Respawn pushes new patch for Apex Legends' recent lag issues
Who wants some engineering data?
It's been a tough week for Apex Legends players. The battle royale shooter has seen some widespread server instability since September 14, causing lots of lag, packet loss, and the like. Thankfully, Respawn has just shipped a patch that it says will "meaningfully address" the issue.
"We've shipped a patch for @playapex that should meaningfully address teleporting, packet loss, and lag," the official Respawn Twitter said Monday. "Also, we've discovered an issue with animated banner poses that can cause crashes. We advise unequipping these poses for now. A fix for this & more is scheduled for Wednesday."
We've shipped a patch for @playapex that should meaningfully address teleporting, packet loss, and lag.Also, we've discovered an issue with animated banner poses that can cause crashes. We advise unequipping these poses for now. A fix for this & more is scheduled for Wednesday.September 20, 2021
Respawn added that it's continuing to work on issues causing higher than normal crashes, and hopes that Wednesday's patch will help.
Respawn's communications director, Ryan K. Rigney, shared some data from the studio's software engineering team showing how much of an impact the patch had on packet loss. That sure is a nice-looking downward line.
The patch we just shipped for @PlayApex may have cut down on packet loss a bit...Chart w/ permission from Lead Software Engineer @ricklesauceur pic.twitter.com/M8fg7negP0September 20, 2021
The patch we just shipped for @PlayApex may have cut down on packet loss a bit...Chart w/ permission from Lead Software Engineer @ricklesauceur pic.twitter.com/M8fg7negP0September 20, 2021
When Apex Legends' server instability peaked last week, it spurred "roughly three times the normal rate of disconnect errors," Respawn said at the time. So far, Respawn is on track to make good on its promise to fix the issues by September 22 for a "full return to normal."
Of course, competitive Apex players in ranked mode were understandably worried about the impact faulty servers would have on their rankings. Though a disconnect will likely cost you some points, Respawn is at least extending the current ranked split by one week.
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Joseph Knoop is a freelance writer specializing in all things Fortnite at PC Gamer. Master of Creative Codes and Fortnite's weekly missions, Joe's always ready with a scoop on Boba Fett or John Wick or whoever the hell is coming to Fortnite this week. It's with a mix of relief and disappointment that he hasn't yet become a Fortnite skin himself. There's always next season...