Apex Legends Devs May Have Accidentally Nerfed Wattson in Season 9

Some players have reported issues with Apex Watson's abilities following the launch of Season 9 in Apex Legends on May 4.

This isn't the first time a legend has faced some unnecessary changes in their core code. The unintended power-down comes right off the heels of a similar issue featuring Bangalore and Caustic and the results of a shift in how the game handles smoke particles. Unfortunately, while those have since been resolved, it seems the team cannot escape the nerf-web just yet with Legacy.

Apex Legends Devs May Have Accidentally Nerfed Wattson in Season 9

The problems were brought to light by Twitter user @lilakeyLK via a tweet published on their personal profile on Friday, May 7—three days after the update went live.

In a short thread, lilakeyLK uploaded a series of clips showcasing a bug with Wattson's electrical fence ability. According to the videos and lilakeyLK's own description, the "fences no longer stun or slow enemies." Indeed, the film evidence backs up the claim, as lilakeyLK shows a character on-screen rushing back and forth through the fence with no negative effects.

LilakeyLK uploaded a corresponding clip showcasing the effect from the first person view of the dashing character as another angle. The special effects remain active, however, the physical effects of the ability are moot.

As for a reason behind the bug, lilakeyLK has a theory. They alleged that the ability has been almost phantom-removed because "the arc star stun/slow has been removed, and they probably had some shared code."

Other users were quick to corroborate the story in the replies—with some even adding on additional quirks they've experienced. One stated they didn't receive any notifications regarding the fence, either.

Unfortunately, while Respawn has supposedly been notified of the problem, they've yet to come forward and confirm it or offer a fix in the meantime. In their place, however, lilakeyLK has their own workaround for players to try.

"If you see any wattsons out in your games, just pretend to be scared of their fences pretty please," they wrote.