Apex Legends devs planning Lifeline nerfs to balance healing & “meme” ultimate”

Lifeline is one of the most ‘unbalanced’ heroes in Apex Legends with an overpowered passive and an underwhelming ultimate, but the devs are planning to fix the issue in Season 9.

Apex Legends Season 9 is still a while away, but the devs have already been working on some buffs and nerfs to address issues in the current meta. We already know Gibraltar and Horizon will receive some much-needed nerfs. However, it seems like Lifeline is going to get some, too.

Apex Legends players have become increasingly frustrated with Lifeline’s passive ability, Combat Revive, which allows her to deploy a drone to revive teammates and shield them from damage in the process. The consensus is it’s too overpowered and needs a nerf.  

But at the same time, her ultimate has been underwhelming for a long time now. Fortunately, the devs talked about it in a recent thread, and it sounds like they’ve got some interesting balance changes in mind.

“I think we should try a version without the shield and see how that goes,” they said, in response to a question about Lifeline’s passive. However, they understand removing it completely might “gut her,” so they’re also flirting with the idea of adding a “per-teammate cooldown” to the shield.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. The developers also plan to give her “meme” ultimate, which looks at a squad’s loot and guarantees at least one upgrade, a much-needed buff.

“We got a playlist in testing… that does some smart things about the ultimate,” they said. “All we had to do was [apply] a minimum of smarts to picking what’s in it, and suddenly the skill was good.

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I’m not gonna talk about it much more because the earliest it might ship is Season 9. But I’m hopeful, as someone who plays a lot of Lifeline and wishes her tactical and ultimate weren’t memes.”

It’s still in the early stages of planning and testing. However, the developers confirmed they are on the case.

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A lot can change in the two months leading up to the new season, and the changes might not survive the test of time. But the developers will almost certainly find a way to balance Lifeline without nerfing her into oblivion. 

We can’t wait to see what solutions they come up with.