As a day 1 Caustic main I can honestly say that I’m highly disappointed with the lack of support this character has received from the devs all these years. Since his original nerf, he’s never been the same character and he’s never recovered. Regardless of the tweaks you’ve attempted, his gas is still a joke of a deterrent. Caustic at his core is supposed to be an AOD character. But if his gas doesn’t deter anyone from the area then what’s the point? Time and time again, I’ve set myself into an area that was to be defended, gas traps at the ready only to have enemy teams walk through the gas like it was nothing and blast their way through into a gunfight undeterred as if the gas didn’t even exist. It’s very disappointing and frustrating when the character’s whole schtick is using gas to choke out his opponents, and yet his gas barely does any damage at all. To add insult to injury you included the ability for his traps to be destroyed by shooting the bottom. As if the gas wasn’t pitifully weak enough! Despite years of players asking you to fix the gas damage and or effects, you continuously ignore it and leave this character to be the laughing stock of the series. It’s pitiful. What could be (and some would argue initially was) one of the most intimidating characters of the game is a mere parody of his former self. I think it’s time you give Caustic the renaissance he deserves and make him the most feared legend once again. Or at least viable in the larger meta of the game. 🤷♂️maybe that’s just my two cents.
I really like your post about Caustic (the one with the pick rate screen shot), yes he really does need a buff to his tact and alt as you stated and it should be easy for EA/Respawn to implement. I wish they would really make Caustic a viable menace again.
As for these things (see my answers in Bold) :
1. "I don't even know if anyone from Respawn analyzes and reads these statements. I have the impression that we write all this for ourselves anyway, and they don't care. This isn't even about this topic, but there have already been so many different discussions on this forum, from which nothing has ever come... so the question is - who is this forum supposed to serve? What can be done on this forum?" The CM's do read our posts and they do pass on info to the Devs, they do care. Those of us in the SU program also highlight things and pass them on to the CM's as we see fit as well, even if we do not respond to the post (See point 3 below).
2. "Someone asks about a ban or asks a question about cheaters - they get a ready-made answer from a template." Yes the CM's and we the SU's do use templates from time to time as it 1. makes life easier for us and 2. we give out the same consistent info, as needed we will also add non templated remarks as well.
3. "In other discussions, the EA team in 95% does not say anything, as if they were completely uninterested." It is not that there is a lack of interest but you do have to understand that there are Forum boards/threads for quite a number of games and in quite a few different languages which equals quite a lot of post's per day. That is a lot of work. Just because there is not a response does not mean there is a lack of interest (see point 1 above).
4. "I personally have the impression that this forum is just for the sake of it and nothing more." The forum is mainly a place for gamers to help other gamers and to share their passion for the games we play and to provide information about what we think can be improved on/made better, submit bug reports, ask for technical help etc.
Just as I thought. Caustic is a bigger piece of **bleep** now than he was last split. All thanks to everyone having a ridiculous movement now. Thanks for ruining the game. See you in 41 days.
We used to say back in the day that they rotated the gun effectiveness on a daily schedule. So some guns would be more effective depending on the day. (I think that may have been since prove true?) so they don’t really have any reason to do the stuff they do other than to **bleep** people off. It’s the only logical reason I can come up with to justify to stupidity with which they make these decisions. 🤷♂️
You’re right. And it’s sad. They’ve all but decided to just do wtf they want with this game with no regard for the larger community or their gripes. I know you can’t please everyone but the blatant disregard and disrespect for certain characters season after season is just mockingly disgusting. And yeah maybe not a whole rework but I was talking in extremes there. I’d like him to be as he was in season 0 or 1 when he was formitable. That would be enough for me. It’s bad enough that he’s part of the smallest group of legends in the sub categories they’ve divided them into to begin with. But to make him worthless on top of that makes those characters even tougher to justify having. But like you said they won’t listen to us. So I guess I’m on here to sooth my soul knowing that I’m not alone in my hate and disgust in Respawns abject unapologetic kowtowing to their precious ALGS METAs and nothing else. It’s vomit inducing.
It's not even about pick rate. Because pick rate can be low because Caustic is one of the difficult legends when it comes to the game.
But when you look at his skills, which have currently meant nothing for several seasons, this is where the problem appears.
For example, taking all the characters from the bottom (screenshot), except Caustic and Seer - who needs buffs at this point? Each character has skills that matter in combat and can turn their fate around.
Catalyst has always been a difficult character, but by blocking doors and her traps you can control buildings nicely. Ult also does its job and still makes some sense.
