Octane has been quite a popular pick in Apex Legends since his release all the way back in Season 1, however, many fans of the High-Speed Daredevil have called for buffs to keep him competitive with some of the other top characters, like Wraith.
Following some of the Apex Legends changes that were revealed at the EA Play event, such as a Lifeline ability rework, many Octane mains felt as if they were left out after little was shared about their favorite character.
However, Respawn Entertainment designer Daniel Klein finally confirmed in a June 18 Reddit discussion post about the event, that they have some plans for the adrenaline-based Legend in one of their future updates.
Respawn Entertainment
Respawn devs are looking at bringing some buffs to Octane soon in Apex Legends.
The Apex Legends dev explained that they have been working on changes for Octane and revealed their commitment to bringing him to a healthy state, by claiming that if the first set of buffs don’t balance the character, they will follow up with even more of a boost.
“We’ve got something planned for Octane as well! We’ll have to see if it’s enough, and if it isn’t, we’ll follow up with more,” Klein revealed.
Although he confirmed that a rework or buff is on the way, the designer admitted that the speedster was in “such a weird spot,” adding that while his pick rate was among the highest, his win rate was extremely low and that they were working on a solution to balance it.https://d-6387174401116552185.ampproject.net/2006112352003/frame.html
“I think we can only push individual encounter win rate (“selfish” power) so much further before it becomes frustrating to fight him.” he explained, “We gotta figure out ways for him to help his squad win. We’ll see how this buff does.”
After many fans were curious about what exact changes they can expect to see with Octane, Klein followed up by stating that he would not be revealing any specifics, and players would just have to wait a bit longer to find out.
Following the plethora of announcements from the EA Play event (including the long-awaited introduction of crossplay), Apex Legends players have plenty to look forward to as a series of upcoming features were teased during the event.
While Mobile Respawn Beacons look set to really shake up the meta (should they make into the regular rotation), it’s Legend nerfs/buffs that really caught the attention of fans.
EA
Lifeline is set to receive her biggest buff to date.
Both Lifeline and Octane are set to receive a rework. The Combat Medic will be “sidegraded” through tweaking her Passive, which will allow her to heal her allies with a ‘hands-free’ version of the D.O.C drone.
Meanwhile, Apex’s Adrenaline Junkie Octane is primed to receive a buff which will aid his squad in endgame scenarios — given how little of an impact his abilities actually have towards the latter portions of a match.
So with all these buffs in the pipeline, players have been left wondering what nerfs could be in the works — specifically with Gibraltar, whose recent run of buffs have placed him as one of the most well-rounded Legends in the game.
Addressing a question on when Respawn might nerf Gibby, Daniel Klein responded: “Third lowest encounter win rate, second lowest pick rate… I hear your frustration, but the data [doesn’t] support a nerf at the moment.”https://d-21553915613785176383.ampproject.net/2006112352003/frame.html
While these stats might seem surprising to many on the surface, Klein did add that the Shielded Fortress has one of the highest squad win rates in the game. “To be clear he has a super high game win rate; his team utility is through the roof.”
After the buff that Revenant received to his Silence Tactical, the simulacrum can now act as a hard-counter to Gibraltar — disabling their Gun Shield and making them a more viable target at long-range.
When players argued that Gibraltar is too much of a ‘tank’ in 1v1 situations, the dev again explained that the data doesn’t support this. “Gibraltar performs very poorly in terms of encounter win rate,” Klein explained, giving three main reasons:
Reddit comment explaining Gibraltar balance in Apex Legends
The developer explained three reasons why Gibby isn’t as powerful as people make out.
The Respawn dev also added some context to the stats, stating that his large hitbox “probably explains 90% of his low encounter win rate.”
So it looks like Gibraltar will be remaining untouched so long as the data supports it.
If you find yourself constantly being overrun by a Gibby, it might be worth giving the Synthetic Nightmare a try…
Apex Legends Season 5: Fortune’s Favor introduced a new character, Loba, and a variety of quests that follow similar rudimentary patterns calling on the sophisticated thief’s skills to steal highly coveted artifacts.
The game’s latest teaser is a transcript of a dialogue between Loba, Yoko Zepnewski, and Cheryl Amacce—the latter two being unknown characters who appear to work for Hammond Robotics.
