Pathfinder received a tactical nerf to prevent a quick escape from fights in Apex Legends. Now, Respawn is bringing the Legend back to the scene with its latest buff.
Movement and positioning are essential to Apex Legends. This gives certain legends such as Wraith and Pathfinder a massive advantage over other legends.
But over the past few seasons, Respawn toned down Pathfinder due to its ability to weave in and out of combat. Alongside those changes, the friendly robot went down in pick rate both in competitive and public matches.
The Season 6 buff of Crypto and Bloodhound made the robot an unreliable pick. These two legends have skillsets that provide map vision while giving the team more utility. Wherein Pathfinder lacks a utility skill besides his Ultimate.
The changes were announced in the mid-season patch notes.
Grapple changes are coming
With its passive beacon scan available to other recon legends, Respawn decided to change Pathfinder’s grapple mechanics.
According to the developers, “we considered a player suggestion (thanks Reddit) to have the Grapple drain energy as it goes, similar to Titanfall 2.”
Its grapple cooldown is now based on the distance traveled instead of a permanent 35-second cooldown. Short grapples have a 10-second cooldown while slingshot grapples will still have a 35-second CD.
This move brings back the legend’s mobility while not being too overpowered.
“If you’re really good at Pathfinder and looking for the absolute max distance grapple, you’ll still have a 35s cooldown, assuming you land it,” said Respawn.
“This both buffs Path a little less for the scariest robot players out there and it also opens up room for extra skill expression,” Respawn added.
The changes might boost Pathfinder’s pick rate once again. Apex Legends competitive players can bring it back to the lineup whenever needed.
Images [1] & [2] used courtesy of Apex Legends/EA