Apex Legends Patch Seemingly Includes Unexpected Legend Nerf Not Mentioned by Respawn

Apex Legends players 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 for Apex Legends, which made other alterations to the Assault Legend.

This latest patch for Apex Legends closely follows the release of Season 20. While the update adjusted the crowd volume on Thunderdome, the new multipurpose Mixtape map in Apex 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.

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 that upgrade path in Apex Legends less advantageous.

Besides making changes to Ash