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When Apex Legends first launched, Respawn Entertainment had stated that the game would focus first on gunplay and that abilities would only play a small role in combat. But as time has passed, the meta has shifted towards abilities that either offer information to players during fights or offer other utility that cannot be countered easily. But the meta might finally be moving away from scans as Respawn is considering making changes to how scans work in the game.
Why the scan meta is problematic in Apex Legends
Seer is one of the outliers in the current meta among Recon legends as he is able to actively track enemy movement near him without needing to use a dedicated ability or ultimate. Many considered him to be the most overpowered legend at release and he was immediately nerfed within the early weeks of Season 10.
A number of players raised their concerns over the inclusion of “scan” abilities in Apex Legends and it looks like the game’s developers are already looking for ways to tone down the outliers in the meta without completely cripping them.
Respawn developer Devan McGuire stated in a recent Reddit post, “We understand the frustrations around legend abilities that scan and their tactical dominance at higher levels of play. Some of these abilities, however, are core to the play patterns and identities of the legends themselves so it’s not a simple task to address.”
He mentioned that the developers are looking into the situation that can come from these abilities and are “finding ways to reduce it (player frustration) without crippling the identity of the legends who wield them.”
The problematic abilities are not restricted to Recon legends only. With Ash receiving access to map-wide scans for death boxes, while also having offensive capabilities, she has become one of the top meta picks. With Seer and Ash capable of getting information with no downside whatsoever, players are forced to choose some of these newer legends over a lot of other options and it reduces the diversity of the game.
Apex Legends Season 14 - Split Two is set to commence next week and we are likely to get the next set of balance changes along with the launch of Season 15 in November. Season 15 is also expected to add a brand-new map and a new legend along with other content updates.
