Apex Legends System Override update nerfs the game's most annoying item

The metagame of Apex Legends is dominated by frustrating tactics like grenade spamming, but the game's latest patch installed to kickstart the System Override Collection event makes some inventory changes that solve that problem.

Once players reach the final circle in a match of Apex Legends, oftentimes players will just start grenade-spamming, tossing a ton of grenades they've been hoarding all match long. In the previous versions of the game, players could create stacks of two grenades. As such, some team members could take it upon themselves to stockpile grenades over the course of a match and just unleash them all on their opponent once they reached the final circle. As this arena was small, grenade spam was almost unavoidable. If you tried to dodge the grenades, you'd either enter the storm area or expose yourself to enemy fire.

This had been a consistent problem for the game ever since its February 2019 launch, but a year later, Respawn Entertainment has finally figured out a way to address with this latest update. Sweeping inventory changes will have a noticeable impact on Apex Legends' meta because the number of grenades, ammo, and health packs that players can carry with them at any time has been reduced.

Grenades can now only be in stacks of one, ammo stacks for all kinds of weapons have been decreased by 20, shield cells and syringes can only be carried in stacks of four, and shield battery and medkit stacks have been reduced to two. This will have a direct impact on how players go about managing items and inventory over the course of the match.

Check out the full list of patch notes of the game's official Reddit.

Lead Designer Carlos Pineda went over Respawn Entertainment's plan to tackle grenade spamming, calling the current inventory management "too loose," according to Eurogamer. He also tried to soften speculation on the wider meta impacts by saying, "ideally you're not really feeling that much of a change to the inventory, other than grenades" and that the developers will be "monitoring feedback and data" to see if these changes are truly the best for the meta.

The Inverse Analysis

From what I've seen of competitive Apex Legends, grenade-spamming and other problems that came with how the inventory previously worked did cause issues as matches reached their final moments. These changes all should make the end of Apex matches more entertaining and less frustrating for players who don't engage with meta-gaming in this way. Longtime players may initially not like these inventory reductions, but it seems like the end result will make for a much better game experience with a meta that doesn't rely on the same spam-heavy strategies.

This change could also give casual players something of a boost as they'll no longer be at a disadvantage if they're unaware of strategies like this. Even though Pineda is trying to downplay how much of an impact these inventory changes will have on the Apex Legends meta, they do definitely have the potential to be game-changing and lessen the importance of a character like Wattson. This should also liven up the game's meta, keeping it sustainable for a long time to come.