Apex Legends developer Respawn has acknowledged Wattson’s long-running bugs and shared that the company is working on a fix.
As reported by Dexerto, Wattson picked up a variety of bugs starting in Apex‘s Emergence season. One of the features of her Pylon ultimate is that it’s supposed to block incoming grenades and projectile-style abilities like Bangalore’s Rolling Thunder and Valkyrie’s Missile Swarm. Once season 10 began, players noticed that its range was dramatically decreased. The Pylon also wasn’t blocking grenades the way it should be, allowing them to go off within its area of effect. While the glitch was initially only present in battle royale, it’s now also appearing in Arenas and even the Firing Range, making it difficult to use Wattson almost anywhere.
As a result of the bugs, Wattson’s pick rate has dropped substantially since the beginning of season 10. As of Oct. 18, her pick rate is at 1.7 percent, which just barely places her above Crypto, the least-picked hero in the game.
The glitch is the result of a coding error, according to Respawn. While the bug has been public knowledge since it was first identified on Sept. 16, Wattson has not yet been adjusted. But on Oct. 14, Respawn developer Ryan K. Rigney discussed the bug in more detail on Reddit. He said the team is “working on the ultimate fix now,” but didn’t answer any more questions about changes to her abilities, an upcoming heirloom, or any sort of buffs for the struggling legend. Rigney is “unsure” about when the fix will go live, but he did reassure Wattson players that it’s in the works.
It’s possible that the changes will come during Apex’s season 11 update, Escape, which was revealed in this morning’s Stories from the Outlands. Wattson players are desperate for any sort of change or buff to the defensive legend, who’s been struggling for a while in the realm of faster, more mobile characters. Respawn designer John Larson said in July that increases to Wattson’s “fun factor” are also in the works, but players will probably have to wait until at least the start of season 11 to see any changes.
