New Apex Legends Update Patch Notes Reveals New Mastiff, Gibraltar Changes

Respawn Entertainment has released a new patch for Apex Legends, bringing a pair of small changes to the game. Spawn rates for the Mastiff shotgun have been lowered, while Gibraltar's ability text has been updated to properly reflect his shield's newer, 12 second duration. Gibraltar's Dome of Protection ability was altered earlier this month, and the text never reflected the change. While neither of these changes is all that large in the grand scheme of things, both reflect changes that fans have been hoping to see in the game. In particular, the Mastiff shotgun's frequency has been quite frustrating for a lot of Apex Legends players.

For Gibraltar users, the latest update is more of a quality of life improvement. The character's Dome of Protection ability previously had a duration of 18 seconds, before the earlier change. For players that don't keep up with every update in the game, or for newcomers, it seems like the kind of thing that could easily prove confusing.

As far as the Mastiff is concerned, this is the second change that Respawn has made to the shotgun, of late. In the Season 5 update for Apex Legends, Respawn altered the Mastiff's damage output, fire rate, and headshot multiplier, all in an attempt to decrease the weapon's prominence in the game. Clearly, those changes didn't go far enough to make a significant difference in Apex Legends, so Respawn decided on a different option.

Heads up, Legends! This morning, we pushed through a small fix that addressed the following:

🔸Mastiff spawn rates have been lowered
🔸Gibraltar ability text updated to correctly reflect the new 12s duration on his shield

— Apex Legends (@PlayApex) May 27, 2020

It will be interesting to see what impact Mastiff's new frequency will have on the overall game. On social media, some players are already hoping it leads to Respawn altering the spawn rates for other weapons as well, with many citing the Peace Keeper as a potential candidate. It seems that many fans prefer the idea of altering spawn rates, as opposed to a weapon's abilities.

Apex Legends is currently available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows.

What do you think about the latest update for Apex Legends? Are you happy to see the spawn rates for the Mastiff changed? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!