In the high-stakes arena of Apex Legends, the thunderous crack of a Kraber sniper rifle can silence an entire crowd at the Global Series. To the player on the receiving end, it feels like being struck by a meteorite out of a clear blue sky—unexpected, devastating, and seemingly unfair. Yet, to the one holding the weapon, it’s the ultimate power fantasy, a golden ticket clutched in the final circle. This duality sits at the heart of game balance, a perpetual tug-of-war between sheer fun and competitive fairness that developers at Respawn navigate daily.

Lead weapons designer Eric Canavese recalls the vocal feedback from professional players. "The pros were quite loud about it," he explains. The Kraber, a weapon intentionally overpowered and rare, created moments where years of tactical preparation could be erased in an instant, like a sandcastle washed away by a single, unforeseen wave. Instead of removing this iconic tool entirely from competitive play, which would create a disconnect from the public game experience, the team chose to refine it. "We decided that the healthiest way was to actually listen to their problem... and adjust the sharpness of it," Canavese says. The solution was nuanced: a player with superior late-game loot—a high-level helmet and shield—could now survive a headshot, introducing a layer of counterplay. The one-shot potential remained for those caught early or under-geared, preserving the weapon's thrilling identity while sanding down its most frustrating edge.

This philosophy of refinement over removal extends beyond weapons. For Josh Mohan, the lead battle royale designer, his canvas is the ring itself. His recent rework focused on eliminating 'dead air'—those prolonged mid-game lulls where action stagnates. "We're able to pull all the dead air out of the match while still preserving people's ability to loot and rotate in the early game," Mohan states. The changes were significant: the ring now moves faster and deals more damage early on, but less in the late game. This acts as a relentless, invisible herdsman, gently but firmly pushing players together to force engagements and maintain a pulse-pounding pace from start to finish. The community's response? Overwhelmingly positive, with many calling recent matches some of the best-paced in years.

When it comes to introducing new elements, Respawn's approach is methodical and needs-based. With 37 weapons already in the arsenal, the team has slowed the pace of additions. Canavese clarifies their stance: "Our approach to when and how we're building new weapons is letting the game tell us what it's missing or what it needs." The Nemesis Burst AR, the sole new weapon added in several seasons, is a prime example. It filled a specific gap as an easy-to-use, energy-ammo assault rifle, providing a burst-fire option alongside the Hemlok. "Each of our weapons has their own personality," Canavese emphasizes. "At this very moment in the meta, everything has a place, and we don't want to release a new weapon that would straight up challenge another weapon."

Mohan applies a similar philosophy to map design and gameplay systems. Whether it's PvE elements like prowlers or rotational tools like the ziprails introduced on Broken Moon, the goal is to provide options, not prescriptions. "If it's a foregone conclusion, this is an awful way to play, and I'm not doing my job," Mohan says. He aims to create "interesting things for players to chase" that make each match dynamic. The evidence is in the pro league itself: some teams, like Alliance, aggressively contest PvE zones like the IMC Armory for loot, while others avoid them, considering the exit a death trap. This diversity of strategy is a sign of healthy game design. As for whether ziprails will appear on other maps, Mohan is coy but optimistic: "There's nothing stopping us... I love seeing that cross pollination of these tools being used in other maps where they can solve interesting problems."

Gathering and processing feedback is a monumental task in itself. At the 2025 ALGS Championship, Canavese and Mohan received direct input from both world-class competitors and casual fans. But whose voice carries more weight? "It's all valuable feedback," Canavese asserts diplomatically. The process is a multi-faceted one:

Feedback Source	How It's Used
Professional Players	Direct, high-level insight into meta health and competitive integrity.
Public Forums (Reddit, Twitter)	Anecdotal data on the broader player experience and pain points.
Raw Game Data Dashboards	Quantitative analysis of weapon pick rates, win rates, and engagement metrics.

"We spend a lot of time looking at the data breakdowns... It's our job to compile all of that stuff and parse it," Canavese notes. The final decision-making involves synthesizing this mountain of information—a process akin to a cartographer piecing together a coherent map from a thousand scattered survey notes—to find the healthiest choice for the entire ecosystem. Mohan rejects the notion that pros and casuals are playing fundamentally different games. "The important thing is they're playing with the same tools, playing two different games with the same set of blocks."

Ultimately, every player, from the weekend warrior to the ALGS champion, shares the same sandbox. The Charge Rifle's year-long journey to its current state, the Kraber's careful nerf, and the ring's pace-altering rework all serve the same goal: maintaining a balanced, exciting, and fair experience for everyone. The proof of this philosophy was on full display at the recent championship, where, in a moment of pure, unscripted spectacle, a player landed an unforgettable 720 no-scope with the very Kraber at the center of so much debate—a reminder that at the heart of all this data and design lies the simple, unpredictable joy of play.