Two Apex Legends developers have kicked up a storm in the battle royale community today after entering the fray on a long-standing player discussion: how they personally rank each weapon in the title’s expansive gun pool.
On Sep 17, YouTube channel EsportsGG Apex Legends posted a video interview in which two lead Apex devs ranked 20 of the game’s weapons by their own personal preferences. Lead battle royale designer Josh Mohan and lead weapon and loot designer Eric Canavese sat down to discuss what weapons they personally love, like, and dislike based on their own personal strengths and styles in Apex.
It isn’t surprising that the tier list is different than almost every player-made tier list—both Mohan and Canavese prefaced the rankings with the fact that it would all be subjective. Mohan ranked the Longbow higher based on the fact he personally likes sniping, and Canavese ranked the Wingman as S-tier because it is “stylish and awesome.”
What is surprising is what the two developers think of some fan-favorite weapons. Both agreed the G7 Scout, a day one marksman weapon, is all the way down in the D tier. Check any season 18 tier list according to fans, and the G7 is going to be listed as an S or A-tier pick.
Another shocker was where Canavese placed the Volt SMG, which was in B tier. Hilariously, he admitted before placing it that it would be a “controversial” one. The Volt is the king of controversy in Apex, as it was downright overpowered when it was first released way back in Season Six. The volt has since been nerfed… and nerfed… and nerfed—but many players still think it is too strong, and most tier lists are still placing it higher.
Not a single shotgun was placed higher than the B tier, but that isn’t surprising, despite the fact most consider the Peacekeeper an S-tier weapon. Mohan and Canavese both had a clear preference for longer-range weapons, so it follows that they personally don’t like shotguns as much as most Apex players.
The two agreed the Flatline is an S-tier weapon—corroborating what just about everybody on planet Earth was already thinking. I can’t recall a single season where the Flatline wasn’t my favorite weapon. Not only is it nostalgically reminiscent of the Assault Rifle from the original Halo trilogy, the thing is an absolute unit.
At one point in the interview, Mohan even jokingly accused Canavese of being a “double Flatlines main” when the two couldn’t agree on where to place the Alternator.
The full-tier list of the 20 weapons ranked by the two Apex devs is:
- S Tier—Wingman, Flatline, R-99, 30-30 Repeater
- A Tier—Longbow DMR, Tripe-Take, R-301, Hemlock
- B Tier—C.A.R SMG, Peacekeeper, Sentinel, Volt SMG, Prowler SMG
- C Tier—Rampage, Havoc, Mastiff
- D Tier—G7 Scout, Mozambique
- E Tier—Spitfire, Alternator
At the beginning of the interview, Canavese acknowledged they’re “all going to be roasted” for their opinions. At the end, Mohan jokingly asked for their names to be omitted from the video. Well, they certainly know their player base.
I scoured several pages of comments on the video, and couldn’t find a single semi-positive remark. Some of the complaints about the state of Apex are justified, but I don’t see how any of them relate back to the two developers’ personal loadout preferences.
Love and hate are closely related, and passion is a catalyst for both. Frustration is justified when you feel a game you’re passionate about isn’t being up-kept as well as it should be, but funneling that frustration towards devs who are simply having a laugh and discussing personal gameplay styles isn’t really productive.