Amacce proclaims she’ll be able to help Loba in her efforts to enact revenge on Revenant, but that the esteemed burglar will need to steal another artifact, intriguingly from a King’s Canyon island that has not yet blown up.
There is an obvious takeaway here: the next big quest for players to complete in Apex Legends will be hunting down some treasure that is “buried underneath Kings Canyon.” But the more intriguing takeaway comes later, as Loba reminds Amacce that there is no longer a subterranean Kings Canyon as the island was shredded by explosives.
Respawn Entertainment
An interesting conversation featuring Loba that hints at the future of Apex Legends.
Snarkily telling Amacce that she’s acting like there is more than one version of the same location, the Hammond Robotics employee responds: “You say that as if there isn’t.”
With much of Kings Canyon destroyed by the events leading into Season 5, suggesting that Loba go underground to steal things once again seems ridiculous. The fan-favorite areas Skulltown and Thunderdome are gone, but so is most of the island’s subterranea. So how can Loba fulfill Amacce’s request?
Two prevailing theories consequentially emerge: 1) she’s referring to Kings Canyon After Dark, which exists in an alternate dimension, or 2) she’s referring to an entirely different island, either located on the same planet, Solace, or on another.
Respawn Entertainment
Season 5’s Kings Canyon found much of its environment decimated and blown into the surrounding ocean.
The first theory is interesting but somewhat unexciting. Technically, the Kings Canyon After Dark map, which was introduced during the Shadowfall LTM during Season 3’s Fight or Fright event, is the same island but in an alternate dimension befitting spooky zombie-esque Shadows.
The second is entirely nebulous and could mean vastly different things, but not entirely far-fetched given Hammond Robotics’ history.
Respawn Entertainment
Kings Canyon After Dark was very spooky, but could it also be the site of Loba’s next stealthy shenanigans?
Whatever the case, June 23 can not come soon enough as Apex Legends fans were already excited for the upcoming Lost Treasures Collection Event, which will feature loads of new content.
This quest teaser only adds to the excitement. If players were getting bored of the standard quests, then the possibility of pushing Loba and Revenant’s story arc further while deploying into a novel Kings Canyon will be alluring—especially if it means Skulltown might be making a return.
Octavio “Octane” Silva is fast and quirky. According to Respawn Entertainment’s lore, the speedster is an adrenaline junkie with a penchant for using drugs to enhance his quickness—fittingly, considering his parents own a pharmaceutical company.
He’s got a prosthetic leg (two, in fact), adores violence, and has a proclivity toward black-and-white motifs (like the sharp teeth emblazoned on his face mask). He already screams big pirate energy, but a fan’s new idea would turn him into the finest corsair on land.
Respawn Entertainment
Octane’s face mask has some creepy sharp teeth in black and white.
While the classic pirate look is nautical and earth-toned, Octane’s default appearance is technological and neon: creepy glowing eyes, fluorescent green tubes, and Matrix headjack-esque round ports on his abdomen.
Reddit’s ‘MoberRPG’ decided to go in an entirely new direction, presumably guided by the North Star, for the battle royale’s most notorious user of performance enhancing drugs. In his “Land Shark” iteration, Octane rocks a pirate’s trademark vest, cut-off breeches, and bandana—all in reddish or brown hues. https://d-37737816951008871390.ampproject.net/2006112352003/frame.html
Dissatisfied with stopping there, they also added some tremendous details. Aside from replacing the character’s face mask with a shark’s jaw and teeth, they also added two details that are sure to shiver some timbers: a wooden peg leg instead of one of his prosthetics and a miniature cask on his belt, likely to hold some rum.
And then you add on the anchor and Jolly Roger tattoos, making this a fantastic, hilarious idea for a character whose outfits have yet to truly embrace humor.
Respawn Entertainment
Octane’s Jade Tiger skin is easily one of the legend’s best.
Octane already does have some sick skins. Jade Tiger is like a revamped Power Ranger while Extreme Measures could steal the show at the X-Games, but he could use one that leans on the funnier side of things.
Already a weird character who enjoys performance-altering inebriation, why not follow MoberRPG’s lead and give the speedster some classic seafaring garb…and a bottle of rum?
For some, the Havoc’s efficacy can feel hindered by the shot’s charging time. Whether using it as an automatic AR or single-fire with the Selectfire Hop-Up, it has a slight charge-up before bullets start launching.
