Apex Legends Nerfs Pay-to-Win Skin

An Apex Legends update released earlier in the week kicked off a new event with plenty of cosmetics for players to pine after, but this same update also nerfed what’s often regarded as the best weapon skin in the game: The Flatline’s Heat Sink skin. Aside from simply looking better than pretty much any other weapon skin it’s put next to, the Heat Sink also had superb iron sights which players felt gave them a competitive edge when using it. It’s that exact feature, however, which has now been nerfed.

Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts addressed the Heat Sink change in a post separate from the patch notes for the latest update. Within the “update on iron sights,” the pair said it’d updated the Heat Sink’s base sights. Other skins were also updated with players’ comments (or complaints, depending on if you owned the skin or not) acknowledged about the enhanced iron sights the Heat Sink possessed.

“Competitive integrity is and will always be a core pillar for Apex Legends. As part of that, our default iron sights are designed to push players to loot for better optics,” EA’s post said. “We also believe that skins shouldn’t be a factor in the sights functionality as well. During Season 4, we released the Heat Sink reactive skin for the VK-47 Flatline rifle and we heard feedback from some players that the Aim Down Sights (ADS) felt superior to any other skin available.”

The combined images below were shared by EA to illustrate what the iron sights looked like before and what they look like now following the update. You’ll notice that the gap left by the previous version of the iron sights has since been closed up for the most part. Something similar was done for another Flatline skin, Revelations, which actually got buffed given that the fins on the side of it no longer create such imposing blindspots.

“We believe that any competitive edge in Apex Legends should be gained by honing your skills and not due to any perceived advantages from buying gun skins,” the EA post said in closing. “As our good friend Kuben Blisk puts it: ‘You kill me, you’re better. I kill you, I’m better.’ We hope players who own these skins will appreciate these improvements and support us as we work to keep Apex Legends fun and fair.”

Rumors have been circulating about the return of the Heat Sink via a recolor supposedly coming to the shop in the future, so it’ll be interesting to see how popular that rumored recolor might be following these “nerfs.”