Apex Legends dev reveals Mirage buffs are finally on the way
Respawn EntertainmentMirage mains can finally breathe a sigh of relief — for the first time since Season 2, Apex Legends’ smooth-talking trickster is finally set to be buffed, according to Respawn game designer Carlos Pineda.
The Holographic Trickster has had a rough ride in Respawn’s battle royale since landing in the title’s original launch. Gated by a 12,000 token price tag at launch, Mirage struggled to find his place in the Season 1 meta.
Fast-forward to Season 4, and his situation hasn’t improved much. Three bug fixes, as well as a small tweak to his ultimate in the Legendary Hunt update were the best changes he’s seen for his under-powered abilities.
All this has left Mirage floating near the bottom of the heap. In fact, he’s dead last with a measly 2.40% win rate, according to Dreamteam.gg. Only Season 4 debutant Revenant — who just got buffed — comes close with 2.96%.
Luckily, Elliott Witt’s time in Apex’s meta cellar may finally be coming to an end. Demands for buffs or changes have reached fever-pitch across the internet, and it looks like Respawn has taken notice; buffs are now on their way.
Funnily enough, the news came after Mirage was slapped with an accidental buff in the last patch. His Psyche Out ability was set to a 25-second cooldown. Pineda confirmed it was a mistake, and they’re actually planning to buff him.
“Okay guys, I’m only gonna say this once: I feel you people out there talking about Mirage buffs, and the one thing I’ll say is… it’s coming,” Pineda said. He also added the devs were preparing a fix for the Psyche Out bug. It was shipped soon after.
He also jokingly agreed the best buff was “a swarm of bees with little Mirage faces,” which would “sting you and make your hitbox bigger.” While that would be fairly hilarious to see in action on Kings Canyon, that won’t be the buff.
Ok guys, I'm only gonna say this once –
I feel you people out there talking about Mirage buffs, and the one thing I'll say is… it's coming… pic.twitter.com/Ac1XkiNjMG
— Carlos Pineda 🇵🇭 (@pinedsman) April 7, 2020
What buffs could Mirage be getting?
While Pineda confirmed the Holographic Trickster is slated for buffs in a future patch, the Respawn designer didn’t share many details on what they may involve. That doesn’t mean we don’t have a good idea, though.
One ideal buff would be making Mirage’s ultimate more useful. At the moment, activating it simply fires six stationary copies of himself out, but if Vanishing Act’s clones continued to move they could actually bamboozle players.
Another option is a similar change to his tactical Psyche Out ability. A fan concept revealed on February 29 suggested turning it into “Smart Decoy 2.0,” which would be able to use all the terrain on the map, like ziplines, to look more lifelike.
The concept could be easily introduced to Apex too. After the Dummie’s Big Day event, and the Firing Range easter egg, Respawn has proven they can implement combat-ready AI. Now it’s just a matter of letting Mirage control them.
Mirage isn’t the only legend fans have been begging Respawn to take a look at after the Old Ways patch either. Fan-favorite Lifeline may have finally been given access to the mysterious blue bins, but she got nerfed at the same time.
Low Profile heroes, including Lifeline, now take “as much damage as body shots” when hit in the limbs. Needless to say, players aren’t happy, and they’re already demanding the changes be reverted. Maybe they will, once Mirage gets his buff.