It took some time for Apex Legen🐻ds players to come around on Caustic. The area-denial, toxic gas specialist wasn’t really most players’ go-to Legend. However, some updates suddenly made him the character with the highest win rate in matches lasting over 20 🐷minutes.
The new buffs added to the char๊acter made him a dominating force, to the dismay of a number of other players. One such player voiced his concerns during the held by 𒁃Rജespawn for the launch of Season 8 - Mayhem.
The developer was asked why, after significant community feedback, was Caustic not ner🌌fed in the recent update. “Competitive play has suffered immensely due to his abilities, and they are directly counteracting the design philosophy thꦦat was given at the release of the game, which was guns first, then legends,” added the question poster.
Associate Live Balance Designer, John Larson, took it upon himself to address the poster’s concerns. “Good question. I think ever since the change to gas allowed teammates to play in gas with relatively no repercussions, there was a lot of unrealized potential that was quickly tapped into within the past couple months.” said Larson. “Caustic is undeniably strong, and has the highest win rate in matches that last longer than 20 minutes. Caustic plays a unique role ꦿas a defensive legend that can act offensively in certain scenarios, and we have to make sure we tweak him in a way that removes frustration without hurting how it feels to play as Caustic.”
Larson went on to reassure that Resawn has been listening to the community's feedback and is aware of how OP Caustic is. He also mentioned that he has noticed the same when he plays Apexℱ Legends, and that Caustic will definitely be getting s🔜ome attention from the balancing team.
As for the poster’s point about Apex Legends becoming a more abilities based game, Larson added, “as new characters are introduced, it's important they take up a unique desig🍸n space. This opens the door to potentially devastating synergies between legend abilities. I've seen (and experienced myself) the clips of chaotic abi🗹lity driven end games, and that's something we're actively working on resolving.”