Lifeline and Newcastle have both been subject to a nerf today.
Lifeline and Newcastle, two Legends that have so far dominated Season 23, got a nerf in a hotfix deployed to Apex Legends today. Both Legends were buffed substantially at the start of the season, dubbed the 'season of support'. This included a rework of Lifelines abilities.
It has been a long time since Legends were altered this much outside of a full patch in Apex. Fans had been pretty vocal about the strength of these two legends, and this nerf is well recieved.
However, for those teams playing in the BLGS Qualifier finals tomorrow, this hotfix leaves them little time to adapt. The BLGS Regional Finals, played this weekend, are also very close to the release of this hotfix.
Full details of the Lifeline and Newcastle nerf
Here are full details of what is changing about Lifeline and Newcastle from today in Apex Legends.
Newcastle:
- Revive Shield HP is lowered at all tiers: White is 250, Blue is 400, and Purple is 600
- Mobile Shield is no longer invulnerable, has 750 HP, and the cooldown has been increased to 20s
- The Swift Shield Upgrade now reduces the cooldown to 12s
Lifeline:
- D.O.C. Halo now has a 180s cooldown
- Hands-free D.O.C. revive is now the same speed as non-support Legends
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Will this nerf be impactful?
While both Lifeline and Newcastle will feel todays nerf, it looks like it will be particularly impactful for Newcastle. The change to his Mobile Shield this season that made it invulnerable was one of the most powerful buffs he got. This allows Newcastle to tank anything, including powerful abilities like Shiela.
Now, Newcastle will have to choose when to use his Mobile Shield and will be punished if he uses it at the wrong time. The Revive Shield HP nerf will also make it harder for Newcastle to revive in tricky situations, again making risky choices more dangerous.
For Lifeline, this nerf will simply dial her power back a little. The D.O.C Halo will still be avaliable at least once per fight. Additionally, her hands free revive will still be very useful and help with a fast reset.
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