Apex Legends players rally for nerfs as game’s most ‘broken’ weapon takes over

If your Apex Legends loadout feels incomplete without the Energy Ammo-fueled Nemesis, you definitely aren’t the only one feeling that way—after all, the Nemesis is so undeniably broken that you’re at a distinct disadvantage if you don’t have one. 

Released in Season 16, the assault rifle is currently recognized as the most overpowered weapon in Apex, mostly due to its versatility. The weapon is so strong, the entire Apex community has been tirelessly requesting a tone-down to Nemesis’ unrivaled stats since its launch. 

With more and more players learning to abuse Nemesis’ power, the situation has taken a turn for the worse in Season 17, perfectly summed up in a recent Reddit post by an Apex player named MANUU__20. 

MANUU__20 called out for immediate tuning to the Nemesis, which has apparently been making all “similar guns in the game absolutely obsolete.”

“There’s absolutely almost zero chance you gonna fight a squad where no one in the squad will be using it. Hell, sometimes all 3 people use it,” MANUU__20 said. “What’s even the point of using Flatline/r-301/havoc/triple-take/30-30/g7scout when you have nemesis which does the job 10x better?”

Unsurprisingly, the post attracted multiple comments from the community, bringing to light an unavoidable issue needing immediate attention. While some offered possible suggestions for the best nerf, others shared their irksome experiences against players wielding the Nemesis. 

The four-round burst gun was introduced to compete with the likes of the R-301 and the VK-47 Flatline, which dominated the weapon meta in Apex for a long time. However, it has managed to outshine both and even long-range weapons from other classes with its easy-to-master mechanics.

The Nemesis simply doesn’t punish players enough, making it perfect for those who don’t possess good aim. Expectedly, players heavily disapprove of Nemesis’ charge-based fire-rate increase model, which allegedly fuels all forms of skill-independent tactics. 

The powerful rifle features an energy meter that charges when you fire shots, and its fire rate increases relative to the increase in charge—you’re not required to deal damage to bump up its fire rate.   

The Nemesis does have its disadvantages in close-range fights, where some may prefer fully-automatic SMGs like R99. That being said, its chargeable fire rate can ramp up its damage-per-second to up to 196, which makes Nemesis a formidable weapon for close-range face-offs as well.

The most popular suggestion urged the developers to make the charging aspect of Nemesis dependent on the damage dealt instead of just firing. Others suggested nerfing its damage stats, increasing its recoil and firing spread, and even shifting the gun to Care Package only, similar to what the developers did with the now buffed Hemlok.

The Nemesis trend hasn’t affected just the casual player base, but it has also taken the Apex Legends Global Series’ scene by storm. According to Apex Stats, Split Two of the Pro League saw players in major regions dominantly favor the Nemesis over all other weapons, a drastic change from Split One where the R-301 was the most-like weapon in the meta.

While Respawn’s intention to shake up the meta has been met through Nemesis’ introduction in Apex, it must consider paying heed to the community’s request before this one-sided meta becomes tiresome.