Balancing a roster of characters like the one Respawn has put together forApex Legendscan be a difficult task due to regular needs to buff and nerf select heroes, and players' response to the latest Ash buff highlights this as some are still not happy with where the character is. Ash mains have been arguing for months the character is in need of a major buff followingher introduction in Season 11 ofApex Legends, as she has fallen to a “middle-of-the-pack” character who isn’t necessarily weak but does nothing to stand out either. Given the player feedback to the buff inside Season 16’s latest update, it appears Respawn still has work to do to strengthen her satisfyingly.
Ash joined the roster ofApex Legendsin Season 11, titled Escape, where the Simulacrum served as the centerpiece of the season which closed out 2021 and rang in 2022. The assault hero leans into precision-style gameplay with her Arc Snare tactical ability to tie down enemy players, Marked for Death passive ability to locate the team responsible for killing a teammate, and Phase Breach ultimate ability to open a one-way portal between two locations. Within the game’s universe, she is a member of the Apex Predators mercenary group who became a Simulacrum when she was left for dead attempting to steal an experimental fuel source.
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The latest buff arrived for the game as part of the Sun Squad Collection Event, following on from theApex LegendsAnniversary Eventwhich kicked off the season. Ash’s buff centered on her Arc Snare tactical ability in an attempt to make it more reliable and deadly by increasing the snare’s travel speed, decreasing its cooldown, and decreasing activation delay and grow time. However, Reddit user Lila was quick to point out the buff did not address other issues tied to the snare’s use, specifically its sprint disruption and inability to use it simultaneously with other gear.
In a game likeApex Legendswhere movement speed and agility are important to securing victory, it is understandable whyAsh’s current statewould leave some players unsatisfied with the buff. Several users in Lila’s thread pointed out the buff did improve the Arc Snare’s effectiveness in the game, saying the buff delivered on that front. However, these users and many others say Respawn’s inability to address the issues highlighted in Lila’s clip overshadows any improvements made to the snare.
It remains to be seen how Respawn will take the feedback to Ash’s latest buff and if the studio will try to address it before the end ofSeason 16 ofApex Legends. The season has a little over a month left, with the current season set to run through May 9 before Season 17 kicks off. It leaves some time for Respawn to try and issue a quick character patch to address these ongoing criticisms, though it would not be surprising to see the earliest this is addressed is at the start of next season.
Apex Legendsis currently available for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
