Apex Legends removes my favorite sniper, and a fix could take weeks

The Sentinel has always been my favorite sniper rifle in Apex Legends. When you charge it up with a Shield Cell, it's like a mini-Kraber, dealing massive headshot damage and enough on the body to two-shot most opposing Legends. However, the power-up mechanic seems to cause problems when new updates are rolled out, as the sniper has been bugged more often than most guns in the game. This time around, players are finding that they can't fire more than one shot with it, which is kind of crucial in a battle royale.

As one of the best FPS games on Steam, the Apex Legends developers are always on top of keeping the game up to date. Whether that's big seasonal changes, tweaking overpowered abilities, or squashing any bugs that rear their mandibled heads, Respawn is usually quick to react.

It's no different with the Sentinel. After players realized that they couldn't shoot more than one round with the sniper rifle, they immediately took to social media to complain. "Very frustrating," u/Jerald-the-Great wrote on Reddit. "I had several games where I couldn't ADS or shoot it." Many others faced similar problems.

While players tried to work out their own fixes (dropping and re-equipping it seems to reset the issue), Respawn took the nuclear option and removed the rifle from the game while it works on a fix, which should be implemented in "the coming weeks."

It's worth noting that the ALGS Last Chance Qualifiers, where the top esports teams duke it out for a place in the ALGS Championship in Sapporo, Japan, are happening in mid-October. Whether the Sentinel will be back in Apex by then remains to be seen, but players are keen to see it return as soon as possible.

"We're aware of an issue in [Apex Legends] with the Sentinel and will be temporarily removing it while we work on a fix," Respawn wrote in a statement on X (Twitter). "Look for an update once it has been re-enabled in the coming weeks. Thank you for your patience."

If this has got you hankering for a match of Respawn's BR, check out our guide to all the Apex Legends characters and abilities. Make sure the game is running smoothly, too, by reading up on the best Apex Legends settings for your device.

Are you gutted the Sentinel's gone for a few weeks, or happy it's being fixed? Let us know in our community Discord server, where staff and readers discuss all the latest gaming news.