Clever Apex Legends trick lets Havoc shred as SMG despite nerfs

[jwplayer UQowmNq2]The Havoc was one of the most overpowered guns in Apex Legends until a Season 5 nerf pushed it into relative obscurity. That could soon change however as a new trick is making the rounds, helping the weapon regain prominence. 

When Season 5: Fortune’s Favor dropped on May 12, the Havoc received a set of substantial nerfs specifically targeted at making the potent energy gun harder to control. Then, on June 23, the gun was hit with another nerf.

Now, YouTuber ‘iTemp Plays’ is showing players how to adjust playstyles and turn the weapon into a potent SMG.

Before its nerf, the Havoc was legitimately a laser, with little to no recoil and devastating impact at any range. But to start Season 5, Respawn increased its vertical, horizontal, and initial shots’ recoil. Then, in the June patch, they decreased its base magazine size from 32 to 28.

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But a new, clever trick enables players to capitalize on the gun’s beefy damage and firing rate in a way that is similar to other close-range automatic weapons like the R-99, Prowler, and even the L-STAR.

As iTemp explains, you need to simply hipfire your first 5-10 bullets before aiming down sights — this helps bypass the initial recoil chaos, which is less problematic when hipfiring a nearby enemy, while maintaining damage output.

Hipfiring, by nature, engenders a more scattered bullet spray than ADS firing. That’s precisely why it’s best to do when you’re up close and personal with an enemy, as they take up more of your screen and are harder to miss. 

If you double down on that method with the Havoc, then you can feasibly circumvent its initial recoil issues by adjusting your playstyle in a way that lessens the downsides of an erratic bullet spray.

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Although shotguns or other close-range weapons, like the R-99 or the L-STAR may seem better suited at this range, the Havoc actually provides unique upside thanks to its magazine capacity, damage, and versatility. 

At 28, it has a higher magazine capacity than both the R-99 (27 capacity with a Level 3 mag) and L-STAR (overheats after 23 shots). Given a blend of high rate of fire and damage per bullet, its body DPS is 202, higher than the L-STAR (180) and the R99 (198).

The Havoc built its standing on lethality from range. While the recoil increase to initial shots dampened that, it has much better potential than the other close-range weapons to gun down targets at range once you’ve already started fighting someone nearby. As such, the gun has a ton of versatility when you adjust your playstyle to fit its new niche.