As seen in the above clip, the Havoc is still a ridiculous squad-wiper even with the slight loading time before bullets begin flying. The recoil is very easy to control and the shots pack an Andy Ruiz Jr.-esque punch despite hitting sooner and faster than every single automatic weapon in the game.
The gun can switch to single-fire with a Hop-Up, turning it into a hitscan beam quasi-sniper that takes more ammo per shot, but does devastating damage without any falloff for leg shots. While that too typically requires a charge, Redditor ‘alfons100’ has shown how you can circumvent that for one shot in Season 5. https://d-2536900158121889319.ampproject.net/2006112352003/frame.html
While it’s unclear whether this is a bug or not, they demonstrate that you can successfully store and shoot one single-fire beam sans delay. As they explain, prior to Season 4 you could also do the inverse, hitting one charge-less shot on the automatic setting like a poor man’s Turbocharger.
The Havoc is a straight laser on single-fire, working like a quicker Charge Rifle that can dominate from medium to long-range if you hit your shots. This makes the gun incredibly versatile, especially since it outduels most weapons when used automatically at slightly closer ranges.
Using the stored-shot trick isn’t going to completely shift fights, but it can certainly help you get an advantage. Just remember, if you do anything that the charge will no longer be stored if you stow your weapon to run or switch back to auto.
Ever since Apex Legends went live in February of 2019, Wraith has been one of the most-used and popular characters. The Interdimensional Skirmisher has been the source of inspiration for plenty of cosplays and incredible skin concepts, and, most importantly of all, can usually be found in the winner’s circle after a game.
However, with the Lost Treasures Collection Event update almost upon us, the battle royale is set to receive a bit of a shake-up. Developers have confirmed that Lifeline will be reworked and Octane will be tweaked, and now it’s been confirmed that Wraith will join them in being tweaked.
Respawn/EA
Wraith has always been one of Apex’s most popular legends.
The confirmation came after fans were quizzing Jason McCord, Design Director on Apex Legends, about which characters would receive tweaks. While he remained pretty quiet on a few, pointing towards the upcoming patch notes, he did answer a question on Wraith.
“Some tweaks to her kit, yes,” McCord replied to a question about a potential buff to the Interdimensional Skirmisher. Despite being pressed for a follow-up, the dev didn’t anything else outside of “look for patch notes before the event goes live.”
Of course, the “kit” that McCord is referring to is just Wraith’s abilities. With a change in the offing, it could be anything from an tweak to the time she has to run with the void, an addition to her Voices from the Void sounds, or a change to the cooldown on her ultimate.
Overall, Wraith’s change might not as significant as Lifeline, who McCord himself confirmed would be able to revive two downed teammates at once when her rework goes live. However, Wraith mains will just have to wait and see what comes from the Lost Treasures update.
Though Apex Legends usually sees some major updates with the start of each new season, the mid-season events also offer a chance for change. With the Lost Treasures Collection Event upon us, several legends are in for tweaks.
The Apex Legends team has confirmed that Lifeline, Octane, and Wraith will see changes – with the first definitely getting buffs. Though, it seems like a boost to Crypto isn’t too far away either, even though he will be “indirectly” buffed thanks to the new event.
Respawn/EA
Crypto is set another tweak in Apex Legends.
As fans have been asking about possible buffs and nerfs, Daniel Klein, a game designer at Respawn, said Crypto’s changes are “coming soon,” and that his EMP ultimate is also set to be somewhat buffed.
The dev explained that the EMP is an incredibly strong ability, but it will be “buffed indirectly next patch because of an unrelated change.” Yet, there is more to come. “That said, I think he’s in a weak spot, and we’ve got a small buff (don’t get your hopes up too much!) coming soon,” Klein said on Reddit. https://d-28607940523726233429.ampproject.net/2006112352003/frame.html
Obviously, a small buff doesn’t quite line up with what many Crypto mains are begging for, especially as there have been rumors of him being able to use survey beacons. That, however, wouldn’t really be a “small buff,” so the devs must have something else.
The Surveillance Expert currently ranks as one of the least played legends in season five, but will get a Town Takeover in the new event. It remains to be as to whether or not these coming changes will see Crypto become more popular, or if he’ll just continue to be played by hardcore fans.
