Big Mastiff nerf in latest Apex Legends update

Today, Respawn Entertainment unveiled a new patch for its battle royale, Apex Legends. After a huge update two weeks ago introducing Loba, this May 27 patch is much more modest. However, it comes at a perfect time since players have been complaining about the Mastiff Shotgun’s power. Aside from the Mastiff nerf, an improvement for Gibraltar is also present in this patch.

The Mastiff Shotgun’s Power

Upon its introduction, the Mastiff Shotgun began to spread widely through the servers. Its fast damage made it the perfect weapon for players dominating their opponents. Finding it in Care Packages almost guaranteed winning an Apex Legends game. It quickly became a fan-favorite and Respawn noticed. After applying a nerf to the weapon, it was then added to the base loot, no longer a hard-to-find legendary weapon. Mastiff Shotgun’s damage has been reduced to 13 damage per pellet while its headshot multiplier dropped from 2 to 1.25. Even the fire rate suffered as it decreased to a 1.0 fire rate.

Image credits to Respawn Entertainment

Nonetheless, even after this treatment, fans continued to use the Mastiff Shotgun. Some even started to complain about it being a danger to the game’s diversity. The weapon was a nightmare to deal with, particularly in the early stages of the game. Facing such a weapon while having lower quality loot and armor was irritating for most of the fanbase. The most important part of the Mastiff’s power was the fact that it was too common.

Mastiff Nerfs

Respawn heard players’ wishes and answered it with this May 27 update. Even though the new Apex Legends patch does not give an exact number, Mastiff spawn rates are now lower to accommodate its power.

Heads up, Legends! This morning, we pushed through a small fix that addressed the following:

?Mastiff spawn rates have been lowered
?Gibraltar ability text updated to correctly reflect the new 12s duration on his shield

— Apex Legends (@PlayApex) May 27, 2020

Players like Jack “NiceWigg” Martin are also saying that this nerf could have been applied to other weapons in the past, like the Peacekeeper. This situation just proves how strong the Mastiff was to make Respawn take such extreme measures.

Along with the Mastiff Shotgun nerf, this Apex Legends update brings a change to Gibraltar. A game with so many different characters can be difficult for new players to learn. Making sure that the description of a hero perfectly matches his actual power is of utmost importance. Gibraltar’s description has now been updated to match his new 12 second shield duration.

A simple Apex Legends patch like this may not look like much but can actually change many things in the metagame. The Mastiff Shotgun nerf is sure to bring new light to underused weapons. Players will now have the opportunity to find new experiences without a Mastiff on every enemy.

Written by Charles FUSTER