Apex Legends dev hints at Hemlok nerf after community backlash

An Apex Legends developer has hinted at a major change coming to the game, with the Hemlok burst assault rifle possibly being nerfed in the near future.

When Season 7 launched in November, there were a number of balancing and weapon tuning changes. The L-STAR and Havoc received buffs, while the Hemlok and Triple Take were nerfed — though there’s still a common belief that the Hemlok is a bit too powerful.

While recoil was increased in the Season 7 update, and the headshot multiplier was reduced, players are still finding themselves obliterated by the AR, especially when it’s fully stacked out.

After small YouTuber and Apex Legends content creator SoaR Kobi said that the Hemlok meta has “got to go,” one of the producers at developer Respawn gave a very clear hint at what was to come.

While there has been plenty of discussion around the state of the Hemlok in recent months, and it has received nerfs in that time, there is still a lot of belief that it needs bringing down a peg or two to be in line with the other Apex Legends assault rifles.

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After another streamer tagged Respawn producer Josh Medina in Kobi’s tweet, asking if he “got us” with fixing the Hemlok meta, Medina’s response was short, but very clear.

“Yessir,” he said to NoobKingSmith, indicating that yet another Hemlok nerf is on the way, and it might settle the issue once and for all.

Of course, weapon balancing at this level must be very difficult, so hopefully we won’t see the Hemlok nerfed into the ground, but brought more in line with the rest of its class and we don’t fall at the hands of a Hemlok as much.

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It’s unclear when this nerf could potentially happen, though. The tweet suggests it’s in the works, so it could be coming soon, but the Season 8 update isn’t expected until early February.

Whether the nerf comes before then is a mystery, but players will be hoping so.