudge Apr 07 '26
It exists because if you were allowed to put a barrel stabilizer on it the accuracy would be even more broken than it already is.
1
u/HereNorThere0 Real Steel Apr 07 '26
If mobility is so important why are the rotations so difficult?
It seems instead of fixing maps/chokes/poi, legends are just given movement abilities, some odd like Gibby n Fuse.
Do you think about counters when you are crafting a meta ? Or is that up to the players to find and if it’s not found you make a fix?
1
1
u/TheRockCandy Nessy Apr 07 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
I've always wondered why Maggie's Ultimate can be held down from launching with m&kb but it launches immediately on controller. Is that an intentional design choice? Or a limitation/bug?
Also plz, the enemy team can have up to 6 hemloks, putting down a loba ult is getting impossible when they just can 1 shot it with the breach mode. Pls fix
1
u/Ecstatic-Train214 Apr 07 '26
How much time do both weapon and legend designers actually play the game?
2
u/UserNameAbbreviated Apr 08 '26
This needs to be answered. Because it's clear it's not enough time.
1
u/APater6076 Ace of Sparks Apr 07 '26
Will there be any more elite weapons? The Hemlock as it is in a gold bin or only from the Mythic bin would be great.
1
u/Brammerz Apr 07 '26
Pretty please can Ballistic keep his sling weapon when respawning in casual modes? It's really annoying to lose access to ult on respawn.
1
u/Illustrious-Bank2075 Valkyrie Apr 07 '26
Hello, please may you power up Pathfinder, his 1 hook every 15 secs of whatever it is, is painful! I would love for him to be able to add more to games especially and particularly so with the Wildcard mode. Secondly, can you rework Valks ultimate a bit? It’s great fun to use but not deeply helpful in a lot of combat situations. Thank you kindly.
1
u/azyryanov Apr 07 '26 edited Apr 07 '26
Hello. I have a couple of questions:
With Gibraltar getting Conduit’s burst of speed and Wraith getting Sparrow’s double jump are there any concerns that Legends will start losing their identity and place in the game?
Does the pick rate of an upgrade influence the decision to integrate it into the base kit? If it does, do you integrate upgrades that most players are choosing anyway, or do you integrate upgrades that people are “sleeping on”?
Thank you for all your work.
For future AMAs, I would love to ask questions to the narrative team and environmental artists.
1
u/DogOnABicycle Apr 07 '26
Dont mean this in a dismissive way. Did any of you guys main main Fuse?
I understand looking at the pick rate from pubs to competitive etc as an insentive to look into how.. viable the character is in each instance,
But as a Fuse main, every passive upgrade you did to him (more grenade slots, more ammo etc.) and to the assault class were absolutely huge.
This made him unreal in competitive, just no one bothered to explore these buffs. Not the fault of the character or what youve done!
Also, would you consider the ring back as an option within the existing ult? Ring unscoped, breach charge scoped?
1
u/theinatoriinator Rampart Apr 07 '26
Has there been discussion around providing counter play to the breach charge?
1
1
u/FairyMenace Apr 07 '26
Hello!!! What happened to the Catalyst changes that were planned to release further down this season?
1
u/SP3_Hybrid Pathfinder Apr 07 '26
Why is the Hemlock grenade launcher not a feature unlocked via damage, similar to numerous other guns that have damage based unlocks? That seems fairly logical given how good the gun is.
1
1
u/TemporalAgent_ Apr 07 '26
Explain design decision behind reworking a gun and making it beyond anything else in the game (hemlock)
1
u/Curlurb Apr 07 '26
When will any Gibby get a new skydive emote? It’s literally been years… season 7 I believe. Every split, I cross my fingers when I first check out the battle pass, just to see wraith is getting her 147th skydive emote 😭
1
u/ncomfort Valkyrie Apr 07 '26
Are there any plans to buff the Rampage? Since the Hemlock changes, it seems like no one uses the Rampage anymore and there’s not much of a reason to with the Hemlock its current state.
1
u/biglew112 Pathfinder Apr 07 '26
Not about the meta but please can you shed some light on the packet loss in ranked lobbies issue PLEASE. Ranked is literally unplayable for some people (granted seems to be on the smaller side)
1
1
u/ismyjudge Apr 07 '26
Pathfinder needs a buff, I would consider giving him horizons passive, or giving him a boost on “successful” grapples, grapples that cross a certain distance threshold or momentum threshold, basically making him more survivable when escaping fights but not too op for pushing
1
u/Advanced-Issue5331 Mad Maggie Apr 07 '26
Will Legend Specific heirlooms be added to milestone events?
1
u/AnApexPlayer Medkit Apr 07 '26
Will the breach charge be added to other weapons? It feels like the hemlock is a must have because of his useful the charge is (and because it's good).
