Apex Legends may have a hitbox issue, but it might not last for long. A Respawn community manager took to Reddit today to address growing concerns among the game’s playerbase that Apex Legends’ hitboxes are too disparate, with some characters obtaining a hidden advantage through the size of their corresponding hitboxes.
For those unfamiliar with the term, hitboxes refer to the invisible area on a character model that registers being hit by attacks. The term is most often discussed in the fighting game community, with characters being ranked in competitive play partially based on elements like the size and functionality of their hitboxes. In Apex Legends, hitboxes typically only matter in ranged combat, as close-range melee attacks don’t tend to clip the edges of hit boxes in the same way a spray of bullets might.
A YouTube video from user SookieSpy briefed players on the state of Apex Legends’ hitbox situation, and for the most part, things appear quite good. For context, players can sometimes shoot through Bloodhound’s feathers without the game registering a hit, meaning that the hitboxes are tight on most models. Unfortunately, though, the robot Pathfinder appears to register hits that appear outside of a normal range. Basically, if a Pathfinder players has complained about getting hit more often than they should, they were actually onto something - the character is much easier to hit than basically any other in the game.
Apparently, developer Respawn Entertainment is aware of the issue already. A Respawn community manager named Jayfresh_Respawn appeared on the Apex Legends subreddit a few days ago to address the issue, stating that the company is “definitely aware of it” and that they couldn’t comment any further on the problem at the time. The fact that Respawn is admitting knowledge of the issue is evidence that it will be addressed sooner rather than later, probably in the next few Apex Legends updates.
In the meantime, players can discuss how the hitboxes of each Legend might affect their choice of main. Wraith is the character with the smallest hitbox area, as shown in this tweet:
It’s worth nothing that while Caustic and Gibraltar are both larger than Pathfinder, their hitboxes are actually tighter to their character model. Having characters with various sizes of hitboxes isn’t imbalanced, as there is typically a trade-off for that increased exposure. For Pathfinder, though, it appears pretty clear that the Legend’s hitboxes aren’t functioning properly, which is likely why Respawn is going to fix the issue sooner rather than later.
It’s yet another indicator that Respawn pays extremely close attention to the state of its fledgling battle royale title. With an incredible rate of growth and the addition of new Apex Legends guns and characters, the title looks set to continue to etch out a place for itself at the top of the most popular genre in the industry. Hopefully, there’s room for a slimmer, not so bullet-riddled Pathfinder at the peak.
More: The Start of Every Apex Legends Match Is Basically This
Source: SookieSpy, Reddit
