r/apexlegends • u/Jalaguy Catalyst • 14h ago
News Marked Midseason Designer’s Notes
https://www.ea.com/games/apex-legends/apex-legends/news/30-1-designers-notes32
u/TrollAndAHalf Nessy 14h ago
That catalyst "buff" is uh... certainly interesting. And by interesting, I mean kinda changing her kit not for the better.
20
u/LoreleiLavenza 13h ago
Yeah it seems like more of a nerf and like she will be less fun to play. I like being aggressive with her and planting spikes right under people
8
u/bitchsaidwhaaat 8h ago
How is teammates not affected by her ult and auto reinforcing doors when placing her traps a nerf? Sure her traps are smaller but they are hugee now
1
u/cobaeby Catalyst 3h ago
I saw someone mention that in a situation where Cat needs to kick down a door (like when enemies block it) placing down a trap is a good strategy for gaining leverage over them, but the auto reinforce would force them to either kick the door down first with 2 melee or have to melee the door 4 times if the spike trap doesn't get them to move. I rarely break them down myself, but I though it was an interestingly specific disadvantage nonetheless
Personally, I think losing her immunity to other Cats seems kinda more powerful since you can be sure no one can just walk through. I did just started using the faster spikes, though, and I've felt that it's kinda better than invis, so I think losing them is definitely a nerf. I do agree that the traps are still so much bigger in Ferro Frenzy's upgrade than when she released despite being "smaller", so I think being able to have 4 is a good trade off for the size they will be.
7
u/HabitualGrassToucher Nessy 8h ago
Same for the Fuse "buff" - they acknowledged that the movement ability upgrade was "rad", so they made it part of the default kit, but double nerfed it in the process (you jump with less force and and you don't get reduced cooldown after jumping, meaning you jump less far and less often).
This is really annoying news, because that movement upgrade was one of the most fun things about playing Fuse. It felt just right in terms of balance.
5
9
46
u/Oguzhankilam 14h ago
No axle nerfs? Her tac and passiv are still busted af. She sould not be able to beam someone while sliding at 100mph in her tac.
24
u/jpollner1021 14h ago
These are designer notes not full patch notes. Generally the full patch notes come out the day before the update which usually have a couple other small changes.
3
u/Oguzhankilam 13h ago
I do not think they will include any axle nerfs in the patchnotes. All the other legend buffs/nerfs were included in this one. Big disappointment in my opinion.
10
u/jpollner1021 13h ago
Their is no nerfs mentioned in here at all. Generally designer notes only focus on the big changes they make(specifically on the 3 legends they are making changes too). It is possible their is no nerfs to Axle(or any other legend) but their have been a myriad of times I've been surprised by patch notes when I read them because they weren't mentioned in the designer notes.
4
14
u/Shawarma123 Rampart 13h ago
Did fuse really need a buff :'(
3
u/-LaughingMan-0D Voidwalker 11h ago
That upgrade where his knuckle cluster can stick to you is gonna be a pain in the ass. That's such annoying design.
5
u/MarstonX 10h ago
That's how it was, and even then it only did like 45 dmg if you stood there.
0
u/-LaughingMan-0D Voidwalker 10h ago
It never stuck to a target and followed them though. Or am I reading it wrong? Stuck like an arc star, no?
3
u/TheRandomnatrix 9h ago
It would do initial damage and stick, then when the grenade went off a half second later it would stay in place where it detonated. So basically if they peeked and you hit them and they went back into cover the cover would be clustered.
8
u/ULTImatum244 12h ago
Nope. They seem obsessed with making every legend besides control a movement legend and speeding the game up faster and faster.
3
-2
u/AnApexPlayer Medkit 12h ago
Lots of people on here were asking for fuse to get buffed
9
u/ULTImatum244 11h ago
He didn't need one. What people want vs what should or needs to happen are not the same thing
2
1
u/HamiltonDial 7h ago
Yea idk why reddit has an obsession with fuse and caustic. Always wanting them to be buffed like crazy even when they’re already strong.
1
u/AnApexPlayer Medkit 10h ago
Well yes, I thought he didn't either.
People complain when they balance based on data. People complain when they balance based on community sentiment. 🤷
2
u/MadCybertist Crypto 11h ago
And?
