Apex Legends Devs Explain Why a Massive Buff for Loba isn’t Viable

The Aftermarket Collection Event went live recently, bringing a bunch of exciting additions to Apex Legends. The update also implemented balancing changes to several legends, and Loba was one of them.

Although the teleporting received a couple of improvements, fans hold the opinion that there is room for more power to her abilities. Loba’s abilities to teleport and locate the high-tier loot for herself and her teammates are unique.

As a support legend, the teleporting thief’s abilities are valuable for any squad. However, compared to popular picks like Wraith, Pathfinder, or Lifeline, Loba’s abilities are lackluster. Therefore, fans of Loba have asked for significant buffs to boost her up to a higher tier of legends.

Apex Legends players want Loba buffed

In a recent thread about the Aftermarket patch on Reddit, a player requested a buff for Loba’s tactical. Gethixit claimed that it was not the ultimate ability that was holding the teleporting thief back.

Another Redditor, Yash_swaraj, stated that Respawn seemed “afraid of making big legend changes most of the times“. The user explained how the legend tier ranking has remained similar since launch, and the new legends consistently belong to the bottom tier.

The comments drew responses from two Apex Legends game designers. The devs comprehensively explained how several factors complicate the process of making significant legend changes.

The first dev goes by the username AmusedApricot. Although they are not one of Loba’s designers, they provided some valuable insight into the thought process behind designing a legend.

“We are intentionally a gun game with characters, not the other way around. We try to avoid making legends within combat “just press Q and do damage” abilities for a number of reasons. We want to use legends to explore other aspects of battle royale, so that they can be differentiated and have a unique playspace. Think about Loba; we want a loot focused character, that seems like an interesting axis to touch!”

Also read: Apex Legends Glitch Turns This Sniper Fully Automatic

Apex is a “gun game,” and Loba might receive minor improvements

Another Respawn game designer, DanielZKlein, followed up with their response later. The dev stated that Loba’s loot power would receive some more upgrades in the next patch. However, one can only do so much besides assuring that Loba will get a fully equipped gold weapon upon using her abilities.

Klein explained why players don’t see major legend buffs often and why Loba won’t receive one anytime soon. They reiterated that Apex Legends is primarily a “gun game,” and they don’t intend to make it a “character game” like Overwatch, despite the similarities.

“The main reason we can’t just bring everyone up to Lifeline/Wraith/Pathfinder’s level is that we’re then stepping away from making a gun game and approaching making a character game. Not that that’s a bad thing by itself! I personally think Overwatch is a super fun game, and it’s an FPS I’ve been returning to since it released, but it’s not the game we’re making here with Apex.“

A massive revamp for Loba’s ultimate, like giving her the ability to teleport quickly and silently, would eventually make the game’s combat “ability vs. ability rather than gun vs. gun“.

The response from the devs makes sense and gives us insight into their approach and thought process. It sheds light on Respawn’s vision for Apex and why they don’t make significant changes to the legend meta too often.

It’s always good to see the developers and the players engage in conversation about their favorite game. For now, it seems Loba might receive small improvements in a future patch. Fans have to wait and watch to see what those improvements are exactly.