Confirmed Apex Legends Season 9 buffs and nerfs
With Apex Legends Season 9 set to go live on May 4, we will go over all the buffs and nerfs that Respawn Entertainment have confirmed are in development for the next major update.
Respawn Entertainment introduced quite a few changes in the Apex Legends Chaos Theory update. Many Legends received different buffs and nerfs to help balance them, and they plan to bring more of these in the near future.
The devs apply buffs and nerfs to certain Legends so that the battle royale still feels fresh after a new update drops. They also let the fans know what they’re currently working through community updates, and here’s what they’ve confirmed for Apex Legends Season 9.
Confirmed Legend buffs and nerfs for Season 9
Respawn have talked about their planned changes for Season 9 on social media, and the Apex Legends subreddit. It can be difficult to keep track of every announcement, so we’ve decided to go over each of them here.
Keep in mind that these aren’t the only changes that will be in the Season 9 patch, as more can be confirmed or discussed later on. Once we learn more, we’ll be sure to update the article with new information.
Lifeline
Respawn have the following changes planned for Lifeline’s abilities in Season 9:
- Passive nerf
- Ultimate buff
Lifeline’s passive ability is notoriously difficult to play against, and even the developers have acknowledged this as being particularly “frustrating.” She can generate a shield wall in the direction she is facing, and heal her teammates.
That’s why this ability will get nerfed, her ultimate will receive a buff. The planned nerf is to remove her res shield, but Lifeline’s Doc drone will receive a buff that makes it 60% faster. The care package will also be granted an upgrade.
Respawn EntertainmentGibraltar
Gibraltar’s Gun Shield will be nerfed in Season 9. Respawn stated that they will apply damage bleed-through to this ability so that the Legend will only be able to deflect a certain amount of attack damage.
The devs initially planned to introduce this nerf in the 8.1 update, but a few bugs popped up which led to it being delayed.
Loba
Fans of this Legend have been hoping that she’d get a major buff to her abilities soon, and that will finally be the case in Season 9.
Respawn have stated that they will focus on a few additions to Loba’s bracelet in the next update. This could be a fix for her broken jump drive, or perhaps they’ll make some other improvements to her kit.
One hurdle faced by players is her animation time when she enters or exits a portal. This leaves her vulnerable to enemy attacks, making Loba less vulnerable when entering/exiting the teleport.
Horizon
Horizon’s introduction in Apex Legends Season 7 was followed by her immense increase in popularity. She gained the reputation of being extremely difficult to defeat, which is why she was hit with some nerfs in the Chaos Theory update.
Respawn confirmed that they have more changes planned for her in the future. While they haven’t specified what other nerfs she’ll receive, Lead Game Designer Daniel Klein has given fans an update.
“We weren’t ready with the big nerf for Horizon,” he said. “So we shipped what he had first. Bigger nerf coming soon, hopefully, Season 9, but no guarantees.”
Fuse
Fuse made his debut in the battle royale when Season 8 went live, but his launch wasn’t particularly strong. Many fans in the Apex Legends community shared their concerns about the strength of his ultimate, especially when paired with other Legends.
While that didn’t pan out, the developers have revealed that Fuse has the lowest win rate across all skill levels. This has led to them planning a buff for the Legend in Season 9, but we currently don’t have any information on what they will change.
Octane
Playing as Octane allows you to quickly maneuver around during combat with the help of his Stim. This ability grants victory to players very frequently, so Respawn have confirmed they are planning to nerf Octane’s tactical, but will also give it a small buff to counteract this.
The plan is to “increasing the health cost for his Stim” but balance it by “letting you stim again much sooner.” They will take 20 damage from his stim, rather than only 12, but the cooldown will be reduced to only 1 second.
Other rumored buffs and nerfs for Apex Legends Season 9
While these Legends haven’t been confirmed to be getting a buff yet, Respawn have expressed their interest in making some changes to them.
Revenant
The devs have wanted to implement some improvements to Revenant for a while now, and have explained the difficulty in doing so. They planned to change up his hitbox, but this is proving to be particularly tricky.
Daniel Klein stated: “Revenant’s tactical ability is pretty reliable and hittable, so probably not a great candidate for more damage,” he elaborated.”
Crypto
While we don’t know for sure if there will be any buff for Crypto in Season 9, Respawn have stated that they’re considering some possible improvements.
That covers all the buffs and nerfs that the developers have hinted at for the next update. If more are announced or confirmed, then we’ll update this guide right away.
With Season 9 scheduled to start on May 4, so expect there to still be more news to come on Legend changes between now and then.
Image Credits: Respawn/EA