We can talk weapons and events and map changes all day long. When all is said and done, though, the game is called Apex Legends – emphasis on “legends”.
Apex wouldn’t be what it is today without the characters, so let’s give ’em a little love, shall we?
A Winning Formula
One of the coolest things about Apex when it was first announced was the concept of character abilities. While used often in online multiplayer shooters in the past, Respawn was the first company to apply that template to the battle royale (BR) genre.
Previous popular BR games such as Fortnite or Player Unknown’s: Battlegrounds threw everyone into a match on the same footing. No abilities, no bonuses, no buffs – equal stats across the board, sink or swim, find a weapon and try to survive.
Respawn’s combination of asymmetrical character abilities, team-based play, and battle royale made it the most enticing BR game to date.
Apex Legends Character Building Exercises
Respawn launched Apex Legends with 6 characters available for free, plus 2 additional characters locked behind a microtransaction wall (though, to be fair, I unlocked both of those characters by earning in-game currency after playing matches rather than by spending real money).
The 6 “basic” characters offered more than enough for new players to try the game out and get a sense for how good it was. Each character offers unique abilities and shines in different situations. Respawn clearly designed these characters to emphasize team-based play, as each character brings something to a team that nobody else can.
Bangalore, the former soldier, brings smoke grenades and an artillery barrage to the battlefield. After being experimented on at Singh Labs, Wraith has the ability to phase herself out of harm’s way for brief periods of time and create portals that allow teammates to travel moderate distances instantaneously. Bloodhound can scan for tracks and identify if someone healed or reloaded in the last minute, or gain a burst of speed and heat vision that allows them to run down fleeing opponents.
Now onto the additional characters throughout the seasons…
