Respawn Entertainment's Apex Legends hit the ground running in 2019, starting with a roster of 8 legends which has since grown to 16 playable character. As the roster grows, Respawn has been diligent in trying to keep each new character unique enough to entice players to experiment when a new character drops. However, a couple of the characters seemingly fell by the wayside and Respawn may be looking for ways to freshen one up in the upcoming season.
Apex Legends players form their squads using the roster of slegends sporting unique abilities to utilize in order to bring home that elusive win. The game is currently in its eighth season of content, dubbed Mayhem, as players battle across the Kings Canyon map with access to the newest legend, Fuse.
However, Respawn's focus may be on an older character the community has not shown as much love. This follows an appearance by live balance designer John Larson on the Apex Legends-focused podcast, The Bird's Eye. Apparently, the studio is considering a revamp the character Crypto in Season 9 as a means to address the character's low playrate.
Crypto is one of the game's three recon-class legends responsible for locating enemy teams and the next ring location. Crypto's abilities focus on his deployable drone which he uses to find enemy teams and disable their abilities via the drone's EMP blast. While this makes Crypto less appealing to newer or casual players, he has a niche core of players who enjoy his playstyle and a "healthy win rate" according to Larson.
Its this "healthy win rate" Larson says makes a potential rework a tricky situation for the Apex Legends team. He acknowledges a large portion of the game's audience enjoy characters like Bloodhound more because they are meant for direct combat and encourage players to get right into the action. However, he also understands the appeal of Crypto in his current form to some players who prefer a slower and smarter style of play. The trade here is a Crypto player needs two teammates comfortable with going 2-on-3 in most fights.
It is a tough situation for Apex Legends' balancing team to be in because both sides of the argument are valid. On one hand, a revamp to encourage more player to try out Crypto means more overall variety in team structures and the game's meta whenever a revamp would hit. On the other hand, there is something to be said about higher skill-level characters who won't see as much wider use but reflect player skill and mastery of said game. Similar push-and-pulls for character balancing and use can be seen in hero-driven games like Valorant and Overwatch.
Apex Legends is currently available to download on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Source: CharlieIntel
