Apex Legends dev hints at Gold Knockdown nerf after Ranked concerns

Philip Trahan
apex legends gold knockdown lifeline header

Apex Legends Game Designer John ‘JayBiebs’ Larson has hinted that Gold Knockdown shields could be getting some sort of nerf in Ranked, following community feedback.

The Apex Legends community has been split on the inclusion of Gold Knockdown shields in Ranked since Season 13 began.

Even pro players like TSM’s Mac ‘Albralelie’ Beckwith have called for the removal of Gold Knockdowns in Ranked after much discussion around the issue.

Now it seems that the developers have listened to the feedback as Game Designer John “JayBiebs” Larson has tweeted out hinting that Gold Knockdowns may be getting an adjustment sometime soon.

Apex Legends dev responds to Gold Knockdown shield concerns

Gold Knockdown Shield in Apex Legends
A number of Apex Legends pros want Gold Knockdown Shields from not only Ranked but also Apex Legends as a whole.

Larson first tweeted that he had been “grinding ranked this week” to gather experience about the current state of Ranked Reloaded in Season 13.

After confirming he’d been watching streams and browsing social media to assure fans the team is listening, Larson tweeted “Self-rez feedback heard loud and clear.”

While Larson simply acknowledged that the team had heard the feedback, the wording “loud and clear” makes it sound as if the team is going to make some major adjustments coinciding with the community’s discontent with Gold Knockdown shields.

Whether this means an overhaul, some kind of nerf for Ranked, or outright removal from the game is yet to be confirmed.

Still, some players seem unsure of how best to deal with Gold Knockdowns with the current state of Apex Legends.

TSM’s Phillip “ImperialHal” Dosen responded to the tweet saying that some only think it’s become an issue due to “the influx of gold items from armories” suggesting the development team may simply want to adjust that instead.

Others, however, are more on the fence about a potential change with Twitter user @mjbnow saying that it’s simply “the loud minority complaining about it.”

Regardless, it appears the Apex Legends’ development team is fully aware of the unrest surrounding Golden Knockdown shields and will likely address it sometime around the next Ranked split.

About The Author

Philip is a Staff Writer at Dexerto based in Louisiana, with expertise in Pokemon, Apex Legends, and general gaming industry news. His first job in the games industry was as a reviewer with NintendoEverything.com while attending college. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication focusing on Multimedia Journalism, he worked with GameRant.com for nearly two years before joining Dexerto. When he's not writing he's usually tearing through some 80+ hour JRPG. You can contact him at philip.trahan@dexerto.com.