Does Mirage need a new passive ability in Apex Legends?

As the bamboozling, clone-creating showman of Apex Legends, Mirage can be a decent character in capable hands. His ability to misdirect the opposition can be the difference between life and death on King’s Canyon.

But there have been many people complaining about Mirage’s passive ability, Encore. Apex fans say that this passive is the weakest in the game because you have to die in order to activate it. It also doesn’t help the team at all, since Mirage simply drops a decoy when he is downed, and he turns invisible. The decoy is also pretty obvious since it performs a dramatic falling animation, so opponents instantly know that you’re cloaked and crawling around somewhere.

Additionally, players are clamoring for a possible change to his ultimate, Vanishing Act, because it’s easily one of the weakest ultimates in the game. When Mirage pop his ultimate, players instantly know that he’s invisible and is probably running away or repositioning. Teamplay is a top priority in Apex, but Mirage’s only useful tool is his Tactical Ability, Psyche Out.

There were a few suggestions on the Apex subreddit for what Mirage’s passive should become. One possible change was that Mirage creates a clone whenever he’s shot at, under a cooldown. The clone would continue running in the same direction Mirage was, while the player could reposition himself under stealth.

As for his ultimate, one Redditor said that the multiple clones you create upon activation should run outward instead of simply standing still. At the same time, Mirage could throw a smoke bomb during the ultimate, like a magician.

Both of these ideas fit Mirage’s style of being a showman and a trickster very well, and could be much more useful in a teamfight. Distractions are what Mirage provides to team compositions, and these recommendations give him plenty of chances to do so.