As someone in the room with @danielzklein when we initially decided to reduce Caustic's tac cooldown, I want to clear the air regarding our balancing approach and provide some context as to why we're now keeping Caustic as is.
(1/14) https://twitter.com/TitanfallBlog/status/1346516076604121095

First and foremost, I look to the community and my own playing experience to gauge what I think could be on the table for balance changes. If I'm not working, I'm playing Apex, perusing Twitter/Reddit, or watching Apex. These are my most valuable resources.
(2/14)

Some of the stuff we measure like pick rate, win rate, and encounter win rate serve as auxiliary tools. We break these metrics down by skill brackets as well. They rarely drive balance discussions, but rather compliment intuitions we have about legend meta.
(3/14)

Regarding Caustic: Do we want him to have as high of a pick rate as Wraith? No. I'm confident that will never happen for multiple reasons. Do we want to pull in outliers, both from the high and low ends? Yes, and that was the goal of the Caustic change.
(4/14)

The minor cooldown adjustment we were going to implement was made over a month ago. I had my eye on his usage in EU comp, and knew there was no way we could buff his ult given the chaotic Caustic end circles (curious to see how these ring changes spice things up).
(5/14)

By buffing the tactical cooldown and guaranteeing barrels to combat third parties or give visual cover in open areas, this could possibly increase his utility outside of his niche and make a difference without breaking comp/high-level ranked. Forcing players to consider
(6/14)

whether or not they should push each and every fight adds a decision-making layer that wouldn't exist without defensive legends. Few things give Caustics more joy than seeing a TTV Wraith squirm around amidst his experiments, both thirsty for the kill, but in unique ways.
(7/14)

With the rescinded change, if a good Caustic triggered his barrels one at a time until they're on cooldown, he would get 78s of constant gas instead of 65s with a 20s vs. 25s cooldown.
(8/14)

I believe this would’ve made a minimal difference in-game, but it could've been enough to incentivize Caustics to be less hesitant about dropping traps when they're not in hunkered-down mode.

BUT, would this buff be worth it?
(9/14)

It's a menial change for nearly all players and playstyles, but I understand the message that it sends. Caustic was a much less spicy topic a month or two ago, and at that point, I think it was worth a shot. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a lump in my throat
(10/14)

as I realized this change would be known to the public right at the end of our team break. I saw Caustic getting used more competitively and his pick rate and win rate had climbed up a healthy amount.
So now that we're back in the office,
(11/14)

I'm hoping to make right and reassure those who may see inconsistencies between their in-game experiences and our balancing actions. Also, @danielzklein has essentially been a one-man legend balance army until I was hired a couple months ago, and he crushes it.
(12/14)

Think of the viable options in early Apex compared to now. It's awesome. It was a bummer seeing the drama from a couple days ago. As a day one player myself, I know the passion the players have for the game.
(13/14)

Now, as a Respawn employee, I'm more reassured than ever that this game is in the collective hands of some of the best in the industry. Many of us are happy to engage with the community as long as there's a mutual respect, and I will do my part to keep that channel open.
(14/14)