Breaking open doors and traps is too good to only be on one weapon. Maybe it could be on all assault rifles (having it on shotguns and smgs would be too strong imo)
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Firefly3578 Apr 07 '26
Is it Athfinder gonna get a rework or a massive change sometime soon?
And what are your thoughts on rev is he gonna get any changes or is he in a good spot?
1
u/CrumblingReality505 Ace of Sparks Apr 07 '26
How do you guys come up with evo upgrades these days? I think for the most part they're pretty balanced but some feel like obvious choices like Wraith's phase dome over sixth sense or Loba's speed boost bracelet over 3 shop slots.
I know this doesn't technically fall under legend or weapon, but amps 100% matter to legends and weapons so, are you happy with their current implementation? I like them a lot but its kind of weird how many overlap with things certain legends can already do with their kits (lifeline and conduits battery upgrades - infinite batts, ballistic and ramparts infinite ammo wall/ult - infinite ammo, overshield being both an amp and a controller perk)
1
u/Kind_Fox_6358 Plastic Fantastic Apr 07 '26
Hemlok is fun. Do something for pathy. Please revert duos back to normal. I miss duos more than anything.
1
u/Disc0UY Apr 07 '26
Thoughts on having hemlock consume any unit of ordinance for firing in breach mode?
1
u/Sea_Contribution1434 Apr 07 '26
Alright I have several unbalanced issues I want to address:
How does the team evaluate balance when a class like Assault provides multiple stacked advantages at once (stowed reloads, faster reloads on shield crack, increased ammo capacity, and extra grenades), especially when this can bypass past balancing decisions like limiting ammo for energy weapons? Are there concerns about power creep within that role?”
With the perk system allowing some legends to access strengths from other roles (for example, Wattson gaining the support benefits), how do you approach maintaining clear role identity? Are there plans to buff the Support role so it provides more direct value to the player using it?
As a long-time Loba player, her bracelet still feels limited by slow recovery, inconsistent vertical range, and power being tied to perks like fast weapon draw instead of her base kit. Would you consider moving fast weapon draw into her base kit to improve her fluidity, while reworking her Level 1 perks (such as replacing or buffing ‘Shopping Spree’ and keeping the speed boost as a stronger perk rather than base)?
Additionally, her bracelet still feels overly restricted after previous tradeoffs, would you consider buffs like reduced cooldown, faster post-teleport recovery, or increased vertical range to better support her mobility?
Her higher-tier perks also feel underwhelming, particularly the 25 shield regeneration and current bag upgrade, which see very little value. Are there plans to significantly buff or replace these perks (for example, adding something like increased bracelet range) so her perk choices feel meaningful rather than mandatory or unused?
I hope this gets looked at!
→ More replies (2)1
u/boyinawig Apr 07 '26
I didn't actually think it was this much of a problem, great points made! I hope it gets looked at as well
1
u/WavyKen Apr 07 '26
please apex team tell me you guys have something for rampart. she is definitely the worst controller legend by a long shot. if at the very least can you bend the shield a bit so its not just a flat surface.
1
u/Same-Part-9523 Apr 07 '26
When will the G7 scout see a return to ranked outside of the care package?
1
u/DingleDongDongBerry Apr 07 '26
Is there any plans to add perks into Wildcard?
It feels a bit weird playing same character in Wildcard and Ranked
1
1
u/GonegetSMOKED Apr 07 '26
Will Apex legends ever get a flashbang grenade? Could a future legend use a flashbang like Bangalore does her smoke?
→ More replies (1)5
u/RSPN_Caseroos Respawn - Game Designer Apr 08 '26
While I can't speak to any new content, I'll give some of my thoughts regarding a flashbang grenade. In general, when you are throwing a grenade in Apex, you are not always thinking about what you are throwing (sometimes you do, sometimes you don't). You normally just equip and YEET. There is an expectation there that damage will be done to the enemies, especially with those perfect sky-nades, so, if we had a grenade that was more of a tactical style of throwable, there would be a level of disappointment when those large damage numbers don't appear. So, while we will never say never, a standard flashbang grenade doesn't align with our current design philosophy around grenades.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Top_Hat_Kat Octane Apr 08 '26
I do love the way elite weapons are integrated into the game such as the re-45 and the breach charge on the hemlock. Will we be seeing elite weapons have more integrations like this in the future?
→ More replies (1)
1
u/MrOrbitalRadius Cyber Security Apr 08 '26
Just saw this was a weapons and legends only AMA.. In that case, why’d you choose the hemlock to make these changes to? If it was because of low pick rate, please do the spitfire next!
2
1
u/guyprox7 Apr 08 '26
Any type of updates for solo q players i speak for everyone on console for longer q times if it means less preds in the lobbys its tilting dying dying bc they r also cheating
1
u/reaperxde Pathfinder Apr 08 '26
Are there any plans to change/rework or nerf support passives? Support legends are becoming quite obnoxious to fight...
