John Larson, Live Balance Designer at Respawn Entertainment, has explained why the Rampage LMG is not set to receive any more changes for Season 12, despite many still claiming it is too powerful.
The Rampage has been an exceptionally hot topic in the Apex Legends community of late. Problems surrounding its charge – and an exploit that meant it was never uncharged – saw it temporarily removed from the battle royale.
While Respawn always emphasized that its removal was temporary, some players actually stated that they preferred the game minus the hefty LMG.
Regardless, it has since been thrown back into Storm Point, albeit with the charge exploit patched and its overall damage very slightly reduced.
Since its reintroduction, some players have maintained that it is far too strong and even overpowered. However, Respawn have no further plans to adjust it, at least according to Live Balance Designer John Larson.
In an interview with Apex YouTuber KijannaPlays, Larson said that it’s too soon for any new changes, in spite of some feedback.
“I think we gotta see,” he said. “With any sort of balance patch or any sort of new release, we really gotta wait and see how it settles. We have to look at the data… we like to see how the meta shifts organically to better inform future decisions. The Rampage is strong and that was sort of raised by the exploit that was in the game for a while.”
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
Timestamp: 2:08
He continued: “The exploit sort of raised awareness to the point where now everyone’s running it and picking it up… Just the popularity of the gun can make people see that power when they otherwise may have not… Exploit aside, the data definitely backed up the decision to bring up the nerf we had planned for Season 12 a little early. And I think it’s too early to be awfully confident one way or another on any sort of follow-up patch.”
In short, time and data will inform Respawn’s future treatment of the Rampage, with player feedback perhaps distorted by the gun’s popularity.
Disclaimer: Kijanna is an employee at Dexerto. His YouTube channel is unrelated to his work for the company.