Biggest talking points from Apex Legends developer AMA: game balance, mechanics, weapons and more

Apex Legends developer, Respawn Entertainment, recently held a Reddit AMA answering the internet’s most burning questions about Season 25: Prodigy.

Held on July 16th, 2025, the most popular topics include weapon changes, Legend reworks, game balance and more. Many questions were asked, but here are the biggest highlights from the Apex Legends Reddit AMA.

Weapon balance was a popular topic amongst the questions asked, specifically around one of the game’s most unique weapons, the Bocek Bow.

It has undergone numerous changes over the years, from forgoing Arrow Ammo in favour of resupplying through finding another bow, to the recent ability to infuse arrows with frag grenades.

When asked about future changes to the weapon, ‘Casey’, a Game Designer at Respawn Entertainment, said: “Currently, no plans to change how the Bocek’s ammo system works. The weapon will still continue to take stockpiled ammo.

“For sure [we] hear your frustration though of needing to always find another Bow to replenish it. It’s something the team has been discussing and looking for the best solution to address the issue without just going back to arrow type ammo wholesale.”

Developers have also shared that they are shaking up how they balance the weapon pool in the battle royale shooter. When asked about potential new weapons coming to the game, developers shared that they are focused more on ‘improving the current weapon roster’.

“Expect to see more larger-scale changes with some of our weapons,” Casey added. “More than just small number tunings or a damage tweak. Think bigger. Think Bocek explosive arrows. Think Devotion turbocharged. These are the kind of changes we are working towards.”

Legends are an essential part of the battle royale shooter. As such, many players wanted to discuss the current state of the meta and whether Respawn plans to address the most powerful characters in the game.

The Assault Legend, Ash, was brought up numerous times, especially after her recent buff, adding a mid-air dash to her kit. The developers have acknowledged this and have shared that they are looking at ways to ‘tamp down her power and synergies’.

However, the developers have also shared that they have revised how they approach balance in the game. In response to the demand for an Ash nerf, developers shared that they were reluctant to swing the ‘no fun’ hammer on a particular character for the sake of balance.

Instead, the new mindset is focused more on rotating the best Legends or meta in the game as opposed to striving for balance across the board.

When asked about the overall goal of Legend changes, ‘Evan’, Senior Game Designer at Respawn Entertainment, said: “Generally, we would love for every Legend to be just as viable as another, and that was our approach to balancing for a long time to try and push and pull legends to all be balanced perfectly.

“However, we found that approach was also leading to more stale Legend metas that didn’t shake up your core experience with the game over time, so we started to take larger swings as you saw with the legend class changes, and we also got bolder with those as we went!”

During discussions, Respawn developers also dropped a few teasers for what to expect in upcoming updates to the game, from Legend changes, buffs and nerfs and more.

For example, hints were dropped that Controller Legend, Caustic, will be seeing some changes in a future patch. Developers have also reassured that new Legend perks will be arriving in the future, but may come with old ones being retired to avoid becoming ‘overcomplicated’.

Respawn have also shared that while the akimbo hop-up may not be possible for the RE-45 auto pistol, there are ‘bigger plans’ for the weapon currently in the works.