Respawn has released a small patch for Apex Legends on the day of the Season 8 Ranked Split. The patch brings back heat shields to the ranked playlist, but also nerfs the item.

Primarily designed as a means of temporarily surviving outside the ring, heat shields were removed from the ranked playlist following the discovery of an exploit that allowed players to survive indefinitely outside the ring. With their return to ranked, it's probably safe to say that the exploit has been fixed.

The patch is geared towards addressing the heat shield's secondary function: faster healing. When used outside the ring, heat shields imbue healing items with enhanced strength, allowing those inside them to more quickly recharge body shields, use bandages to recover health, revive teammates, or self-revive. This patch removes that function.