Apex Legends Season 5 is finally here. Fortune’s Favor launched for all platforms yesterday, and despite one or two of the common launch bugs, the season has had a pretty seamless start.
There have been some huge changes to the game, such as brand new map additions across King’s Cayon, buffs and nerfs to a host of characters, and some of the gunplay has been modified as well. Here’s our look at the evolving meta in King’s Canyon, and new problems the game faces.
First up, Pathfinder. His tactical ability, the synonymous Grappling Hook, has been hit with a heavy nerf. From 15 seconds to 35 seconds, everyone’s favorite (or hated) swinging robot has certainly suffered because of this.
Pathfinder was all about movement, and whether or not you agree with the nerf, it’s clear that this is quite a heavy-handed approach from Respawn. Octane’s Jump Pad now has a 60 second cooldown. This puts Pathfinder’s tactical at over half the time it takes for Octane to charge his Ultimate.
On to Mirage, who has received a buff at last. This rework totally changes up Mirage’s viability in the game, and his new controllable decoy is actually very powerful. It is much easier to bamboozle your opponents and cause total chaos in large fights. The cloaked revive is also great and turns Mirage into a viable support character.
In terms of gunplay, the Skullpiercer has returned to the Wingman and Longbow, and hitting those headshots is back to Season 1 levels of satisfaction. The Peacekeeper and Mastiff have swapped roles, changing up the popular and competitive meta. Although the Havoc has received a nerf, it is still a powerful gun.
King’s Canyon also feels totally different, with a lot more loot in the densely packed new areas. They’ve also brightened up some of the darkened areas, including the cave between Market and old Bridges.
Lastly, and perhaps the biggest problem with the launch so far, is the consistent no regs. This is where you hit your opponent on your screen, but no damage registers. You will likely also hear the bullet hit.
Apex has suffered from poor hit regs since its launch in 2019. Low tick rate servers and notoriously poor EA support mean a lot of the packet loss and ping differences lead to consistent poor hit registration.
Overall, Season 5 has brought a lot to Apex. While there is no gun this season, and the servers are performing poorly, there are a lot of positives. Loba is a fun character, the map has fantastic changes, and the new Season Quest brings more free rewards.
