Apex Legends Season 16: Revelry released February 14th, 2023 and saw some of the biggest changes to ever be implemented in the Battle Royale game. One of these giant overhauls was the revitalization of Classes. Classes were something that previously did not mean much in Apex Legends, in fact when people would choose who to play, the Class was never something that factored into their decision. But with the many nerfs and buffs for this Season’s Legends, the Classes are now crucial to a player’s pick. No longer is it about a specific Ultimate you prefer to use or what Legend’s heirloom is the coolest. Classes mean something and now with the scan meta gone, should players still use what were the wall-hacking Legends Seer and Bloodhound? The once dominating S-Tier Legends now may be no more.
The Class and Legend Changes for Season 16: Revelry
Both Bloodhound and Seer are now part of the Recon Class. This allows players to access the Survey Beacons to temporarily scan enemies within a nearby vicinity. It acts the same as the Beacon in Kings Canyon. Now, when you use the Beacon, other enemies will be aware that this Beacon is in play, with the source appearing on their Map. This means that players should not go ahead and run after every enemy they have scanned as the enemy team will already know you are on the way. Another key bit of information to mention is that not all enemies will appear on the Map with the Beacon in use. Therefore if you only see someone nearby, do not assume that they are a solo player.
Seer Rework = Obvious Nerf for Casual Players
The massive balancing changes for Seer means obvious nerfs as this Legend can be seen throughout every Ranked game. But Seer has seen a change for the worst, with an update that is meant to provide a more balancing experience for all players. His Heartbeat Sensor can be heard by players nearby meaning that you should hear if a Seer is looking for you. This will help out any solo players last alive in a Ranked lobby. There is a delay when Seer uses his passive too. So you will not be able to continuously scan around you during or outside of fights. Whilst his Tactical can still cancel revives and heals, you will not be able to see the enemy in full on the scan. It now is primarily used as a cancellation feature.
The biggest nerf for Seer is his Ultimate, where it is reduced from 30s to 25s and the cooldown has been increased from 120s to 180s. This promotes smarter plays and the needed change for players to not feel like they require constant scans to win a game.
Bloodhound Rework = A More Versatile Legend to Use
Bloodhound has had some very interesting changes, most of which are not meant to be a nerf. However there is a blatant switch as seen with Seer also that Respawn want to remove the scan meta in the game. This can be seen with the Blood’s Tactical that only lasts for 1s when it previously lasted for 3s. Their Ultimate has seen a huge hit in that the scans cannot regularly be used during Beast of the Hunt. You will only likely hit your Tactical twice in the entire Ultimate as the cooldown is 25s.
The main change for Bloodhound is that they can now see White Ravens which when interacted with will fly to the nearest enemy on the Map. Your teammates will not see the Raven but will get a trackable line appear on their mini-map to indicate the enemy’s whereabouts. The White Raven will also recover 25% of both Tactical and Ultimate charge which is a neat upgrade.
Should You Still Pick Bloodhound and Seer?
Since Season 16 started I have already seen a drastic decrease in the pick rate for Seer, however Bloodhound is still appearing in the majority of Ranked games. Bloodhound is already experiencing bugs with their White Raven function, which is to be expected with a new Season. The changes for Bloodhound specifically mean for a more aggressive approach but one that is more thought-out instead of running head first into any fight. No longer can you continuously scan your opponents within your Ultimate so you must use Beast of the Hunt at the appropriate time. Bloodhound’s Ultimate now is mostly for the speed and mobility of Octane’s Tactical with the wall-hacking nature of the lit enemy bodies.
Bloodhound is perhaps a greater pick for Ranked than ever before however the issue lies within their downgrades for the scanning meta. Players who opt for Bloodhound should play this Legend as if they picked Bangalore and Octane. This Legend is a more selfish character than what was previously a heavily relied on team-player because of their scans.
Seer is still an incredibly strong Legend to pick. The adjustments made were not to make Seer unplayable but to make him a Legend that requires you to master his playstyle. This Legend was previously so easy to use that completely new players could come in an utilize his abilities without knowing anything about the game. The scan meta made for an unbearable and repetitive game that showed everyone needed a Seer on their team just to manage other Seer players.
Pro players such as Albralelie strongly believe that Seer will remain in Pro League. With these players being the best in the game, they already know how to correctly utilize Seer’s abilities, whilst the casual player does not. Many casual players use both Bloodhound and Seer as a continual scanning Legend which required absolutely no mastering or thought when it came to how to use these Legends in Ranked.
Conclusion
Overall, both Bloodhound and Seer are incredibly strong Legends if you know how to use their abilities correctly. No longer can you repeatedly scan in game, but that was not the point of these Legends to begin with. Their reworks were needed to move Apex Legends to a place without the scan meta, which I think its a brilliant change. Bloodhound and Seer are by no means unusable now. Those using these Legends just need to play smarter and scan at the appropriate times. Whilst highly aggressive plays is at the core of Ranked system due to this being the main method of gaining RP. I have already noted how a lot of players are coming up with smarter plays; picking fights at the right time and playing slower due to the limited scans. This change is great to see and is pushing Apex Legends in the right direction.
What do you think about the big changes for both Bloodhound and Seer? Will you be using them in Season 16: Revelry? Let us know what you think at Gamer Journalist’s Facebook. For more Apex Legends Season 16 News and Information: All Ranked Map Changes in Apex Legends Season 16 Revelry and When Does Mixtape Playlist Release in Apex Legends Season 16? are available for you to read.
