The latest update for Apex Legends, 1.73, is here, and with it comes a range of tweaks to the game. It’s all centered around the Genesis Legacy event, bringing back classic maps and characters. The most notable tweak, however, is a significant ‘buff’ to Wattson, which could completely change who you main in Apex Legends.
Apex Legends 1.73 Update Patch Notes: What does the update include?
- ORIGINAL KINGS CANYON AND WORLD’S EDGE RETURN
- SKULL TOWN COMES TO ARENAS
- GENESIS REWARDS AND COLLECTION EVENT
- REAP SOULS WITH REVENANT’S HEIRLOOM
- LEGEND BALANCE UPDATES
- Octane
- Launch Pad cooldown increased from 60 seconds to 90 seconds.
- Revenant
- Slightly slimmed down hitbox (specifically his midsection, arms, and upper legs).
- Stalker climb height significantly increased. It’s not literally unlimited now, but… that boy can really climb.
- Silence duration decreased from 20 seconds to 15 seconds.
- Reduced the duration of death protection by 5 seconds while using the Death Totem.
- Lifeline
- Increased hitbox size, mostly in the legs and waist.
- Bloodhound
- Eye of the Allfather scan revealed time decreased from 4 seconds to 3 seconds.
- Beast of the Hunt duration decreased from 35 seconds to 30 seconds. Time can still be added by downing enemies.
- Wattson
- Major Buff: Wattson can now place more than one Nessie on the map at a time with her Epic emote.
- Dev Note: There can now be up to 20 Nessies active at once on any given map. Until that cap is reached, any Wattson can place as many as she likes. When the cap is hit, the oldest Nessie belonging to the Wattson who currently owns the most Nessies is removed.
- Octane
- WEAPONS BALANCE UPDATES
- P2020
- Increased Fire Rate from 6.25 -> 7.0
- Increased Base Ammo from 12 -> 14
- Increased Lvl 1 Mag from 14 -> 16
- Increased Lvl 2 Mag from 16 -> 18
- Increased Lvl 3 and Lvl 4 Mag from 18 -> 21
- Spitfire
- Increased Hip Fire spread
- Dev Note: The Spitfire has continued to over-perform so we’re hitting its close range hip-fire accuracy which should help bring it in line.
- 30-30 Repeater
- Slightly increased projectile speed
- Reduced charge time from 0.5s -> 0.35s
- Longbow
- Damage increased from 55 -> 60
- P2020
The most notable introduction in Update 1.73 is the buff to Wattson. Now, she can place down more than one of her trademark Nessie toys, when using her Epic emote. Rather than just the one Nessie she was limited to, you can now put down up to twenty, creating a veritable sea of adorable purple plushes. It’s an entirely cosmetic change that’ll have no impact whatsoever on gameplay – but if you love Nessie, you’ll need to try out the ‘buffed’ Wattson.
This particular tweak comes after Apex Legends fans consistently labeled Wattson as one of the game’s strongest characters. Seeing in the patch notes that she was upgraded certainly caused an uproar – but developers Respawn Entertainment were clearly playing around by hyping up her big ‘buff’. They have promised a genuine, Nessie-free upgrade to Wattson’s mechanics in the future, but don’t expect it yet.
Elsewhere in the update, there are plenty of changes as part of the Genesis Legacy event. Two areas from previous maps, Season 0’s Kings Canyon and Season 3’s World’s Edge, are temporarily back in the game. There’s also a barrage of new awards and unlockables – and as you can earn up to 1,600 points a day, you’ll have plenty of in-game currency to spend them on. That is if you aren’t too busy reveling in the sea of Nessies you can now put down as Wattson.
In other news, spoilers for Loki episode 4 are starting to creep over social media. There’s a new update for Smash Ultimate too, which adds Tekken’s Kayuza to the game’s roster
