Apex Legends dev: Mirage will never be a top tier Legend
A Senior Game Designer at Respawn Entertainment has responded to calls for a Mirage buff – but it’s not good news for Mirage mains. The dev explained that he is a Legend who is unlikely to ever be a top tier character in Apex Legends – and that is “fine.”
Mirage has been in Apex Legends since the game’s launch, but never rose to the top of the ranks, even after a total rework of his kit.
Despite boasting solid if unspectacular abilities, the Holographic Trickster has not been able to make a name for himself in the upper echelons of Apex Legends’ character pool.
Mirage was buffed in the Season 7 update, seeing his decoys given 45 health to better cloud an enemy’s knowledge of the real Mirage. However, bullets will still pass through his decoys so players cannot take cover behind them.
While this buff was welcomed by some Mirage mains, many have argued it has not done enough to make their favorite trickster viable in competitive Apex Legends. Unfortunately, this seems to be a decision from Respawn who have accepted that Mirage will never compete at the highest levels of Apex.
In response to a clip of a player’s best Mirage play, one player questioned whether the buff will have any impact on above-average players.
Designer Daniel Klein responded to say that the changes were not targeted at any particular skill level and that “Mirage can never be viable” in competitive Apex, without some serious drawbacks.
“Nah the buff didn’t target any skill levels,” he explained. “Mirage can never be viable at the highest of high levels without becoming super confusing and unfair for the low levels, and that’s fine. It’s okay for some legends to just never be played in the ALGS.”
he news was not particularly well-received, with the response sitting on minus points at the time of writing. One Mirage player responded to say: “It feels like you’ve just said “After careful analysis of Mirage’s potential abilities or buffs to bring him in line with the other legends such as Wraith, Pathfinder, Bloodhound etc. We’ve determined that Mirage mains will just have to f**king deal with it.”
And on the Mirage Mains subreddit, dedicated to players who love the character, there was more disappointment, with one player even describing it as “insulting.”
Respawn could alter their approach to Mirage in the future but, going off this response, we wouldn’t hold out too much hope.
Image credit: Respawn Entertainment