Respawn explains why Alternator wasn’t buffed in Apex Legends Season 7

Apex Legends’ Alternator has been kicked to the curb as time has gone on. The Light SMG does woeful DPS compared to other weapons, even in the early game. However, Respawn are hesitating on buffing it, saying it’s in “a decent spot right now.”

There’s a lot of guns in Apex Legends you can just throw aside as soon as you find a new weapon. However, none might be more tossable than the Alternator.

The Light SMG has been underperforming for seasons now, and is once again remaining untouched in Season 7. Its slow rate of fire means it has pretty low DPS, meaning if you can control another gun, you just swap instantly.

However, it holds a special place in the hearts of a dedicated community, according to Respawn developers. That’s exactly why they aren’t buffing the Alternator despite it underperforming ⁠— it helps newer and inexperienced players get a grip of the game.

“The Alternator isn’t a super competitive gun, but it has a good-sized fanbase that uses it consistently. It’s good for early-midgame and for players that miss more shots and have trouble with recoil,” Respawn dev AmusedApricot said on Reddit.

There are some benefits to the Alternator that players do enjoy. Its recoil pattern is dead easy to learn ⁠— just drag it straight down. This, along with its easy spray control and high magazine size, makes it a much more valuable weapon than players think it is, devs stated.

“The Alternator’s easy recoil and high mag size are more valuable for some players than the pure DPS dropoff because neither they nor their enemies are reliably hitting every shot and dropping people in one R99 mag,” AmusedApricot added.

• Read more: Apex dev responds to concerns over Loba’s Season 7 buff

“This isn’t just ‘bad players’, a lot of players would find surprising success with the Alternator if they chose to run it, even though it’s not as good as the R99.”

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With all this being said, Respawn believe the Alternator is “in a decent spot right now” and “performs well in the space it is meant to.”

However, they aren’t closing the doors on a potential buff to make it a real threat down the line ⁠— out of pure interest. “It might be interesting to make it strong at some point in the future though, but let’s see how R99 and Volt play together!”