Understanding Rampage LMG’s current state and why Respawn is holding off on further balance changes
The Rampage Controversy Explained
John Larson, Live Balance Designer at Respawn Entertainment, has provided crucial insights into why the Rampage LMG won’t see additional modifications in the immediate future, despite ongoing community debates about its power level.
The Rampage LMG has become one of Apex Legends’ most debated weapons recently, with developer John Larson clarifying why immediate balance changes aren’t planned despite player concerns about its strength.
Recent controversies surrounding the Rampage’s charge mechanics, particularly an exploit that prevented the weapon from ever becoming uncharged, led to its temporary removal from competitive play. This removal period actually revealed an interesting dynamic—some competitors expressed preferring the battle royale environment without the heavy LMG’s presence.
Respawn Entertainment consistently maintained that removing the Rampage was a temporary measure. The development team has since reintegrated the weapon into Storm Point matches, implementing both the exploit fix and a slight damage reduction to address initial balance concerns.
Developer Perspective: John Larson’s Insights
Since returning to the weapon pool, persistent voices within the player base continue arguing that the Rampage remains excessively powerful. However, Live Balance Designer John Larson indicates Respawn has no immediate plans for further adjustments based on current data analysis.
During a discussion with Apex content creator KijannaPlays, Larson emphasized the importance of patience when evaluating balance changes. “I think we gotta see,” he explained. “With any sort of balance patch or any sort of new release, we really gotta wait and see how it settles. We have to look at the data… we like to see how the meta shifts organically to better inform future decisions.”
Larson further elaborated: “The exploit sort of raised awareness to the point where now everyone’s running it and picking it up… Just the popularity of the gun can make people see that power when they otherwise may have not… Exploit aside, the data definitely backed up the decision to bring up the nerf we had planned for Season 12 a little early. And I think it’s too early to be awfully confident one way or another on any sort of follow-up patch.”
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Strategic Gameplay Considerations
Understanding how to counter the Rampage becomes crucial given its current state in the meta. The weapon’s slow fire rate and charge mechanics create specific vulnerabilities that skilled players can exploit.
Practical Counters: Mobility legends like Octane, Pathfinder, and Horizon can effectively disrupt Rampage users through rapid positioning changes. The weapon’s hip-fire accuracy suffers significantly during strafing engagements, making close-range combat against moving targets challenging.
Optimal Engagement Distance: The Rampage performs best at medium range where its high damage per shot and manageable recoil shine. However, this creates opportunities for opponents using sniper rifles or marksman weapons to outrange it, or shotgun users to close distance quickly.
Common Player Mistakes: Many less experienced players underestimate the importance of thermal grenades for charging the Rampage, or they become stationary while firing, making themselves easy targets. Additionally, overcommitting to long-range engagements where the weapon’s bullet drop becomes problematic often leads to wasted ammunition and missed opportunities.
Advanced Tactics: Seasoned competitors should focus on breaking line of sight when facing charged Rampage fire, using the environment to force reloads or charge depletion. The extended reload time provides perfect windows for aggressive pushes or repositioning.
Future Balance Outlook
Ultimately, time and comprehensive data analysis will guide Respawn’s future approach to the Rampage LMG, with developer awareness that community feedback might be influenced by the weapon’s current popularity rather than objective power metrics.
The development team’s methodology emphasizes observing how the competitive landscape naturally evolves following balance adjustments. This patient approach allows them to distinguish between temporary frustration with popular weapons and genuine balance issues requiring intervention.
Players should expect continued monitoring of pick rates, win percentages, and engagement outcomes involving the Rampage across different skill brackets. Significant deviations from expected performance metrics would likely trigger reassessment, but current data suggests the weapon occupies a balanced position within Season 12’s ecosystem.
Disclaimer: Kijanna is an employee at Dexerto. His YouTube channel is unrelated to his work for the company.
No reproduction without permission：SeeYouSoon Game Club » Apex Legends dev explains why they’re not planning more Rampage nerfs for Season 12 Understanding Rampage LMG's current state and why Respawn is holding off on further balance changes