Apex Legends Dev Reveals Aim Assist Change Coming With 120hz Update

With the release of Season 20 of Apex Legends right around the corner, a developer has revealed that a change to aim assist is coming with the upcoming Performance Mode for consoles. While Apex Legends fans have been clamoring for an update for current-gen systems to support 120hz, it seems there will be a trade-off.

As part of the upcoming Season 20, called Breakout, Respawn Entertainment is introducing Performance Mode for Apex Legends. This update will allow PS5 and Xbox Series X/S players to play the game at 120hz when using supported displays. Unsurprisingly, this news is a big deal for many console players, as current-gen systems have been capped at 60fps. Over the years, some have argued this frame cap puts console players at a disadvantage compared to PC users, as some computers can run the game at over 200fps. However, others claim that the higher aim assist value on consoles makes up for this less smooth experience. Regardless, the effects of aim assist appear to be changing for some in the near future.

Responding to a question on Twitter, a Respawn Entertainment developer has revealed that changes are coming to aim assist on current-gen consoles in Season 20 of Apex Legends. Specifically, the dev noted that the new Performance Mode would adjust the normal aim assist strength value of .6 when enabled. According to the developer, this is being done «to accommodate for differences in tick rate.» It should be mentioned that the developer did not note the new value for aim assist. However, it could be adjusted to .4, the aim assist value on PC.

It will be interesting to see the impact these aim assist changes will make on players’ gameplay on consoles. A frames-per-second increase on consoles should result in a smoother experience for players, which could make it easier to aim. With this in mind, dropping the strength of aim assist could help counteract that. However, it is hard to know what these changes will look like until players are able to test them out for