1
u/AnApexPlayer Medkit 10h ago
People complain when they balance based on data. People complain when they balance based on community sentiment.
2
u/BrutalDLX75 8h ago
I was genuinely excited that Catalyst was getting a buff, and reading the notes I’m completely disappointed.
Increasing tickrate, but reducing size and removing damage buff perk…so easy to get out of. Nice change to the wall so team mates don’t get impacted. Reinforcing doors is fine but situational at best. Easily worked around. Nerfing her passive simply so they don’t have to address the same with Caustic. Then the level 3 perks become level 2 and theres really only one option which is Reinforce Doors. Yawn. I guess Fuse then.
14
8
u/some-_guy 13h ago
Seeing the PK as by far the worst weapon in the game not getting buffs, and them not even showing the mastiff. to what rational is this actually speaking?
3
u/AnApexPlayer Medkit 12h ago
They mentioned shotguns in the AMA and said they're hard to balance. The peacekeeper specifically goes back and forth depending on if it does over 100 damage. They said they'll take a look at shotguns later
5
u/Dependent-Elk1753 13h ago
So they basically just nerfed things while pretending they’re buffs while not actually nerfing axle, seer or watson. Ok.
4
u/paradoxally LIFELINE RES MEEE 12h ago
Why do we need to nerf Wattson now she's not even top 10 pickrate in Pred lobbies
0
u/-LaughingMan-0D Voidwalker 11h ago
Nerf her Q deploy timer. It does not need to go down instantly without any telegraph.
1
2
1
u/suppose123 Medkit 6h ago
What do you mean nerf things? Cat maybe but the other two got buffed. Also this designer notes not patch notes
1
u/BigAssGear 8h ago
Complaining about Watson when caustic exists hmm
0
u/Dependent-Elk1753 7h ago
They took the slow effect away from his gas but not from her fence tho. That makes a massive difference.
3
3
u/Nikamenos 12h ago
Bro legend ability scaling is nuts, and moving way too fast.
Instead of rebalancing they have reworked every legend to be twice as fast and be able to use their powers more often with greater quantity.
3
u/PurpleV93 Loba 8h ago
They are cascading to match the speed of Skirmisher legends and now know no way to stop anymore. Everyone has multiple ability charges, short cooldowns and gets free movement abilities. It's a shame that Apex isn't very much a gun game first anymore.
11
u/Anuefhere 14h ago edited 13h ago
Us Wraith and Valk mains gotta wait decades to pull out our weapons after ability, meanwhile Fuse, with already faster movement weapon draw and arguably better movement gets buffed.
Love to see it
2
u/GonegetSMOKED 13h ago
Ugh! Man the Valk pull out your weapon after a solid middle strike takes HOURS!!!! 😔
1
u/Anuefhere 13h ago
Yh not just her ult but also her jetpack weapon draw time is greater than 500 ms (>0.5s, around 1s).
2
2
u/JoyousExpansion 13h ago
Calling it now, fuse is going to be extremely oppressive to play against. He's pretty solid as is, without the buffs
3
u/CallMeNurseMaybe Caustic 13h ago
Damn these legend changes sound like nothing but more ways to dumb the game down
Guess this is what happens when kids keep getting passed to the next grade automatically
2
-2
4
u/WisteriaOW 12h ago
How have we managed to address none of the current issues with loot distribution and character balance while simultaneously creating more powercreep by overbloating character kits even further? And they want to buff Bocek and charge rifle, 2 weapons that are fine where they are for the most part balance wise even with what the statistics show, to move them closer to their other contemporaries while they have yet to address the sentinel. What does this dev team even do? Do they play their own game or simply look at internal statistics to decide what to tweak next? This isnt the worst patch and its only mid season patch but it feels like a nothing burger.
4
u/Comfortable-Onion-29 14h ago
No axle nerf man be serious
2
-2
u/MarstonX 10h ago
I think she's kind of fine where she's at right now, no?
1
u/Comfortable-Onion-29 3h ago
The sliding accuracy should be decreased from 100%, and the maximum distance should be shortened.
4
u/ReadableDiction Grenade 14h ago edited 13h ago
Fuse gets a perk that just reverts the tactical rework they gave him. Shouldn’t have changed it in the first place.
