The 15th season of Apex Legends is just around the corner and with it comes a legend that players have been wanting for seasons (amongst some other changes you can read about here). Catalyst will the 23rd character to grace the Apex Games as well as the first transgender legend added to the roster of heroes.
THE NO NONSENSE TECHNO WITCH
As a teenager on Boreas, Catalyst (aka Tressa Crystal Smith) and her coven of friends prayed for and by the light of the moon. As seen in one of the new season trailers, things don’t quite go as planned for the teenagers as they try to sabotage machinery setup to aid in the moon’s restoration (a gesture the coven believed to be some smoke and mirrors). Instead of dealing with the incident, Catalyst instead runs away at fifteen to join a terraforming crew working to rebuild the moon. She took to the work, feeling a connection between her work with ferrofluid and the rituals of her past, but the unwelcome arrival of the Apex Games brought her peaceful life to an end. Catalyst now joins the games as a legend determined to bring change and defend her home.
Dubbed the ‘Techno Witch’ by the Respawn team, Catalyst harnesses her knowledge of and skills with ferrofluid to aid in defences, trap her enemies and bring a much wanted counter to the Apex Games, Anti-Scan. Players have been yearning for seasons for a legend to counter the strengths of Bloodhound, not to mention the anti-ratting legend Seer – and now she’s here. Catalyst’s abilities that she will bring to the arena are:
Passive – Barricade
Using her ability to manipulate ferrofluid, Catalyst reinforces doors, strengthening and locking them to enemies while allowing teammates to pass freely. It will take enemies twice as long to destroy a reinforced door. She can also create doors that have been destroyed.
Tactical – Piercing Spikes
Catalyst can throw out a patch of ferrofluid that turns into deadly spikes when enemies are near, while Catalyst herself remains immune to enemy spikes. Enemies will be slowed and damaged when spiked. Throw distance is quite far.
Ultimate – Dark Veil
Obscure the playing field with Catalyst’s Ultimate, Dark Veil. Catalyst can raise a permeable wall of ferrofluid that will slow and partially blind enemies (think the oil splash in Mario Kart but better) who attempt to push their way through it. Players can use these barriers to divide the battlefield or resurrect their team in a safe place. This ultimate will also block Bloodhound and Seer scans and has a 30sec activation timer.
It’s important to note that the Respawn team did state that the Dark Veil will not counter a Seer ult, mentioning, “The Seer ult is a large bubble that takes up a lot of space, so the Dark Veil doesn’t quite counter it.”
EXPANDING APEX’S DIVERSE LEGEND SELECTION
It’s quite an undertaking to add a new legend into a game like Apex Legends, with not only the play style and combat mechanics that the new character will add to the game, but also how they interact and play with the already massive roster of legends. Catalyst’s introduction goes one step further into the need to get her right as she represents an important expansion to the roster as the first transgender woman in Apex Legends.
The overall Respawn team, in particular the writing and design team, very much prioritised the importance of this legend addition and her back story, being sure to create and develop Catalyst in the most authentic, organic and considerate way possible. Respawn worked with transgender developers internally to help shape Catalyst’s journey, as well as getting onboard quite early a transgender Voice Artist to aid in navigating the story, personality and growth of the character. The team also engaged with GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) in order to make sure the portrayal of Catalyst and her journey was true and genuine for players.
Respawn have continued to put diversity at the forefront of the Apex Legends lore and character development and to be honest, is by far the only FPS/BR team holding diversity to such a standard within their games. Catalyst is not only a much welcomed addition to the game as another strong ability swinging hero, but as another real and genuine representation of the players who love this game day in and day out.
Look out for great Catalyst dialogue moments between Legends like Bloodhound, Loba and Rampart as well as some more spicy and confrontational conversations with Seer. Alongside the bewitching Eclipse Battle Pass, Catalyst will be a must try legend when she hits the Apex roster come November 1st (early morning November 2nd for us Aussies).
