Apex Legends Update Nerfs New Bocek Bow

Apex Legends creators Respawn Entertainment have heard the community's opinions on the Bocek bow and have responded in kind by nerfing the new Season 9 weapon. An update announced on Tuesday included nerfs for the weapon that decreased its damage and other stats to bring it more in line with other loot options. The Spitfire, while not a new weapon but certainly a strong one, got nerfed as well.

The patch notes for the update that's going out relatively quickly compared to when the Season 9 update released were shared on Tuesday to show what was planned for both the Bocek and the Spitfire. The Bocek, a new addition to Apex this season that's created some interesting gameplay opportunities already for players, got the majority of the nerfs as players who've been active this season might've anticipated. Respawn's devs teased the release of the nerfs before the patch notes below were released to show what was changing.

We're shipping two separate updates to @playapex today to address bugs and balance some weapons.

Later today these changes will be added to the Legacy update patch notes at this link: https://t.co/X7ihMfTuHF

See the full list of changes early in the image below: pic.twitter.com/681FJLyB1o

— Respawn (@Respawn) May 11, 2021

The full notes deal with more topics aside from the two weapons alone, but the patch notes pertaining specifically to the Spitfire and Bocek can be found below.

Apex Legends Balance Update

• Spitfire adjustments:
  • Per bullet damage decreased from 19 > 18
  • Purple/Gold mag size reduced from 55 > 50
• Bocek adjustments:
  • Max charge body shot damage decreased from 70 > 60
  • Charge up time increased from 0.54 > 0.56
  • Deadeye's Tempo charge up time increased from 0.32 > 0.38
  • Stack size decreased from 16 > 14, inventory slot count decreased from 48 > 28

The changes should address many of the concerns players had regarding the new weapon. It was an interesting addition to the loot pool during the new season seeing how it uses a different type of ammo and is one of the quieter weapons players can choose from, but it's power and the sheer output it could produce through rate of fire was a bit overbearing to many. This update tackled each of those areas while not ignoring the Spitfire either, a weapon that's long been a viable and powerful option many overlooked but has become a bit too strong for its own good this season.

Both of Apex's updates should be out across all platforms by the end of Tuesday.