Apex Legends’ 20th season will have big implications for legend balance, and not just for its revamps of the game’s systems. Respawn Entertainment will adjust Bangalore, Digital Threat sights, and the 30-30 Repeater to trim their prominence in the meta once the season releases.
The 30-30 has dominated the pro scene recently, boasting an astonishing cumulative playtime over the first weeks of the competition this year. It sits comfortably at the top of the charts in all four regions, with more playtime than the second, third, and fourth-place weapons combined, according to data from Apex Legends Status. Apex game designer John Larson teased some nerfs for the weapon at a press event last week, though he didn’t specify what the team will touch on.
In addition to the 30-30, the team is touching on x1 Digital Threat sights as a way to shake up the infamous “can’t see shit” meta. These sights will no longer go on SMGs, being exclusive to pistols and shotguns instead. This “should shake things up” in a Bangalore-centric meta, he said.
Bangalore has risen to meteoric proportions in the ALGS meta as one-half of the near-ubiquitous duo with Catalyst. The pair reigned in popularity during what we’ve seen of Year Four so far, keeping up a trend from the second split of the ALGS Championship last year. Removing the short-zoom Digital Threat from SMGs might push players toward shotguns and pistols, largely ignored in the pro scene in Year Four.
Though fans can speculate about the weapon nerfs in a vacuum, they’ll have to wait until the season 20 patch hits the servers to see how the nerfs interact with the cluster of changes coming to Apex on Feb. 13. This includes the upcoming legend upgrade system (which Larson called “the single largest change to legends since the game launched”), the overhauled Evo Shields, and any other balancing adjustments on the way.
