Apex Legends Updates Iron Sights for Select Flatline Skins

Respawn Entertainment has updated the iron sights for Heat Sink skins in Apex Legends in a small patch. The developer explained that they had decided to change up the sights after players pointed out the pay-to-win nature of some of the guns’ iron sights. Players noted that the VK-47 Flatline’s Heat Sink and Revelations skins gave players an unfair advantage due to a series of small panels around the optics.

Apex Legends developers changed up iron sight for the Flatline

On 16th September, Respawn Entertainment put out an ‘Update on Iron Sights’, talking about some of the changes it made to the Flatline. The developers said, “Our default iron sights are designed to push players to loot for better optics. We also believe that skins shouldn't be a factor in the sights functionality as well.” The developers pointed out that they, “heard feedback from some players that the Aim Down Sights (ADS) felt superior,” for the Heat Sink reactive skin released for the Flatline in Season 4. So to “make things as fair as possible”, they’ve updated the skins.

The images show a small yet perceptible change to the black panel below the reticle. “We believe that any competitive edge in Apex Legends should be gained by honing your skills and not due to any perceived advantages from buying gun skins.” Adding more context to the changes on Reddit, Game Designer John Larson said, “Iron sights shouldn't be obtrusive to the point where they're too frustrating to even use. Taking stock and analyzing all our other current iron sights, the regular Flatline skin currently doesn’t fall into that category. However, it has been outclassed by Heat Sink for a long time.”

He also added that, “We know that players will need a period of adjustment and that for those who primarily have been using Heat Sink—it does suck for now.” He assured players that Respawn is, ”constantly learning and working to improve on the game experience”.

The team maintains transparency through their public Trello board which details issues currently being worked upon and those which are resolved.