Apex Legends Caustic Buff: Noxious Enough for You?

Today, we lay the matter to rest, once and for all, as we discuss whether the Apex Legends Caustic Buff makes much of a difference. In other words, does Caustic offer more of an incentive following the release of a recent buff?

From humble origins, Apex Legends has quickly made a name for itself within the video games industry, and thus, has rapidly risen the ranks to become one of the most celebrated modern-day battle royale games. In truth, the secret to its sudden ascendance is attributable to several key factors.

Firstly, Apex’s free-to-play model helped to broaden and establish a deep player pool early on in its life cycle. A shift in focus towards team-based pursuits brought new life to an over-saturated genre steeped in staleness. Despite the recent controversy over a select number of paid in-game items, the game continues an upward trajectory to this day.

With the recent release of Season 2, Apex Legends was given a fresh lease of life, as new mods, attachments, weapons, and characters entered the fold. Some things, though, were sadly left to fall by the wayside. That brings us nicely onto today’s hot topic.

So, without further or do, let’s lock, load and prepare for aerial evac as we nosedive right into this. On that note, it’s time we tackled the subject head-on. Upon reading, you’ll be privy to everything there is to know about the Apex Legends Caustic Buff. Both good and bad. So, let the games commence!

Apex Legends: Who Is Caustic?

Before we discuss the recent Apex Legends Caustic Buff in great length, let’s remind ourselves of the character in question. Caustic, also known as the Toxic Trapper, is one of the playable legends. His real name is Alexander Nox; a promising ex-scientist previously tasked with protecting the Frontiers crops. And one perfectly placed to do so, as an expert with pesticides.

Being one of the brightest in his field, Nox experimented with a variety of gases. And in doing so, created lethal concoctions, those of which needed to be tested on living organisms as a means of proving their effectiveness. From then on, his undying obsession with creating improved formulas forced Nox to seek out new subjects via the Apex Games. Unlucky for some, then, I’d say?

Naturally then, Caustic’s abilities revolve around the use of gas. And of course, it’s deadly effects. He is mostly a defensive-minded legend, meaning his specific skill set benefits the team. For instance, the Nox Gas Trap allows Caustic to place canisters of gas strategically in an area. When triggered, these release plumes of toxic gas, impairing the enemy’s vision. Also, the seeping gas prevents players from sprinting.

Alternatively, Nox Vision, as a passive ability, gives him immunity from any gaseous effects. Even from traps laid by the enemy. Not only that, but Nox Vision allows the player to see through an advancing haze, hence, allowing them to identify enemies amidst the chaos.

However, Nox’s ultimate attack is the Nox Gas Grenade, which functions like that of the Gas Trap, but affects a larger radius. Also, this deal’s scaling damage from 4-10 per second spent in the gas.

Apex Legends Caustic Buff

So now onto the Apex Legends Caustic Buff, with one of the worst win rates of all the playable legends, which sits at an unflattering 10%, give or take. Not to mention, a considerably low play rate compared to other Legends at 3.6%, it’s safe to say that Caustic is not, by any stretch, the go-to guy.

However, Respawn did recently attempt to buff Caustic. Sadly, this was to little or no avail. They tried this by improving the stat modifiers for Caustic’s “Fortified” passive perk. In layman’s terms, the perk now provides more significant damage reduction.

Additionally, the gas-effects are now significantly reduced for teammates, by a whopping 50%. So that’s something, at least.

Although these subtle changes are welcome, they still don’t make Caustic as much of an inviting prospect as the others. At least to me. From my perspective, I’d like to see cooldown rates for canister deployment widely reduced. That way, Caustic can dominate close-quarter exchanges more effectively.

Also, in my eyes, Teammates suffering from gas inhalation is too much of a burden to bear. Especially true, for a squad-oriented game. All too often, this causes frustration and unsatisfying results. Overall, I’d like to see a more balanced meta, which takes away friendly fire concerning gas.

Those are my thoughts, but we’d love to hear from you, the gamer. What do you make of the Apex Legends Caustic Buff? Does it make you want to pick up and play as Nox? Or were you hoping for more? As always, we welcome all contributions. So please, have your say via the chat below.

Caustic is but one of many legends selectable in Apex Legends. Here is a full rundown on the other incredible legends on this game:

Apex Legends Characters: A Full Rundown — Coming Soon!

We previously reviewed the 16GB patch Apex Legend had, and the significance of it, plus in case you own a Mac, you might have to forgo playing Apex Legends entirely!