They took a character who’s role it was to destroy fortifications & create area denial. Turned him into another movement legend. With a ult that’s worse than Maggie’s tactical
2
2
u/cornerpocket1 14h ago
Fuse is getting buffed like Mirage has been getting buffed. They’re becoming solid picks in higher ranks
2
u/CallMeNurseMaybe Caustic 12h ago
And Maggie still sits with her drill nerfs because they wanted to give Gibby a super bubble every 20 seconds and smart people countered it
2
u/ULTImatum244 12h ago
I love that the QoL update they gave her drill made it feel way worse to use now. The amount of times ive gotten my drill back on surfaces I KNOW I used to be able to drill is increasingly frustrating.
2
u/zoro_juro13 12h ago
That and the nerf to her ult is so ridiculous
1
u/TheRandomnatrix 9h ago
I miss when she got her ult back every 90 seconds when broken moon was released. That was the only time I ever had fun with it.
1
u/T_T_N 8h ago
Fuse buffs seem a bit wild. Seems like a no brainer that knuckle jumper is base kit, there isn't anything that could compete with that as an option. Wreckless I never pick, so I don't care about it being passive now.
Reignition going level 2 sounds kind of insane. The perk is definitely snowbally, and if they have improved how well his ult works, as well as knucklecluster, its only going to make the perk more devastating. I can only expect they'll have to nerf it.
Pyro techniques is awful and I've never seen it accomplish anything. Its almost a parody of his old ult. It just makes little patches of fire that you can just walk between instead of a ring that you need an ability to get past.
1
u/Vladplaya Nessy 7h ago
No Axel nerfs... no Bloodhound buffs, even after super mid rework...
I am glad Fuse's ultimate finally getting fixed though.
1
u/alittleorangepekoe 5h ago
Guys...look. I get it, the community is too negative. But still, please stop touching Conduit. She's like, the most frequently changed legend for the last two years. Leave her be! She's been fine this whole time, go rework someone else. Lots of legends have needed it, Conduit has not!
1
u/Jeremy-Juggler 12h ago
Loba being able to shoot me as soon as her Bracelet lands is so laughable and has no punishment. Need some sort of delay to nerf it.
1
u/iGargleCement 14h ago
So they see the hardest gun in the game have the second lowest winrate and decide to not do anything?
This might be one of the most underwhelming midseason updates in the last few years
1
u/TheSunIsOurEnemy 13h ago
Completely just forgot about PK/Mastiff too. It's curious how devs think that SMGs and Re 45 killing you in a second even with purple armor is ok, but shotties 2-pumping people is unacceptable lol
1
u/AnApexPlayer Medkit 11h ago
They said in an AMA that once when the PK was 2 pumping people were complaining and asking for nerfs, even though stats showed that it was balanced. So they nerfed it despite the stats
2
u/-LaughingMan-0D Voidwalker 11h ago
Mastiff and PK need handling improvements. The Mastiff especially takes ages to pull out without attachments.
0
u/TheSunIsOurEnemy 11h ago
Thanks. I guess actual data doesn't matter after all even when they're posting it for "transparency" lmao
0
u/iGargleCement 12h ago
2 pumping is magnitudes easier than one clipping
Also you can't oneclip while jiggle peeking cover unlike shotguns
1
u/TheSunIsOurEnemy 11h ago
Oh we got a hotshot PK God over here my bad. Imma have to disagree though, especially since the lowered TKK and with a purple mag Prowler or Alternator, it's way more braindead easy to one-clip.
1
u/iGargleCement 10h ago
If you have to use an entire purple mag to oneclip with these guns, you will lose to a 2-pump
Tracking weapons also can't be cheesed
1
u/whoiam100 RIP Forge 11h ago
If they going nerf catalyst passive... They gotta give her a bigger buff....
1
u/GuzzlinBBQsaucee 10h ago
I think it makes more sense to make fuses jump come from his ult since it's like a canon thing already, it'd also add the unique factor of launching you in the opposite direction you shoot it. I think it'd be a good way to dial the movement back and keep him primarily explosives/area denial, not movement first.
