The Alternator has a higher encounter win rate than the R-99 in Apex Legends. Although that sentence may make you scratch your head and wonder if you’ve slipped into one of Wraith’s alternate dimensions, it’s true—but it doesn’t mean that the Alternator is a better gun, according to lead game designer Daniel Klein.
Klein revealed that the Alternator has a higher win rate than the R-99 and explained the statistics behind that calculation. He also said the Alternator’s higher win rate could be due to one simple reason: It’s usually matched against opponents with worse weapons.
Klein clarified that the statistic refers to encounter win rate: “how many downs are scored by people using this weapon vs how many downs are scored against people using this weapon.” The Alternator exceeds in that category, but that doesn’t make it the best gun in the game.
The Alternator is a good weapon until players find their actual preferred guns, such as an R-301 or R-99, for instance. This means that most fights with the Alternator take place in the early game when opponents are also carrying “less than desirable” weapons, such as Mozambiques and P2020s, according to Klein. “So it makes sense that a gun that’s good compared to those but isn’t carried into the late game has a higher win rate,” he said.
The R-99 performs better in other variables such as knockdowns per pickup and average damage per pickup. Since the weapon is more common in late-game circles than the Alternator, however, it means that players who use it can go against fully-equipped squads with charged Evo Shields or care package weapons.
Overall, the Alternator has a higher win rate than the R-99 but only because it’s paired against worse weapons during the early game and rarely sticks past the initial phases of a match when most players are using white shields and wielding whatever weapons they can find.
