Summary
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Players unhappy with Pathfinder grapple nerf in Apex Legends mid-season update.
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The changes to Pathfinder's abilities received negative feedback from many in the community.
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Pathfinder's popularity may be down due to recent nerfs, but future patches may address the complaints.
After the release of the mid-season update for Apex Legendsplayers are unhappy with the nerf made to Pathfinder, specifically its grab ability. While this massive patch is for season 23 Apex Legends sought to make some legendaries like Mirage and Loba more viable in matchups, some players feel that the nerfs to Pathfinder went too far.
On January 7, Respawn Entertainment launched the mid-season update for Season 23 Apex Legendsmaking significant changes to Battle Royale. While the list of changes was extensive, several Legends received potentially game-changing buffs. For example, the Mirage set has been reworked with new tier 2 upgrades and a buff to its Tactical. Additionally, Lobo and Alter got some love in the mid-season update, among other things the devs made major improvements to their Ultimates. However, not every Legend received a positive change, as Pathfinder was hit with some nerfs as developers tried to reign in the power of his kit.
Relatives
Apex Legends breaks a promise to fans
Developer Respawn Entertainment is not fulfilling the promise it made to Apex Legends fans earlier in 2024, disappointing players.
Unfortunately, the nerfs for Pathfinder in Apex Legends were not well received by the gaming community. In a post by a Reddit user who ironically shared the patch notes, fans discussed their frustration with the changes to Pathfinder. In particular, players were unhappy with the increased cooldown time of the Grappling Hook. According to the patch notes, Pathfinder's cooldown on his Tactical is now 30 seconds. This was a big nerf to the character as the ability was previously variable and the cooldown was potentially much shorter depending on how far the grab moved. In addition to his Grappling Hook, his Insider Knowledge ability and Zipline Zen upgrade have been tweaked.
Apex Legends players feel that Pathfinder's Grapple cooldown should have stayed the same
Pathfinder's Grappling Hook has gone through various iterations over the years. For example, a few years ago Pathfinder's tactical ability cooldown was 35 seconds. Also, it's worth noting that the ability didn't always have a variable cooldown. However, this recent change in Season 23 could make using the Legend much less satisfying in matchups, given how key his Grab Hook can be to his gameplay, both entering and exiting fights.
It will be interesting to see how these recent changes to Pathfinder affect his pick frequency in Season 23 Apex Legends. The Legend has been one of the most popular characters in the game so far, with Apex Legends Status showing that he has a pick rate of 14.6%. Impressively, only second to Lifeline at 18.2%, she received an overhaul in her form at the start of the season and benefited from improvements in the support class in Apex Legends.
While Pathfinder's popularity may be down a bit thanks to these recent nerfs, there's always the possibility that Respawn could release a future patch to adjust Legend based on player feedback. Let's hope that the developer can continue to update the game to provide an enjoyable experience for those who play Season 23.