Respawn want Gibraltar to become “sexier pick” through Apex Legends bubble changes
Respawn EntertainmentGibraltar may not be the most glamorous character to play in Apex Legends, but there’s no denying his power. Respawn wants to change that though by making Gibby a “sexier pick” — with a bit more “selfish power” — in changing his bubble.
Gibraltar has been a formidable force in the Apex Legends meta for a while now. His pick rate in competitive matches is somewhere between 80% and 100%, even if he suffers from a low pick rate of under 4% in casual play.
For that reason, Respawn are hesitant to nerf Gibby — even if pros and high-level players are pleading the dev for changes. If they do nerf him, his already low pick rate will plummet in casual play.
However, there is a way to get around it, and Respawn are considering it. They want to make Gibraltar “sexy” to play, giving him some “selfish power” that’ll make even the sweatiest Wraith and Octane players pick him up.
Respawn EntertainmentDeveloper John ‘JayBiebs’ Larson told players in a July 12 podcast that Gibby’s design hits the mark, with his ‘Dome of Protection’ bubble being “a really cool ability in how it can shape fights and influence engagements in a relatively agnostic way.”
However, when it comes to making changes, he explained that it’s a “little scary because we don’t want to tank that pick rate anymore for the majority of the player base.”
“We all want pick rates to be healthy, so the sort of question is how can we make him a sexier pick without incorporating too much power.”
Fortunately, he did have some ideas, such as adding a health bar to his bubble — as suggested by Cloud9 pro Zach Mazer.
“It’s an idea we talked about not too long ago, and I don’t think the door is closed on that idea whatsoever,” JayBiebs said.
“It’s relatively safe as a change that wouldn’t affect casuals as much.”
Ultimately, the developers just want to make changes that will give Gibraltar more “selfish power” and make him “a little sexier” so people will pick him outside of competitive play.
With Season 10 on the horizon, the first set of changes could drop as soon as August. We will update you once Respawn locks anything in.