Apex Legends fans have been witnessing some strange cosmic activity as of late.
Yesterday, while going about their usual business in World’s Edge, one player noticed something rather bizarre. Posting footage of an otherwise unremarkable match on Reddit, user TTeeckCorba’s clip quickly takes an unexpected turn when what appears to be a meteorite hurtles through the sky overhead and smashes into a building. Naturally, many of those responding on social media have speculated that the event is part of a teaser made by Respawn for Season 4, while others have reported experiencing similar scenarios in the past, passing them off as little more than a visual glitch.
So, which theory is correct?
Unfortunately for those hoping that a Season 4 announcement was imminent, it appears as if the near-Earth (or in this case in-Earth) object is indeed no more than the result of a rare bug. Explaining the oddity’s origins over on Twitter, a prominent data miner has revealed that the ‘meteorite’ is, in actual fact, a stray aerial bombardment missile from Gibraltar’s ultimate. According to That1MiningGuy, the misplaced ordnance is a result of how Respawn programmed the character’s nifty airstrike ability.
Normally, a hidden fuse timer in the beacon placed by Gibraltar begins counting down as soon as it’s thrown by the player. Once triggered, the game then determines where to place the bombardment via three axis but doesn’t continue to check if the coordinates are correct after initial placement. “This is behaviour the game expects would never be wrong,” says That1MininGuy, adding that the beacon is intended never to move once the airstrike begins. To cut a long story short, Respawn should be able to fix the problem by adding further checks to the beacon’s placement.
Well, there you have it, folks – mystery solved. The wait for a Season 4 teaser continues, then, but Respawn’s got plenty to tide you over until then. Next week sees Apex Legends‘ biggest event yet – Grand Soirée – kick off. See here for all the details.