W-keying is the go-to when running down lobbies in Apex pubs and ranked lobbies, but it’s time for a change. If you’re sick of getting back-to-back tethered by Ash, or fed up of seeing her bounce around the place like a juiced-up Octane, then you’ll be glad to know that this ubiquitous Legend will receive a nerf on June 24th for Season 25.1, Prodigy. Though Ash isn’t the only Legend to receive big changes with another meta shake-up unfolding thanks to other changes releasing in this update.
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Marksman rifles and snipers continue to plague lobbies in Season 25, especially where Olympus is involved. But sometimes hunkering down in a building when you have the game-winning spot means you have to swap to a more defensive Legend. Respawn has decided to shift the meta once again, and this time it’s Wattson and Vantage getting huge buffs that’ll surely make those already maining them jumping for joy.
Although Ash’s reworked kit was vital in Season 24 and made her more balanced than others Legends, her movement buff equally made her a difficult opponent to deal with. With the highest pick-rate of 23.8%, Ash overwhelms the current meta, alongside Alter and Ballistic. While they’re incredibly fun to play with, they’re a pain to going against(mostly being hard-countered by playing the same Legends). But Respawn saw this and have nerfed Ash in response.
It’s incredibly surprising that Ballistic remains untouched, but a guarantee is that Ash will no longer have a double-dash (Ghost in the Machine will be removed). Instead, she can gain HP regen on a knock (just like Skirmishers), and has had her Level 2 and Level 3 upgrades swapped. Now, the nuisance of double snares or catching multiple enemies with a single snare have been pushed to Level 3 (purple armor). Her tether strength on Arc Snares won’t be as strong, her dash cooldown will be reduced to 8 seconds from 10, similar to when her dash was first added. These changes are necessary, but shouldn’t massively affect her pick-rate.
Wattson receives huge buffs that’ll surely make her the top pick for defensive players. Although her Shield Regen takes a second longer, her fence HP has increased by 25 points, with a significantly shorter cooldown to place another (4 seconds from 15). The best of all (and what will quickly be frustrating to counter) is that her fences will slow sliding and jumping enemies. They drain Ash and Sparrow’s movement passives if neither Legend used them when pushing. This means if you’re playing either Legend and get caught in a fence, you cannot use your movement passive to save you.
Fences will now electrify doors, meaning anyone kicking them will get stunned. Wattson also has three new upgrades: Gain all support perks, outgoing damage is converted to Ult charge and knocks grant 30% ult charge, and gain double small med healing (presumably like gold armor). These buffs will likely make Wattson a more prominent pick in Apex comp (and perhaps banned far sooner in a series). These changes transform Wattson into an all-rounder and a replacement for Support Legends, with Alter acting as her offensive counterpart.
Vantage also received some changes that’ll satisfy sniper and movement players. This Legend has the best and easier sniper rifle to knock enemies, but her slow movement made her vulnerable. Vantage will have a smaller upper body hitbox. She’ll be able to ping up to three enemies with her passive, see health bars, and ping enemies further than 50m away (reduced from 100m). Echo will auto-recall after jumping and have faster activation time to leap from the ground to Echo’s position. Echo’s distance has been increased by 10 meters, and the POV to leap to Vantage’s companion is wider. Double jump will also be part of her base kit (hopefully like Sparrow’s) and you can equip weapons in 0.2 seconds (was 0.5 seconds) after jumping.
The most significant change, however, is within her Sniper’s Mark as the laser is no longer visible unless Vantage shoots. The laser lasts for 15 seconds following a shot. This makes her the perfect Legend to find angles and ambush unsuspecting opponents, and I know I’ll definitely play her more on Olympus and E-District. Vantage has completely new upgrades. She can gain access to Ring Consoles and have Zone Overcharge (extra 25HP in zone) or see enemy outlines and health bar through walls (so long as she marks them). Finally, her Level 3 upgrades either reduce her tac cooldown by 5 seconds or add the Gun Shield to her sniper which could make her a hard-counter to the almighty Kraber. Seeing as Vantage was never picked in the comp scene, I wonder if these changes are significant enough to see her pick-rate rise.
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