Respawn has already been working to bring Apex to new platforms or services that would let an entire community of players experience the game for the first time. During the EA Play Live presentation, we got word that their title would soon come to Nintendo Switch and Steam services.
But the expansion into other platforms isn’t stopping there, as EA is looking to launch an iOS and Android for their 60-player king of the hill.
EA CEO Andew Wilson went over the mobile business development at the company during a June 22 Investor Fireside Chat, via ApexLatest, in which he discussed the successful game branching into the portable arena.
“Mobile in particular is a category that spans across all of that,” Wilson said of EA’s intentions with that sector. “We have PvZ 3 in soft launch, we’ve talked about having Apex Legends by the end of this year.”
Respawn Entertainment
More people will experience Apex Legends once it comes out on mobile.
This was a comment to note for a lot of Apex fans and interested parties, since the mobile iteration of the game had been a rumor up until this point.
This only adds to the Apex blitz that the publisher is planning for 2020. With a beta version of Apex mobile set for late 2020 and a full release in early 2021, this completes the gamut of platforms the game will run on.
With crossplay also coming in the last quarter of the year, multiple communities will be able to party up and load into the same servers. Players across consoles, PC (Origin and Steam), and possibly the upcoming mobile version will be able to take part in the same game.
There’s bound to be more interest in Apex Legends’ upcoming port and EA is bound to announce more information once it gets closer to release.
Respawn Entertainment have held a number of dev streams in the past, showing off some new things coming to Apex Legends, while also giving fans some insight into why they’ve made a decision about a change and what else they had thought of as an alternative.
With the new Lost Treasures Collection Event upon us, the devs used their stream to talk about the event and changes to legends. However, some fans spotted a strange-looking object near Broken Coast South that sent speculation into overdrive.
Respawn Entertainment
Crypto will get a Town Takeover event in Lost Treasures.
At around the 14-minute mark of the dev stream, a mysterious looking UFO could be spotted floating just off to the side of the Broken Coast South location. Sadly, there isn’t a close-up view of it, but as Octane uses his jump pad, fans did get two looks at the strange object.
While some might think that it’s there to fill space, the UFO does, however, appear to be big enough for a new map location. Some players even spotted a zipline nearby that looks like it ends up landing on the base of the strange object.
Timestamp of 13:55
The Apex devs didn’t even acknowledge what was seen on screen or make attempts to not show it, which obviously sent some fans into overdrive with their theories.
Plenty of Apex players suggested that it would be a part of some future map change – possibly even a Town Takeover or a part of the weekly hunt missions. However, that is all very much unconfirmed and where it was seen on the map, it wouldn’t exactly be replacing anything it was a Town Takeover location.
Whether or not the UFO-like object ends up becoming apart of Kings Canyon remains to be seen, but it did look slightly unfinished in any case.
We’ll just have to wait and see as to what Respawn has up their sleeve for future Apex Legends updates.
As explained in the patch notes, these changes will give the battle royale a bit more longevity when it drops June 23 at 8 AM PST / 11 AM EST / 4 PM BST, as it will also implement a revised version of fan-favorite Limited Time Mode (LTM) Armed and Dangerous, with Evo armor only.
The Respawn Entertainment team are also giving Mirage players the heirloom they’ve been waiting for with a specially made trophy, perfect for the Arena’s most ornate Legend.
Legend balance updates
Almost every Legend has been touched by the balancing team as the devs work to tweak some that have been problematic, and some that need a boost.
As such, characters like Revenant are now going to be more disruptive to other Legend’s abilities while Lifeline gets a helping hand to revive downed allies.
Respawn Entertainment
Mirage’s new heirloom will debut in the Lost Treasures Collection event update.
Lifeline’s tweaks are going to be a point of contention, since technically she’s getting better at healing with D.O.C’s new ability, but at the cost of her Fast Heal passive.
Meanwhile, teams holed up in a building with Wattson’s ultimate and electric fence will be in for a rude awakening now that Respawn are making her ability to fortify a position more easily countered.
That’s only a fraction of the Legend updates that are coming packaged in Lost Treasures Collection Event update, including a bevy of changes to Wraith’s kit.
Respawn Entertainment
Lifeline’s healing capabilities are going to change after the new patch.
