The first major balance patch has arrived with changes to some of the more popular weapons in the game and some future promises for Battle Pass and Season 1 balance changes too.
Apex Legends Patch Notes
Wingman changes
Rate of fire reduced from 3.1 to 2.6 (per second)Skullpiercer headshot bonus damage multiplier reduced from 2.5 to 2.25Increase base hip fire spread and decreased the rate at which hip fire spread decays
The Wingman has been one of the strongest guns in the game since launch, these changes set it back a little bit – but it still remains one of the most powerful weapons you can find.
Peacekeeper changes
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%
The Peacekeeper was perhaps a little too versatile when paired with a choke, so these changes will hopefully set it back into line.
General Weapon Changes
Wingman and Peacekeeper availability has been reduced in all zone tiers.Increased availability of energy weapons & ammo in all zone tiers.
This is an interesting change and speaks a lot about the mentality of Respawn and how they balance weapons in the game. Rather than going overboard and cutting the legs out of weapons or items with balance changes, making them harder to come across will help alleviate the problem while still keeping the weapons strong – but hopefully not too strong.
Apex Legends Season 1 Changes
A few major balance changes for Season 1 were announced too, fixing some of the more obvious issues with balance around the game:
Hitbox size reductions and optimizations for Caustic, Pathfinder and GibraltarWe’re better sizing hitboxes to character gear & modelSince 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 outIf these adjustments prove to be insufficient, we’ll consider additional adjustments during Season 1
Changes to Legend’s hitboxes has been at the forefront of the community’s mind for a while, with the three mentioned being a much larger target to hit for enemy players. Make sure you check out our Apex Legends Best Weapons and Best Legends tier list.
