Apex Legends makes a huge change to shotguns with latest patch

While Apex Legends is currently in a state of flux, Respawn is doing its best to keep the peace. Although the community is still complaining about the skill-based matchmaking, Respawn recently put out a patch to end another big community complaint. For several months, shotguns, namely the Peacekeeper, have been overpowered and simply broken. Though the EVA-8 Auto shotgun wasn’t as broken as the Peacekeeper, it still needed some tuning. Respawn has finally made adjustments to the damage and spread of both shotguns in a new Apex Legends patch.

Apex Legends patch both shotguns

This most recent patch went out yesterday and required no downtime or download. Unlike their last update, this one went out to all systems on time and as planned. You can check out their Reddit post for full details on the patch.

Essentially, this entire patch was to nerf the two shotguns, particularly to the Peacekeeper. Here are the changes that were made to both of the weapons according to Respawn:

• Decreased bolt hit size for Peacekeeper and EVA-8 (bolt = pellet)

  • Our goal here is to make it harder to land full chunks of damage while still making sure shots continue to feel consistent.

• Increased shot spread for Peacekeeper

  • We want to preserve its bursty fantasy of precision and snapshots, as well as its playmaking potential but felt that it’s been too strong at range so we’ve increased shot spread meaning that now players need to get closer in order to do full 100+ damage blasts with the Peacekeeper.

• Increased spread on final Precision Choke level

  • This reduces the range that you can do full damage with a fully charged Precision Choke shot.

This completely changes the meta of Apex Legends, as the Peacekeeper isn’t nearly as viable as it previously was. Some players are even picking up the EVA-8 over the Peacekeeper, which never happened in the previous meta.

It’s still too early to tell whether or not this patch was good or bad for the game. However, the initial reaction is that this was indeed a solid change for Apex Legends. Hopefully, Respawn can continue this roll and implement other community-friendly changes.

What are your thoughts on the recent patch? Let us know, and keep up with Daily Esports for all Apex Legends coverage.