Respawn explain why Lifeline rework in Apex Legends must keep “ease of play”

Ever since Respawn took Lifeline’s revive shield away, Apex Legends players have called for a more extensive rework of the game’s resident healer. The developers have heeded this call somewhat, but said any further changes to the medic must keep her “ease of play” for all.

As far as legend reworks go in Apex Legends, Lifeline is arguably the most requested. Her kit, while powerful in the early days of the game, is now more dated than ever.

There’s only so many buffs Respawn can make to her Care Package ultimate and Healing Drone without becoming too oppressive. The removal of the revive shield passive, a hallmark of the medic, started a chorus of rework ideas and complaints about her place in the meta.

Respawn have heeded a lot of those calls, and have actively looked at what a new Lifeline could have in Apex Legends. But there’s one thing the developers won’t compromise on, and that’s how simple Lifeline’s kit is.

“We’ve seen a lot of suggestions from the community on ideas for Lifeline,” developer Devan McGuire said. “It’s awesome to see how passionate people are to show her more love and give her more power!

“Lifeline is one of our most popular and approachable Legends and people gravitate to her for her style, her role and how easy it is to understand her abilities.”

It’s no wonder why new players pick up the medic in spades when starting out in the Apex Games. She’s the only healer, for starters, which can come in handy for those first few games. Her kit is also very easy to understand as a result, as it’s similar to other characters in other games.

As for making her a competitively viable pick at the highest ranks, that’s a harder story. She’s hardly played in ALGS ⁠— outside of mispicks like Fnatic at Champs.

The developers do want to make her viable at the top level, but that cannot be achieved by adding complexity.

“If we end up looking into additional Lifeline buffs or reworks, we will be considering angles that preserve her Combat Medic identity, ensure that she has her own playstyle that doesn’t overlap directly with other Legends or their abilities and solves problems with her current kit to improve her competitive viability without sacrificing her ease of play,” McGuire continued.

“This approach is something we like to do with all our Legends to ensure that any change we make answers the problem correctly without causing new issues in the game, or sacrificing the identity of the Legend itself.”

As for when Lifeline mains can expect changes for the medic? Respawn didn’t give a definitive date, but they’re aware of the passion from the community and are constantly looking to improve on her kit to hit those fantasies.