Zipline changes and Quality of Life updates
Players have been using Ziplines in Apex for a ton of creative movement techs in the game, though that’s about to change. The devs are adding a new cooldown to re-grabbing Ziplines which will increase every time a person disconnects and reattaches to the line.
Meanwhile, there are now friendly Caustic Trap pings that the community has been asking to implement for quite some time.
Respawn Entertainment
The Lost Treasures Collection update is bringing more content to Apex Legends.
Although not the color-changing update that some might have hoped for, this will certainly go a long way to differentiating the traps in the middle of a fight.
There are myriad updates revolving around different aspects of the battle royale, so don’t forget to get a rundown of the entire patch down below, courtesy of Respawn Entertainment.
LOST TREASURE COLLECTION EVENT
We’re bringing a ton of exciting changes to the game along with the Lost Treasures Collection Event. In addition to the event, we’ll be making a host of tweaks to various Legend abilities and weapons. Get all the intel here so you’re fully prepared when you drop in.
ARMED & DANGEROUS EVOLVED LTM
The Armed & Dangerous Limited time mode has evolved. In this LTM, only Shotguns and Snipers are allowed. You’ll also start with a Mozambique and Evo armor. All other armor has been removed from the loot pool. But that’s not all. Respawn beacons will also be removed and all players will start with the Mobile Respawn Beacon in their inventory.
MOBILE RESPAWN BEACONS
Need to Respawn on the go? Use the new Mobile Respawn Beacons! In the Armed and Dangerous LTM, players will start the match with one in their inventory. Then from the inventory screen, deploy it anywhere on the map and save your fallen teammates. But beware, calling in a Respawn Beacon takes time, giving your enemies time to find you, take you out, and use that Beacon you just deployed. So find that safe spot before you call it in.
CRYPTO TOWN TAKEOVER
Crypto is taking over and providing some recon to Kings Canyon. Located at the south-east of the map (under Repulsor), lies Crypto’s Map Room. Use his tech to get the location of all Legends on the map and check the screens scattered around the room to see how many enemy squads are nearby.
HEIRLOOM – MIRAGE’S TROPHY
Isn’t that a handsome guy! Yes, it’s true, your man Mirage is getting his Heirloom! The gorgeous statue is one of a kind (sort of) and will ensure you look good in the arena.
LEGEND UPDATES
Lifeline
Passive
Combat Revive now replaces Combat Medic.
Deploy D.O.C to revive teammates. D.O.C. will deploy a shield and revive Lifeline’s teammate, leaving Lifeline free to defend or revive someone else.
This fully replaces Lifeline’s old passive, including Fast Heal
Tactical
Lifeline’s Tactical cooldown is now 45 seconds (was 60 seconds).
Ultimate
Lifeline’s Care Package now contains more items
Care Package will contain 3x more small healing items, when it decides to spawn small healing items
Care Package will contain 2x more attachments, when it decides to spawn attachments
Octane
Tactical
Upon activation, Stim will remove movement impairing effects.
Stim sprinting speed is increased by 10%
Ultimate
Players can now double jump in mid-air after using Octane’s Launch Pad
Players can change direction easily from the double jump.
Revenant
Tactical
Will now cancel:
Pathfinder mid-grapple
Wraith mid-Phase Walk attempt (before Phase Walk activates)
Burglar’s Best Friend will no longer be intercepted by Watton’s Interception Pylon.
Ultimate
Black Market Boutique (ultimate) will now only pick up 1 stack of ammo (rather than 1 stack + the amount that was required to fill whatever partial stack you had in your inventory).
Ultimate Accelerants now give 20% ult charge (up from 17.5%).
Mirage
Tactical
You can now hold the tactical button, and release to auto-control decoys
Decoys will now say lines when shot
Passive
When cloaked, Mirage’s holo emitters will be visible to players that are less than 5 meters away
Skydive
Will now create decoys for the entire squad when skydiving when still diving with your squad.
Gibraltar
Fast Heal granted inside the Dome Shield, slowed down: 25% faster -> 15% faster
Caustic
Enemies can cancel Caustic’s barrel by shooting it before it is fully inflated.
Wattson
The intent of these changes is to create openings where enemies can breach Wattson positions. It is still possible for Wattson players to hold a position with a trophy indefinitely, but that should come at the cost of using Ultimate Accelerants.
