Summary
Apex Legendsplayers appear to have discovered a secret nerf to Ash, increasing the cooldown time on her Ultimate. This unexpected nerf not mentioned by Respawn Entertainment comes as part of a new patch forApex Legends, which made other alterations to the Assault Legend.
This latest patch forApex Legendsclosely follows the release of Season 20. While the update adjusted the crowd volume on Thunderdome, the newmultipurpose Mixtape map inApex Legends, it focused primarily on Ash. According to the developer, Greedy Snare, a level 3 upgrade option for the Legend, had been altered, reducing the duration from 24 seconds to 15. In addition, her Arc Snare cooldown was decreased to 20 seconds, which was previously 25. While the decrease in Snare cooldown seemed like a potential buff for the character, which some players believe is currently underwhelming, the latest patch appears to have included a secret nerf as well.

Following the release of this recent Season 20 patch, a Reddit user known as NC__Pitts made a post on Reddit noting a change to the Legend’s kit not mentioned by the developer. In the post, the player pointed out that Ash’s Ultimate, Phase Breach, had been hit with a substantial nerf. Specifically, the cooldown on the ability was increased by 30 seconds, making the total charge time go from two minutes to two minutes and 30 seconds.
Apex Legends Players Are Concerned Ash’s Kit Is Ineffective
Time will tell what effect this secret nerf, along with the other changes to her kit, will have on Ash in Season 20. In the Reddit comments, many players feared that this Ultimate cooldown increase made an already underwhelming Legend more ineffective. “Stop! She’s already dead. :( why would you nerf her clunky ultimate?” one user commented. Furthermore, while the cooldown on her Arc Snare had decreased, allowing her to use it more often, the loss of 9 seconds of duration on the Greedy Snare upgrade is a substantial hit, potentially making thatupgrade path inApex Legendsless advantageous.
Besides making changes to Ash following the release of Season 20, Respawn Entertainment has shown a willingness to make other prompt revisions to the game. Several days prior, the developer released anotherpatch forApex Legendsaddressing the Wingman, a gun many players thought was overpowered. In that update, the developer decreased the weapon’s ammo reserves, removed the Boosted Loader attachment, and locked its optic to the 1x HCOG.
It will be interesting to see if these changes, along with the other alterations made at the start of the season, will make the game more enjoyable for players. Regardless,Season 20 ofApex Legendslooks to be a much different experiencefrom what came before in the battle royale.
Apex Legends
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Conquer with character in Apex Legends, a free-to-play* Hero shooter where legendary characters with powerful abilities team up to battle for fame & fortune on the fringes of the Frontier.Master an ever-growing roster of diverse legends, deep tactical squad play, and bold new innovations that go beyond the Battle Royale experience—all within a rugged world where anything goes. Welcome to the next evolution of Hero Shooter.This game includes optional in-game purchases of virtual currency that can be used to acquire virtual in-game items, including a random selection of virtual in-game items.