In the dev update below, Respawn explains how Wraith’s previous sprinting animation tucked her head in, allowing her to “shrink her shootable area from the perspective of the enemy”. She already has the smallest hitbox of all the characters, having a unique sprint that let her dodge even more damage on top of that really was just a bit too strong.
“Now we know her old sprint was iconic and we hate to see it go as well, but we believe this is the best way by far of bringing her in line without having to hit her abilities again,” Respawn say in the patch notes. “Depending on what we see after these animations go live, we may even be able to put some power back into her abilities (no promises though).” She’s not the only Legend to get some much-needed tweaks, however. Pathfinder’s Grapple ability now has a cooldown based on the distance he travelled. So, if you use the Grapple and faceplant just a few feet from where you left off, you’ll be able to use the ability again faster than if you’d managed to fling yourself halfway across Kings Canyon. A few other characters got some balance tweaks here and there, but the main point of this update was to usher in Apex Legends’ crossplay beta. The devs say the game won’t force PC and console players into the same matches all willy-nilly. Instead, PS4 and Xbone players will have to be in a squad with someone playing on PC to be brought into a big old PC lobby. Unfortunately, there’s still no cross-platform progression, but Respawn mention that they’ll have more to say about that when the game launches on Steam later this year.
Today’s patch also marks the first day of the Aftermarket Collection Event. As with the Collection Events before it, this one brings with it a bunch of new cosmetics - like the kitty cat Wraith and speed racer Wattson in the header image there. Aftermarket comes with the new limited-time mode Flashpoint, too, which removes all the precious healing items from the arena. To get your health and shields back, you’ll need to stand in a Flashpoint - techy bubbles dotted around the map that will regen you while you’re standing in it. The Aftermarket event runs from today until October 20th. Crossplay is here to stay, though, unless it’s a total disaster, I suppose.