Wattson’s Pylons now last for 90 seconds
Wattson can now have up to 3 pylons out at a time
Wattson can stack 2 Ultimate accelerants per inventory slot
Wraith
Increasing Wraith’s tactical cooldown has proven to be ineffective at curbing her exceedingly high win rate and kill rate. These changes are meant to disincentivize Wraith players from using Phase Walk as a “get out of jail free” card, and move it into more of a repositioning and scouting ability.
Phase Walk
Phase Walk now takes 1.25 seconds to enable (was 0.4 seconds). During this time, Wraith will receive a 20% move slow
This does not affect Phase Walk while placing a Phase Portal
While in Phase Walk, Wraith now gets a 30% move speed boost
While in Phase Walk, Wraith can now see other players while in the Void.
Phase Walk now lasts 4 seconds (from 3 seconds)
Phase walk cooldown is now down to 25 (from 35 seconds)
Phase Tunnel
Decreased distance for portal placement by 25%.
WEAPONS / LOOT
Ziplines
A cooldown will be applied to re-grabbing Ziplines without touching the ground
The cooldown will increase with each time a player disconnects and re-grabs the zipline
The cooldown will reset when the player touches the ground
HAVOC Rifle
Greatly increased horizontal recoil in the initial shots of a burst
Decreased magazine size from 32 to 28.
Sentinel
Rechamber time 1.75 -> 1.6
Energize duration 90 -> 120
QUALITY OF LIFE
Teammates can now ping a friendly Caustic Trap.
New health bar for when users are in Revenant’s Shadow form.
Map rotation times are now even between Kings Canyon and World’s Edge
BUG FIXES
General
Fixed an issue with some railing not being climbable.
Fixed an issue with being unable to mute squad before the Legend select.
Removed more exploitable spots against Prowlers in Bloodhound TT
Fixed issues with loot spawning in unreachable places in both Kings Canyon and Worlds Edge.
Fixed an issue with players being able to move at walk speed when downed.
Fixed an issue with Prowlers not killing Mirage Decoys in one swipe.
Fixed issues with Ninja controller layout and deathboxes.
Fixed an issue with the “You got a treasure pack” message appearing after each match.
Crypto
Fixed an issue with Crypto’s Drone flying without input if the user started to sprint by use of double tap to sprint option.
Lifeline
Fixed an issue with Lifeline able to drop her care package on a Quest Artifact location, preventing users from picking up the artifact.
Fixed an issue with Lifeline’s Drone getting stuck in the air after collision with an Octane Jump pad.
Loba
Fixed issues with Loba being able to get to out of bounds areas using Burglar’s Best Friend (tactical).
Fixed an issue with Loba’s Burglar’s Best Friend (Tactical) being blocked by invisible collision at the entrance of Firing Range.
Fixed an issue with Loba’s Black Market Boutique (Ultimate) not showing the correct range.
Loba’s Black Market Boutique (Ultimate) now shows correct ammo count for care package weapons.
Fixed an issue with Loba’s tactical not functioning on certain surfaces. You should now be able to recreate the trailer moment!
Loba’s Ult is now refunded if it gets caught between two doors.
Mirage
Fixed an issue with Mirage’s decoy not being able to ping correctly under certain conditions.
Fixed an issue with Mirage Decoy’s not being able to crouch walk through certain areas.
Fixed an issue with Mirage Decoys playing the fall animation when the player is falling.
Fixed an issue where Mirage can still control his decoy after being silenced by Revenant.
Octane
Fixed an issue with Octane bounce pads “deleting” other Legends abilities.
Fixed an issue with Octane’s Jump Pads disappearing when other legend’s tactical interacts with it.
Fixed an issue with Octane’s Jump pads falling through the floor on hover tanks
Pathfinder
Fixed an issue with Pathfinder’s Grapple not allowing running if a failed deployed occurred.
Fixed an audio issue with Survey Beacons being too loud when used.
Revenant
Fixed an issue with Revenant’s death totem not being rendered from over 200 meters.
Fixed an issue with Revenant’s audio for his tactical cutting off half way through its playback.
Wraith
Fixed an issue with not being able to heal after getting knocked and going through a Wraith portal.
Apex Legends Hacks & Cheats 