Respawn Entertainment has leveled the playing field for Apex Legends players by depowering one of the game’s most recently added weapons. A minor patch was released yesterday, effecting the following changes to the formidable Charge Rifle:

  • The weapon can no longer equip extended energy magazines
  • The base magazine capacity is 12 (good for four shots per reload)
  • The fire rate has been reduced from 1.1 shots per second to 0.95 shot per second
  • It still deals 90 damage for a charged shot at 150 meters, but will only have 30 damage from 400 meters on out 

The changes turn the Charge Rifle into a decent mid-range option, as opposed to the long-range, high-damage death ray that it was in its original iteration.

The nerf was rolled out just in time for its Fight or Fright limited-time event’s Double XP weekend, which runs until October 29, 1:00 a.m. (GMT+8). Players can now breathe easier knowing they won’t get sniped from ridiculous distances by an OP gun.

The Charge Rifle was one of the most exciting additions to Apex Legends when the game introduced its third season — a.k.a. Meltdown — at the start of the month. It didn’t take long for players to argue that the weapon was too powerful, however, given its massive default damage combined with its extensive range.

A similar, but smaller tweak to the Charge Rifle was deployed last week, which reduced the weapon’s magazine capacity by a shot (yesterday’s update restored it back to the original capacity).

Apex Legends’ Halloween-themed Fight or Fight limited-time event runs until November 5.

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