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W3stminst3r's avatar
W3stminst3r
Seasoned Ace
11 months ago

Respawn: When "balancing" is an foreign word...

I've been playing Apex Legends since S1 and finding balance has always been an impossible task for Respawn - they've never (!) been able to get it right.

At first it was the way too strong Wingman, which in the right hands (pro-gamers f.e.) topped everything.
Then the gun was not only adjusted and slightly balanced, but nerfed to the point of its near death. In the last saison the Wingman was degenerated into a "Wingbaby".

In the eyes of Respawn, Wraith with her small hitbox and her instant-vanish was "too strong". So they've started nerfing her bit by bit over several seasons: They've taken away her individual Naruto running style, her vanish now takes 2 seconds to activate, portals disappear in the zone etc...
The instant vanish was said to be too strong, but today there the game has numerous legends who got their own instant-tactical and are way stronger than Wraith (Octance can outrun her vanish, a Pathfinder can "out-grapple" a vanishing Wraith, also a Horizon can quickly take high-ground and kill the rematerializing Wraith from a superior angle.

Rampart maybe was a little to weak in the past but instead of balancing her she was turned into a monster since she is now able to grab her Sheila without a delay.

The Mastiff is far from being balanced since you can get killed over distances a shotgun should not be able to reach.

Akimbo was the worst idea ever: They nerfed the Wingman because it was said to be "too strong"? Look at the auto-firing double-Mosambiques or at the double P2020 everyone is using atm. Instant death!

The matchmaking has never really been balanced either: Trios, TDM, Lockdown, Control..winning or not is only a matter of luck. In 80 % of all my matches I get matched with beginners. Beginners who have neither understood the gameplay nor mastered their classes or weapons. In the en emy-team(s), on the other hand, all seem to be ex-Preds, full-stacks etc.

So let me summarise:

1) Wingman now weak (Edit: To keep in line with Forum rules, keep it clean please) 

2) Akimbo and Mastiff on the other hand are "totally fine" in the eyes of Respawn :D

3) Wraith was nerfed to death while other legends still got their instant tacticals and are way too OP

4) The matchmaking is a joke and makes the whole thing a game of chance

discussion

7 Replies

  • 1-mf's avatar
    1-mf
    11 months ago
    @W3stminst3r @W3stminst3r 1 - true
    2 - p2020 akimbo is not so good but a double mozambique is like the golden goose.
    3 - They did it because they realized that no matter what legend they release, old legends are still better to choose.
    4 - Current state of the game is -> play with friends or learn to play with random players who have no skills at all and you will have to carry them.
  • hayhor's avatar
    hayhor
    Hero
    11 months ago
    @W3stminst3r There's one huge mistake in expecting balance in a video game. From a business standpoint it doesn't make sense to make everything balanced. Changing what's meta does two things- 1)Keeps people interested by having them play different things. This keeps the playing. 2)It sells skins. That gun you've never used is now meta and now you are using it? Well maybe you want it looking good so here's a skin to buy.
  • reconzero's avatar
    reconzero
    Seasoned Ace
    11 months ago
    @W3stminst3r

    "The matchmaking is a joke and makes the whole thing a game of chance"

    But here's the thing. This^ is the ugly truth that nobody has ever wanted to talk about since the first competitive multiplayer fps went live on the internet. It isn't a new phenomenon at all, it's just that it has got a lot worse as the games themselves have become more complex with much higher skill-ceilings. But I'm here to tell you right now that some of what you accomplished rank-wise in Halo 2 had to do with your skill. And a lot of it had to do with the skill, or lack, of the three other people you got matched up with. And that matchmaker, while slightly better than Respawn's, was still not very good. And don't even try to play off-peak, or during the launch of some other major new game, or on a Friday before holiday weekend in a month containing the end of a lunar cycle when Saturn is in opposition....
  • ComicBookGuy2727's avatar
    ComicBookGuy2727
    Seasoned Ace
    11 months ago

    The original Dev's that created the game, I feel did a great job balancing. However they also had only 6 or 8 characters to start which makes balancing much easier. Feels like this game just wasn't meant to have over 20 characters. Clearly we saw how Respawn was running out of ideas for legend abilities, hence why we got some ridiculous legends and abilities ("cough cough" Seer) and the crazy amount of reveal meta abilities which followed. 

    I don't see any way at all at this point to balance Apex Legends. I doubt the greatest Dev's on the planet could clean up this mess of a game at this point. 

  • AymCTL's avatar
    AymCTL
    Seasoned Ace
    11 months ago
    @W3stminst3r You make a lot of good points here. The wingman is just garbage, you can hit a firing range dummy while still at point blank range and still miss, lol.

    I also agree about Wraith's skills being weak. When I play her it's for the voice in her head because it gives good warnings. I don't care much about the portal thing, the warp ability can be good, but it's easy to track it.

    Rampart's Sheila gun is tough to use. I won a match in e district just by using Shiela because I couldn't find any good loot so when we would push a team I'd put the covers up and then use the Shiela gun to take out any enemies that my squadmates couldn't get. However, you have to hit people when they don't expect it since it's too easy for them to dodge.

    I think the akimbos need to go because they are being exploited by people with cheat boxes.

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