A new balance update for Apex Legends has been released, bringing with it a variety of changes and nerfs to two of the game’s most popular weapons, the Peacekeeper and the Wingman.
These nerfs not only adjust damage output, but also the availability of these weapons as a whole. In patch notes posted to the Apex Legends subreddit, the balance update includes the following weapon adjustments:
Wingman
- Rate of fire reduced from 3.1 to 2.6 shots per second.
- Skullpiercer Headshot damage multiplier reduced from 2.5 to 2.25
- Increased base hip fire spread and decreased the rate at which hip fire spread decays.
Peacekeeper
- Shotgun Bolt rechamber rate has been reduced for the Peacekeeper only.
- Level 1 mitigation from 10 percent to 7.5 percent.
- Level 2 mitigation from 20 percent to 13 percent.
- Level 3 mitigation from 25 percent to 16 percent.
- Wingman and Peacekeeper availability has been reduced in all zone tiers.
- Increased availability of energy weapons and ammo in all zone tiers.
The decision to nerf these weapons was elaborated upon, noting that the adjustments to the Skullpiercer Wingman were intended to move it towards the hand cannon end and away from “full auto Deagle.” The rate of fire for the Peacekeeper when it has a Shotgun Bolt attachment was also a sticking point, with the nerfs intended to leave players more vulnerable should they miss their shot.
Farther down the list of patch notes, match disconnects players have reported experienced are addressed as being fixed, including disconnects when Caustic throws his Ultimate, and disconnects when Pathfinder activates a Survey Beacon. Meanwhile, character balance and hitboxes were also tweaked.
Hit box size reductions and optimizations for Caustic, Pathfinder, and Gibraltar.
Caustic
- Traps – Reduced cooldown to 25 seconds from 30 seconds.
- Traps – Increased radius and proximity radius by about 10 percent.
- Traps – Removed a 1 second delay on smoke dealing damage to players.
Pathfinder
- Insider Knowledge – Increased the number of beacons in the world to 12 from 10.
Lifeline
- Care Package – Removed slight chance that level 4 armor and helmets will drop.
Wraith
- Into the Void – Cooldown increased from 20 to 25 seconds.
Bangalore
- Double Time – Reduced move speed bonus to 30 percent from 40 percent.
For a full recap of the chances made in the latest balance update, be sure to check out the full patch notes over on the Apex Legends subreddit. Overall, most of the changes are welcome, especially in regards to match disconnects and character balance.
While players may lament the fact that the Wingman and Peacekeeper have been nerfed, it’s nice to hear that energy weapons and ammo availability has improved, especially following the recent addition of the Havoc energy rifle.
