Any Apex Legends player who’s been watching the game’s esports scene recently has probably noticed recurring themes in pick rates. Namely, the meta has heavily centered around the pairing of Bangalore and Catalyst, producing devastatingly effective results.
That might be about to change in season 19, Ignite, according to game designer John Larson at a recent press event. The two legends are the focal point of a wider balance pass on the cast coming when the next season launches on Oct. 31, with a variety of nerfs coming to each component of their kits to curb some of their current power imbalances.
“It can be tough to strike a balance of creating a compelling Controller in a game like Apex where movement is so fun,” Larson said. “I think part of the reason that Catalyst is the most popular Controller legend is because of her versatility. The versatility’s generally good. It adds gameplay, but the goal of these changes is to rein in some of the leniency with the tactical and ultimate in particular.”
The central part of Catalyst’s kit that is being addressed is her tactical—Piercing Spikes. Not only is the core being tweaked to allow for bullets to pass through it, but the maximum in-world count of spike traps is also being reduced to two. Paired with a “significant” reduction to the throw range to bring it in line with other Controller legends, Catalyst’s flexibility is getting hit hard this season.
“You could say, you know, using the spikes as cover in a firefight adds gameplay, but it does at the expense of other Controller legends,” Larson said. “The purpose of Catalyst tactical is not to block bullets.” He added that the changes “should make players a little bit more mindful in terms of managing the passive and the tactical and holding down different types of buildings.”
At the same time, Catalyst’s ultimate is also going to receive a small nerf to the overall duration of the wall to lessen the amount of time it’s impacting a fight—especially in those final circles.
The gears quickly switched over to Bangalore, though, who Larson jokingly described as Catalyst’s “counterpart in the ‘can’t see shit’ meta.” But it was clear from the outset that the nerfs coming to one of Apex’s oldest legends were very carefully tuned.
“This one hits close to home for me, speaking just as a fan of Apex. Bangalore is peak Apex,” he said. “I think of her as like the R-301 of legends. She’s super approachable, flexible, with abilities that are always hitting at the core gameplay moments when it comes to movement, positioning, area denial, etc… so the goal of these changes is not to gut Bangalore.”
“I think, for the majority of players, I actually suspect these won’t even be felt very much” Larson said. “What we’re really trying to hit here is the top end where players are more surgical and better about min-maxing the speed boost or chaining together smokes.”
The reassurance that the majority of players won’t feel these changes is probably something Bangalore mains will need when hearing that this involves applying nerfs to all three of her abilities. In season 19, Bangalore’s Double Time passive is getting its duration reduced, her smokes will have a shorter lifetime, and the stun from Rolling Thunder is coming down a bit as well. These are more than likely minor in scale but enough to noticeably tip the balance of power at the high end alongside the Catalyst changes.
The upcoming balance pass isn’t all nerfs, though. Other legends will be getting some minor buffs and tweaks that might not drastically improve their place in any tier lists but will make them feel a lot better to use for those who main them. Vantage is getting an extra bullet in her ultimate, Wraith’s passive is being updated to be more reliable, and Newcastle’s “getting some love” to his Castle Wall, just to name a few.
Players will be able to try out all of the changes coming to the legends when Apex season 19 goes live on Oct. 31 across all platforms.
