Respawn has released a new update for Apex Legends that severely nerfs the Charge Rifle, the new firearm added to the battle royale at the start of Season 3: Meltdown. This patch follows on the heels of an October 17 update that also nerfed the Charge Rifle–though these latest adjustments lead to more significant changes.
The most significant change in this latest patch is in regards to the Charge Rifle's attachments. You can now no longer equip extended energy magazines to the Charge Rifle. To balance this out a bit, the base magazine size of the Charge Rifle has been increased to 12, which was the size of the weapon's magazine with a level one energy extended magazine equipped. So the Charge Rifle will now be able to fire four shots per magazine (every shot uses three ammo).
The Charge Rifle's fire rate has also been reduced. The laser itself still charges and fires at the same speed as before. However, you'll have to wait longer between each shot before you're able to fire again. Finally, the damage falloff for the Charge Rifle has also been modified. Though the weapon will continue to fire in a straight line without bullet drop, the Charge Rifle will do less damage on all targets that are 150+ meters away (it will only deal 90 damage) and even less on those 400+ meters away (it will only deal 30 damage).
When combined with the slower fire rate and loss of extended magazine slot, this damage fallout nerf will make it significantly harder to kill a far-off target that has a rare (blue) or higher-tiered body armor and helmet equipped. Despite being a sniper, these changes will likely encourage players to use the weapon more often as a mid-range option.
The Charge Rifle wasn't the only new content drop for Apex Legends' third season though. The battle royale also got a new map, World's Edge, and playable character, Crypto. Apex Legends is currently in the midst of its Halloween-themed Fight or Fright event, which adds a limited-time zombie mode called Shadowfall to the game and teases a new playable Legend. Also, until 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 6 PM BST on October 28, you earn double XP for both account level and battle pass progression for placing in the top 5 or winning a match.
ARTICLE: GAMESPOT
