We know Respawn Entertainment isn’t introducing a new character to Apex Legends in the latest seasonal update (for the first time ever), but that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to get excited about. Apex Legends’ Season 16 update is going to have an impact on every single existing legend in this battle royale shooter – including everyone’s favourite MRVN Pathfinder. But, however positive the latest set of Apex Legends patch notes looks to you Pathfinder mains out there, this new Apex Legends Pathfinder buff is still missing one key ingredient.
In what we can imagine is an effort from Respawn Entertainment to help Pathfinder find his feet in the updated Apex Legends classes, of which he is a Skirmisher, this character’s ultimate ability is being buffed a lot going into Season 16.
As explained by Apex Legends’ lead level designer Devan McGuire in a pre-season preview event attended by The Loadout, “Pathfinder’s zipline range and riding speed have been increased significantly”. This is going to allow players, Pathfinder included, to travel a lot further and a lot faster than before – something that should make him an effective asset to teams looking to rotate quickly or readily escape danger.
While we don’t know the specifics of these changes just yet, McGuire did add that – in a similar fashion to Apex Legends’ Season 16 Wraith buff – this should help to “take some of the weight off [Valkyrie]” when it comes to macro rotations in-game.
For a legend like Pathfinder, who can feel a little sluggish at times, this is quite frankly a fantastic change; it’s certainly something that we expect we’ll see reflected in our Apex Legends tier list – and everyone else’s rankings. However, as we mentioned before, this Apex Legends Pathfinder buff is still missing one key ingredient: Pathfinder still can’t cut his zipline.
Right now, Pathfinder is the only legend with a permanent mobility-based ability. Wraith’s Dimensional Rift will dissipate after a short time and Horizon’s Gravity Lift is only active for a handful of seconds before breaking. Pathfinder’s Zipline Gun ziplines, however, are all permanent fixtures on the map – well, for the game you place them in, anyway.
When asked about this in a short Q&A session, McGuire was quick to explain that “cutting the zipline” (which would effectively remove it from play) “is just a destructive element… It takes away gameplay options on the table”. This is something Respawn Entertainment wants to avoid if possible.
Expanding on this, McGuire continues by adding that “once [ziplines are] in play, [they] become something that everybody can use and it’s something that’s generally a good thing for the game” – when it comes to counterplay and mobility.
We suppose we can understand that, when you consider the fact that you’re still exposed to enemy fire when you’re riding on a zipline. However, we can’t help but wonder how this is going to be as good as a Wraith portal at escaping enemy fire when your enemies can just follow you directly. Apex Legends is still, without a doubt, one of the best battle royale games available and we have no doubt that – on the whole – the changes Respawn Entertainment is implementing will improve the experience.