Respawn is adding health bars to Apex Legends in its massive Season 22 update, and players are unsure if it will bring anything to the table regarding gameplay.
The new mechanic, Battle Sense, is coming to all Battle Royale modes and will allow players to see enemy health bars when they are in their line of sight.
Players don’t see the value of the addition, and many think it could be a mistake on Respawn’s part to add the mechanic into the game. One player posted on Reddit that the health bar should only be added to casual modes and bot lobbies.
“It has no business in ranked. I don’t think this change was at all necessary,” one Reddit user said.
Others said adding health bars could remove players’ ability to “intimidate” enemies during a match. In Apex’s current state, players can bluff their low health status by keeping their shields up to make opponents hesitate about engaging in a gunfight.
“Right now, I can have low health, but if I keep popping bats and don’t let myself get cracked I can make players with more health back off with a sentinel shot or good beam,” another Reddit user said.
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“Now they can say I have no health and will be much more likely to rush. Especially going to be a problem with Pathfinder/Rev/Octane.”
While many players seemed resistant to the change on social media, others called for patience, as the update is still days away from hitting live servers.
“We didn’t even try yet… Let’s try first for a season and form our opinions on experience,” one player said.
According to Respawn’s update preview, the new mechanic targets newer and returning players. They may not expect Battle Sense to impact high-level gameplay or veteran players.
New mechanical additions like Battle Sense can also be changed or tweaked in the live service title. If the new addition does impact gameplay negatively, like some players believe it will, Respawn can remove it.