Interview with Nocturnal of Team Liquid!
We talk to Team Liquid's very own Nocturnal.
Just like every online multiplayer, Apex Legends goes through phases of balance and imbalance. Right now, the playerbase is clamoring for in game changes to weapon balance. We spoke with Brandon "Nocturnal" Singer of Team Liquid to get his feedback on some changes he'd make to weapon balancing with some character reworks as well.
Do you mind telling us how you became a member of Team Liquid?
Nocturnal: After X-Games, Casper and Flanker both were looking for someone who could potentially IGL/Slay. I tried out, and we meshed very well off the start. I was dancing with different offers, so they made it clear they wanted me, and the rest was history.
Which character do you main, and what about that character has made you attached to it?
Nocturnal: I main Wraith. I used to be a support player for my old team with Wildcard, and they needed me on something that can get our team to safety with fast rotates and do clear callouts/scouting since I was always front lining for them to scout for info. I never really went back since Wraith is such a prominent character in the meta, and I really don't see her rotating out unless major changes happen to her kit/meta game.
For those of us new to the scene, could you tell us about the process of scrims? (How they’re set up, how long you scrim)
Nocturnal: Scrims go through of a process of Queue snipes which mean: join same server location, go into discord, join the voice channel where countdown will begin, and hope you get into a lobby with the rest of the players. Unfortunately, with no customs, this is what we have to make due with. There are 3 different time slots for Scrims for NA/EU/KR and all can be located in the T1Scrims Discord.
You’re in charge of Apex Legends for a month. What changes are you implementing whether it be content or balance wise?
Nocturnal: Oh boy this is gonna be fun. The Peacekeeper just got nerfed a bit, so I'll refrain from that until further notice.
Gameplay changes:
-R-301 recoil nerf reverted.
-Wingman magazine size nerf reverted.
-Scout base damage nerfed and added damage falloff.
-Only heavy ammo can slow enemies like intended.
-Havoc/Devotion fire rate nerfed without turbo charger.
-Grey attachments and equipment (excluding sights) all removed from the map and added to weapons/your character.
-Weapons do not spawn with sights.
-You are now able to craft a blue armor with two gray armors, by having one on your character and standing on a floor loot armor.
-Ammo no longer spawns on floor loot and is now added to guns to compensate.
Overall changes:
-Being able to press escape and go to the main menu where you can change servers
-Solo/Duos introduced permanently.
-Competitive roadmap introduced with Weekly Online Cashcups to fill the time until tournaments get rolling.
-Customs with full customizable settings.
-Tick rate of servers upped from 20 to 60 (or higher if possible).
-Deathmatch in skull town only with customizable loadouts/inventories.
-More intense anti-cheat and higher level requirement to play ranked.
-Diamond 4+ players is the lowest rating allowed in Apex Predator lobbies.
-Apex Predator is now only top 250 Worldwide, old Apex Predator is now replaced with a sub division under Apex Predator similar to Masters/GM in League of Legends.
-Twitch Apex Legends section now has a filter by Legend for streams.
These are the just the basics I'd like to introduce and rough thoughts for 20 minutes.
Crypto’s been in the game for a while now. Do you see any room for improvement or is he fine the way he plays?
Nocturnal: I absolutely love the idea of Crypto, but he kind of makes fights 2v3 so you have be really reliant on your teammates to be able to hold their ground. TSM Albralelie had a great idea where you make his drone interact with Pathfinder beacons, and a good way to balance him with this mechanic is only allowing it to work within the first 5-10 minutes of the game. I personally would like to see his drone get a movement speed buff and the ability to break Watton's Ults and Gibraltar bubbles, and some clarity to his camera quality overall - too blurry in my opinion. I think that would be a good step into making him viable in the scene.
Speaking of character balance, would you change how any of the other characters play?
Nocturnal: Personally, I would like some rework of Wattson's Ultimate Ability to make it more consistent on eating projectiles. Right now, projectiles blocked by her Ultimate are very 50/50 and should be smoothed out. Also, a bit of nerf to her fence count with a clarity (transparency) rework on her fences to help be able to see through them. As it stands, fences stacked on top of each other are nearly impossible to see.
So rough changes I'd like for characters would be:
Bangalore - 3 Smoke charges instead of 2.
Bloodhound - Ultimate % greatly decreased.
Octane - Using tactical abilities makes him immune to bullet slow, and Ultimate has a charge system with 2-3 jump pads being able to be stored.
Pathfinder - Model size reduction (touchy subject), but he's just too big in current state and feels like a walking death trap with how big his hitbox is.
Mirage - Being able to teleport to decoys you throw out by looking at them and pressing a certain button, and weapon pullout speed significantly buffed after coming out of invisibility from his Ultimate.
Lifeline - Her Ultimate needs a loot table rework; I'd suggest only armors, helmets, shields (no medkits), purple lightmag on top of the heavy, and the scopes.
I think these are a good start to making all characters viable without making them completely overpowered.
Are there any new weapon types that you’d like to see come to Apex Legends?
Nocturnal: I wouldn't really want a new weapon type but maybe a rework on assault rifles. I think the fire rates and recoil of the current guns are super clunky feeling: Flatline and Hemlok in specific. A suggestion would be if they released an attachment that makes the Hemlok an automatic and the Flatline less bouncy in recoil.
Even though we’ve only had two playable maps, you have to have a favorite. Kings Canyon or World’s Edge?
Nocturnal: So I personally like King's Canyon the most, but I think World's Edge will be more fun and competitive in the long run. Granted they could make snipers a bit less scary, as they are now, they're too rewarding with little risk.
Anything you’d like to conclude this interview with?
Nocturnal: I'd just like to wrap this up with thanks for the interview, the opportunity to speak out about this great game and potential behind it. I hope to see more people playing and enjoying this game very soon. Thanks again!
We'd like to thank Nocturnal for taking the time to do this interview, and we wish him luck going forward!
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