Bloodhound, which has existed since the first day of Apex Legends, is one of the most beloved legends. The character, who has quite a solid skill kit, has been on almost every team in recent seasons. Especially these days, when Season 8 and the ranked split are coming to an end, a Bloodhound is a must in high-elo matches because, with their tactical ability, they show the enemies’ location and provides great benefit to their team. As if that wasn’t enough, Apex Legends players also get Bloodhound because they can earn assists with their tactical ability too. But Respawn Entertainment is keeping an eye on Bloodhound.
“I’ve Been Keeping An Eye On Bloodhound”
In a discussion on Reddit, the game’s balancing designer, John Larson, explained his views on Bloodhound.
I’ve been keeping an eye on Bloodhound. Seems rare to come across a squad without one in my experiences in ranked, and they have the third-highest pick rate at the moment. I’d be curious to see how much that may dip if we removed assists from scans. I know it’s a super-powerful ability regardless, but I’m curious if it’d move the needle at all before looking at nerfing the ability itself.
John Larson
If you recall, the rise of Bloodhound began especially with Season 6. One of the best things we’ve ever seen in the Season 6 patch notes was Bloodhound updates. Even the buff of ultimate ability would have been enough in itself. Thanks to this buff, Beast of the Hunt (ultimate) gains a duration of time when Bloodhound kills or knocks an enemy. There was also a change to the characters in the Recon class. Just like Pathfinder, Bloodhound and Crypto started using Survey Beacons, and they show their teammates where the ring will be in the next round. Bloodhound was the first choice for Apex Legends players, especially at those times when Pathfinder lost its popularity.
The character is quite strong in terms of its skills. But nowadays, the Bloodhounds in ranked games don’t seem to be that good. Lots of players prefer not to get involved in fights because of the “I’ll scan and get an assist.” idea. But other Bloodhounds scan the entire map and area of your team. The quality of the Bloodhound players seems to improve if any nerf or preventing them from earning assists comes. That’s why the players are looking forward to that change.
