Apex Legends‘ next update is slated for early next week, according to a Respawn post on reddit. The developers are targeting gameplay and performance with this update, as promised in previous updates. Read on for highlights of the major points of the update, including (slight) audio improvement and a Fortified fix.
Sound bug fixes and audio improvements
Anyone playing Apex Legends lately has likely noticed a fairly common bug that takes away the majority of their audio. Certain sounds simply become muted or distorted. For example, gunshots sound like popcorn popping. Unfortunately footsteps and most other movement audio simply vanish when this bug triggers. This naturally makes survival near-impossible. Being deaf is being dead in Apex Legends.
Respawn doesn’t seem confident they have completely fixed the bug, but the update should reduce its frequency. It should make the audio engine “around 30% more CPU efficient, lessening the chance of distortion or dropouts.”
As a quality-of-life improvement, Respawn is also making it a little easier to hear enemies walking nearby. They are making “close proximity” footsteps louder, and raising their priority in the audio feed to ensure they are easier to spot.
Hit detection and Fortified fixes
Next week’s patch should also reduce the instance of hit registration errors. However, Respawn is being equally cautious in reporting on its work on this front. The update preview states they expect “there will still be some remaining hit registration problems.” Still, the studio is confident they are better prepared to tackle said problems.
The patch will further fix the infamous Fortified bug. The Fortified perk was added to bulkier legends Caustic and Gibraltar in the last Apex Legends patch. It made them take 10 percent less damage, and it was intended to counter-balance their oversized hitboxes. Because of their size, both of them were more vulnerable than lither legends like Wraith and Octane.
What the perk did — at least in a number of reported cases — was transfer the “absorbed” damage to their health rather than their shield. In effect, it made both Legends easier to take down. The next patch promises to give Fortified its intended functionality.
Sadly there is some bad news for Caustic and Gibraltar too: The jousting bug has been fixed. Currently, many in-game objects — like Nox barrels and jump pads — stick to Gibraltar’s shield. While this seems like intended behavior, apparently it wasn’t. The next patch removes the feature, while giving Gibraltar a small buff by making his Gun Shield “deflect Arc Stars.” If you want to bounce around or wield a giant poison-spewing lance, make sure to get your fill before the patch hits next week.
