Apex Legends Patch Update Incorporates Changes to Heat Shields, Adds Survival Slot Button for Console Players

Respawn Entertainment has rolled out a new update for Apex Legends, making some important changes to how the recently introduced Heat Shields function in the game.

Heat Shields primarily became available as a new item in the Ring Fury takeover mode during the Chaos Theory Collection event. This item yields a temporary means of survival outside the safe zone by setting up a protective dome that prevents ring damage.

However, the discovery of a rare exploit led to the temporary removal of Heat Shields from ranked matches and then from the crafting pool. Now, the devs at Respawn have rolled out a small patch, re-introducing the item, but not without nerfing it.

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Heat Shields have returned in Apex Legends Season 8 but without their fast-heal feature

A tweet from Respawn informs us of the contents of the March 23 update for Apex Legends. Heat Shields are back in the regular loot pool in both the regular and ranked playlists of the Battle Royale. As a result, players can expect to find the item as ground loot. However, the patch also dials down on the ability to heal quickly inside its protective dome.

Activating a Heat Shield outside the ring used to enable teams inside it to consume healing items faster while the dome takes ring damage and gradually decreases in power. This passive feature provided players valuable time to survive outside the ring without taking damage, especially during the endgame. But now, players can no longer benefit from fast healing as the update removes this feature from the Heat Shields.

However, downed teammates can still benefit from faster revive speed within the dome, as this function remains unaltered. Besides the aforementioned changes, the latest patch also brings minor map tweaks for King’s Canyon to prevent players from getting stuck.

Being a minor update, it didn’t come with patch notes highlighting the reasoning behind the changes incorporated. But while Heat Shields’ introduction generated some bugs and exploits, now that it has returned to the loot pool, it’s safe to assume Respawn has addressed the issues.

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Survival Slot Button added for players on consoles and missing textures on Wattson’s skin fixed

Another tweet from Jason McCord, design director on Apex Legends, informed us of the newly added Survival Slot Button for console players. This setting is available under the controller options tab and users can toggle it on or off.

When turned off, the quick access button assigned on a controller will restore to the Weapon Inspect feature by default. Accordingly, items in the Survival Slot will only be accessible through the inventory screen.

Aiming to provide smoother utility management, the Survival Slot was also among the additions in the Chaos Theory update. However, many Apex Legends players consider their heirlooms as prized possessions, and rightly so. With this new setting, Respawn is giving them the option to choose between weapon inspection or utility speed.

Respawn also tweeted about a bug with Wattson’s Electric Blue skin that led to missing textures. Besides deploying a fix for this issue, they have fully reimbursed players who purchased the malfunctioning skin.

To sum it up, players will notice the aforementioned changes in the latest patch for Apex Legends Season 8.

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