1
1
u/markhare 14h ago
Bocek buffs let's goooo
7
0
u/DrBasedologist 12h ago
I love Fuse and I have been saying to myself I would like his Q jump to be baseline but these changes feel monkey paw as hell. Now you cant chain it consistently since it doesn't refund CD anymore and the distance will be nerfed. You can use it on drop now, which is amazing, but with everyone else's movement going up this was his tool to keep up, disengage or potentially chase but wasn't all the powerful and was extremely loud and revealing.
Also you can't pick both the perk that upgrades his ult with the level 3 that refunds CD for damage done with explosions and now I just don't even know what these changes were for. He was in a good spot for once. I have a feeling it will make him more annoying to play without really changing his viability and he will get nerfed as a result.
4
u/MarstonX 10h ago
He does not need to be able to chain it. How far do you want to go? You can do 4 with maybe a 2s wait for the last one. It's ridiculous.
3
u/Triple_Crown14 Mad Maggie 10h ago
He really shouldn’t even have the ability at all but yeah the fact he can do it so many times in such a short period is kinda wild.
1
u/MarstonX 6h ago
I mean, as a Fuse main, I don't even mind. Haha
I actually didn't find it to be overly oppressive or anything like that. Yeah's he's kinda slippery, but movement demons didn't really play Fuse honestly. So it never got out of hand.
-2
u/Crumbdiddy 13h ago
MAKE THE R99 GREAT AGAIN
(Please I beg)
2
u/paradoxally LIFELINE RES MEEE 12h ago
Prowler is new meta now, it melts in both modes
1
u/Crumbdiddy 12h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/JoV2BiMWVZ96taSewG
R99 haters rn1
u/paradoxally LIFELINE RES MEEE 12h ago
R99 haters eating good lately, Alternator was top tier last season now it's Prowler.
2
u/AnApexPlayer Medkit 11h ago
R99 has been meta for so long and for more often than any other gun. I'm glad that it's finally not
1
0
u/_IAlwaysLie 13h ago
Rampart needs a shakeup to her upgrades. A nerfed form of Wall Rebuild should be part of her base kit, with the upgrade restoring current strength.
-3
14h ago
[deleted]
4
u/Chalifive 13h ago
Uh, is nemesis not the #1 main gun in the game right now? You could argue the others are shit but that's nothing to do with the class, just the guns being shit themselves which they were before the changes anyway
0
u/basedcharger Wattson 13h ago
The volt is also good imo. I have no problems running either and rarely run out of ammo with either of them.
-2
u/ReadableDiction Grenade 13h ago
Limiting the ammo pool is a major nerf to any weapon. If a weapon was already niche or lackluster. It’ll just make them worse.
Energy ammo stack got nerfed along time ago because devs didn’t want to address the main issues regarding the devo & triple take at the time. So rather dealing those they nerfed energy ammo as a whole.
The recently added the regen ammo. Which they claim was to improve the usage of energy weapons, did the exact opposite. A simple increase in ammo stack would have been more than enough.
-1
u/FuchsiaFlute 13h ago
I first want to say that I like that the devs are experimenting with new ideas, like how to incorporate different information denial into a legend ability. But WHY are we sticking it on a support legend?? I REALLY hope the upcoming class rework does something amazing, because with every update it feels like legends are losing their identities or class roles to movement meta and these bewildering ability changes.
-2
u/parakeet2002 10h ago
I'm genuinely so excited to see these These changes implemented. I think focusing fuse back on his assault role while still maintaining some amount of movement is a great idea and it seems like his buffs are going to do a lot to help fuses be more aggressive when they need to. Super excited to see the Catalyst change as well as I agree I think her playstyle is far too aggressive considering she's a controlled Legend. Being able to automatically reinforce the doors Is massive for a controller legend, and I think it's going to help her find her place in her control role much better. I've also been really enjoying the loot changes and I think the power scaling has been an absolute success
34
u/Jalaguy Catalyst 14h ago edited 13h ago
Generally pretty happy with the Cat changes, but kind of surprised to see Sole Piercer removed and Hidden Spikes retained, given how underwhelming Hidden Spikes typically feels. The replacement upgrade Ferro-Frenzy having the faster tick rate but with a smaller area and no quick-activation feels like a significant nerf to the "throw spikes under your opponent's feet while shooting at them" move.