Apex Legends Prestige Bloodhound Skin Bug Blocks Progression and Deletes Damage
Apex Legends Season 12 brought a wave of new content and a three-year anniversary celebration, but not everything went smoothly for players. The 9v9 Control mode and the new Legend Mad Maggie gave the community fresh ways to play, while Respawn Entertainment introduced the Prestige Bloodhound skin as part of the Anniversary Collection event. This cosmetic was designed as an upgradable reward, with damage challenges that unlock extra color varieties. However, many owners quickly discovered a frustrating bug that stopped their progress and, in some cases, erased it entirely.
💰 A Costly Cosmetic Under Pressure
The Prestige Bloodhound skin sits at the center of a larger debate about value. It belongs to a new Prestige cosmetic system that gives players a base design and then asks them to complete specific challenges to unlock additional color varieties. The idea is to create a sense of long-term progression, but the price has attracted criticism. Many players calculated that unlocking the skin can cost around $164, roughly the same amount needed for an heirloom during previous events.
Heirlooms are melee weapons with unique animations and inspect effects, and many gamers feel those items offer more value than a skin that changes color after damage-based tasks. The Prestige Bloodhound design has its supporters, but the cost debate made the cosmetic polarizing from the start. When the progression bug appeared, frustration only deepened.
🐛 The Progression Bug
Shortly after the Prestige Bloodhound skin became available, reports began to surface about unreliable progress tracking. Players said the damage needed to advance the skin would not count. Others reported something worse: the game would delete previously recorded damage totals. A restart often seemed to fix the issue temporarily, but numerous players said damage would randomly stop counting again even after restarting the client.
The impact is significant because the skin's progression system requires sustained damage output to move from tier 1 to tiers 2 and 3. If damage does not register, owners cannot reach those higher visual stages. Content creator KralRindo shared their own experience on Twitter, stating, "I had 18k damage and it's just... gone." That comment summed up the frustration felt by players who had invested both time and money into the cosmetic.
| Tier | Requirement | Reported Issue |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Base Prestige Bloodhound skin | No progression required |
| Tier 2 | Damage challenge completion | Damage not counting or progress erased |
| Tier 3 | Damage challenge completion | Progression lost after restart |
🛠️ Developer Response
Following the wave of complaints, Respawn Entertainment acknowledged the problem. A developer addressed the situation on Reddit, confirming that the team was examining the bug. According to that response, a fix could arrive in short order, but the developer also admitted that restoring previously lost progression might not be possible. That caveat disappointed players who had already accumulated large amounts of damage before the glitch wiped their progress.
The response was welcomed as a sign that the studio was listening, but it left several questions unanswered. Players wanted clarity on when the fix would launch and whether any compensation would be offered for lost time. Some owners remained cautious, choosing not to grind further damage until a patch arrived.
🔮 What It Means for Prestige Skins
The Prestige Bloodhound skin is one of the first tests of Respawn's new Prestige cosmetic system. The system is designed to offer a long-term goal for high-spending players, but the launch issues complicated that pitch. If progression can be erased without recovery, the appeal of an upgradable skin diminishes. Players may think twice before buying future Prestige cosmetics until the system proves stable.
The bug also raises broader questions about how live-service games handle premium items. When a cosmetic costs roughly as much as a full-priced game, players expect it to work correctly. The backlash suggests that many players are willing to accept high prices only if the experience matches the investment. Respawn's response will likely influence whether the Prestige system gains trust or remains a source of controversy.
For now, Apex Legends players are waiting for the promised fix. The game is available on PC, PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox platforms. Season 12 brought plenty of excitement through Control, Mad Maggie, and the Anniversary Collection event, but the Prestige Bloodhound skin saga showed that even a celebratory update can be overshadowed by technical problems and pricing debates. A satisfactory solution would allow those who purchased the pricey cosmetic to finally work toward its higher tiers without fear of losing their damage progress.