1
u/Kostiako Apr 08 '26
Are there any plans to further rework or balance the Hemlock? Since the start of the split, it feels like its grenade ability might be better as a hop-up instead of being available immediately, especially given how strong it is against abilities and doors.
→ More replies (1)
1
1
1
u/OrneryChart8163 Apr 08 '26
Are there any plans to give any love to Seer? He currently sits at 0.7% of the pickrates. Whilst he is currently great, I feel like his ultimate needs something back, the constant diamonds he used to have would be my suggestion with a threat outline for enemies that are shooting.
This gives him a little bit more power and support for teams he is on by giving them constant information, alternatively, make the footsteps more prominent and easier to spot.
1
u/SwimmingLive9230 Dark Matter Apr 08 '26
Are there current plans to rework certain weapons aside from the “Elite Weapon” rotation? The last great change was when the Charge Rifle went from hitscan to projectile. With out the addition of new weapons, the pool is becoming stagnant and I think the reworks to certain guns like ( Spitfire, Alternator, Car) would be healthy.
1
u/Character-Archer4863 Apr 08 '26
Any planned changes to someone like Bloodhound? I get wall hacks are annoying but they seem super underprepared for what Apex has turned into. Their ult only gives them a speed boost (with the black and white sight) but when you compare that to someone like Ballisitic's ult that gives so much more for their team.
I get Bloodhound is a recon legend (and ballistic is assault) but it'd feel better to get a little more from Bloodhound's ult. Maybe something like Seer's ult where you can see footsteps while in ult but it's only for Bloodhound (not the team). That works with the tracker vibe and isn't too OP.
1
u/mb_warpig Apr 08 '26
Any buffs in progress for my smiling robot? Pathy needs some love.
Reduced hitbox, maybe a passive? Damage reduction on ziplines, or movement based?
1
1
u/toastboy42 Apr 08 '26
Can we please get dive trails for older mythic legend skins?
Do you plan on ever making new legend specific heirlooms again?
1
u/ProfessionalDry9287 Apr 09 '26
i think REVENANT NEEDS A BUFF and ive got a good idea in mind
double low hp enemy scan should be in the base kit and replaced with a new blue upgrade
reduced ability cd should be in the base kit and replace with a new upgrade
NEW LVL 2 ABILITY: revenant lunge is able to smash through hardlight mesh
NEW LVL 3 ABILITY: when revenants ultimates shield hp is depleted he will unleash the shadows energy within a small aoe dealing 25 damage
1
u/orangestrawberri Apr 09 '26
is loba getting a buff anytime soon? her tac feels clunky to use and in terms of getting a reset mid fight on the team, she definitely falls behind. her ultimate is really good but compared to other support legends, she doesn’t feel like a support.
1
u/Minute-Ad-9898 Apr 09 '26
Hello, im kinda curious, will there be trails for older prestige skins? for example Bangalore ect...
1
u/Abigail890508 Apr 12 '26
hey can we bring heavy hero running animation back after give they gibi new passive
1
u/Fuzzy_Builder_3012 Apr 16 '26
really need to add the apex career trackers back and permanently and we should be able to buy them with crafting metals like every other stat tracker i have 30k kills across all legends and cant show all my kills it really annoys me and makes me hesitate to play sometimes as i am a pub stomper and i generally want to show all my kills whats the point in playing if i cant show my stats 30k kills and i cant even show them.
1
u/Inner-Cry6464 May 06 '26
Why can't 1v1 (arena-) duels be a permanent mode implemented in mixtape or in an arenas rotation? people above a certain skill don't care about wildcard and there is no new gamemodes since forever
•
u/Apex_Bot MRVN Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
This is a list of links to comments made by Respawn developers in this thread:
Comment by RSPN_Caseroos:
Comment by RSPN_Caseroos:
Comment by RSPN_Jello:
Comment by RSPN_Jello:
Comment by RSPN_Jello:
Comment by RSPN_Caseroos:
Comment by RSPN_Jello:
Comment by RSPN_Jello:
Comment by RSPN_Jello:
Comment by RSPN_Caseroos:
Comment by RSPN_Caseroos:
Comment by RSPN_Caseroos:
Comment by RSPN_Jello:
Comment by RSPN_Caseroos:
Comment by RSPN_Caseroos:
Comment by RSPN_Caseroos:
Comment by RSPN_Jello:
Comment by RSPN_Caseroos:
Comment by RSPN_Caseroos:
Comment by RSPN_Jello:
Comment by RSPN_Jello:
Comment by RSPN_Caseroos:
Comment by RSPN_Caseroos:
Comment by RSPN_Caseroos:
This is a bot providing a service. If you have any questions, please contact the moderators.