Gibraltar? Dome + strong ult is also a good set. Additionally shield when shooting with a scope.
I can go on and on for each legend some skills that can do something in combat, but considering Caustic's gas - this is currently the worst skill that exists in this game. And here is the problem and the question arises - why was nothing done about it for many seasons when everyone saw it?
Caustic's gas doesn't even slow down anymore, and deals ridiculous damage considering the current TTK.
For comparison, Ash, catching herself in her "Q", deals you an additional 20 damage right away and you're still stuck for 3 seconds? Caustic's gas deals you 4 damage on your stat, you'll get maybe 5 more and you'll run away right away. It means absolutely nothing.
How can they keep skipping him in every update? I don't understand it.
Someone once told me something like "We found the last Caustic" in voice chat. There's some truth to that, because now he's just played for sentimental reasons.
Those who play him do so only because they probably still believe that Caustic will ever be playable even to a small extent.
And Seer? Seer has been in a terrible state for many many seasons. There are many things that could be improved. I tried playing him for a few days. This character has potential, but his skills completely limit him because they are simply too weak. The ult seems to be definitely too short, and "Q" should be extended to 75 meters by default. His upgrades are simply ridiculous.
For some reason they don't want to improve these legends and they're in no hurry, even though the problem has been going on for many seasons. I understand that these characters used to be strong in ALGS tournaments, but why should everyone suffer because you're balancing everything for tournaments for a few dozen people?
Besides, speaking of balance, with each season and split this word loses any meaning in Apex Legends.
To sum up - Caustic himself also has real potential and doesn't need a complete rework! His gas simply needs a significant upgrade, the slow should be back in some form, and the traps should be quicker to activate and harder to destroy. Does this really require a year-plus wait? It's not hard, but for some reason someone just doesn't want to do it.
I don't even know if anyone from Respawn analyzes and reads these statements. I have the impression that we write all this for ourselves anyway, and they don't care. This isn't even about this topic, but there have already been so many different discussions on this forum, from which nothing has ever come... so the question is - who is this forum supposed to serve? What can be done on this forum?
Someone asks about a ban or asks a question about cheaters - they get a ready-made answer from a template.
In other discussions, the EA team in 95% does not say anything, as if they were completely uninterested.
I personally have the impression that this forum is just for the sake of it and nothing more.
Caustic isn't the only one. The entire roster is example after example of willful nerfs to legends that didn't need it, absurd buffs to legends that were already strong, and not just a little bit of neglect for many of them - like Caustic, Pathfinder, etc. When you figure out the pattern and purpose behind the way they treat the legends in this game then please come back and share it with the group because I'll be fried in fat if I can figure out why they do anything they do anymore. It honestly seems as if they have a quarterly conference call with streamers and then they just do whatever the content creators want. It's the only way I can explain the randomness of it all.
I’m really not surprised at all by this. They have over seasons taken the time to rework the entire kits of some of the legends to ensure they still work within the context of the larger framework. However caustic being an OG legend has had the abysmal honor of having almost nothing done to create any kind of excitement around his character of playstyle. At this point it’s a wonder why they don’t just take him out of the game completely and/or replace him with another legend. If you’re going to ignore a character to such an obvious degree, knowing his pick rate is awful and his kit is absolutely trash comparatively, there’s really no point in keeping him in the game. I just wish they would have the balls to actually just say it instead of making the Caustic players sit in agony waiting to see something happen.
From what I saw in the HYPERMYST video (Youtube), there are a lot of changes coming to legends in the second split, but Caustic is still left out. It's funny how some champions with low pick rates haven't been touched in many seasons (e.g. Caustic, Seer). I think they're doing it out of spite and on purpose, because there's no way they've been blind for at least 3 or 4 seasons.
For those who play Caustic - you will still have to endure torment until the end of this season. I don't envy you, in fact I feel sorry for you.
Strengthening other characters while ignoring Caustic at the same time - destroys him even more, and he is already lying helpless. I see that the problem with logical thinking is becoming more and more common.
In comparison - Ash, who breaks every lobby and every team, only got a ridiculous nerf to extend her ult.
I don't believe that anyone working on gameplay has the ability to think logically. Ash will continue to dominate throughout the second split. They didn't learn any lessons from their changes. They don't see any problem with Ash's "q" and her dashes. Congratulations.
What new meta do you think?
For me Ash + Revenant + Alter. Maybe a support legend will replace one of them, most likely Lifeline...
