It's not every day that video game fans get a glimpse at months or years of potential content in advance, but that's exactly what just happened for Apex Legends. A leaker has put out a massive leak for Respawn Entertainment's battle royale, showcasing a variety of content that's supposedly in development. The Apex Legends leak contains details on new weapons and cosmetics that are on the way, but most importantly it may have revealed as many as nine upcoming playable Legends, ranging from a shield-focused support called Conduit to a weapon expert called Caliber.
Out of all these possible characters, one Apex Legends hero in particular looks remarkable. Respawn Entertainment may be developing a Legend named Catalyst, whose title is "Creative Builder." Catalyst's appearance isn't confirmed yet, aside from a potential portrait containing a pale figure with dark hair and feminine features. According to the leak, Catalyst uses something called ferro fluid to assemble temporary structures during rounds of Apex Legends. That mechanic probably sounds familiar to any longtime battle royale fans; Fortnite has spent years setting itself apart through its building mechanics. Catalyst's skills don't sound quite as free-form as Fortnite, but there's still a clear comparison.
Comparing Catalyst to Fortnite Building
Ya yeet fortnite pillar in minecraft fortgotten by epc but not by us. Epic released new updates on a weekly basis and every week, a new item/weapon is added to fortnite battle royale. We've got all of the best fortnite skins, outfits, and characters in high quality from all of the previous seasons and from the history of the item shop!In regular Fortnite play, everyone has the power to build walls and platforms that provide cover or height advantages so long as the player has enough materials. Catalyst's Tactical Ability does something similar. Screenshots suggest Catalyst can create either ramps or walls of ferro fluid, depending on where they shoot it. In a game like Apex Legends, where having cover is often a matter of life and death, the utility of Calalyst's Tactical Ability is obvious. Notably, Catalyst can apparently only have three structures active at a time, which is far more limited than Fortnite's free-form building mechanics, but they make up for it with a Passive that reduces incoming damage to allies who are near Catalyst's structures.
Catalyst's Tactical Ability doesn't sound like it's meant to give players an instant height advantage, but their Ultimate Ability is another story. Called Iron Tower, Catalyst's Ultimate will create a pillar of ferro fluid underneath Catalyst, lifting them up into the air. It's unclear how big the tower is, but odds are good that it will have room for Catalyst's teammates, letting them get a collective height advantage on opponents. The Ultimate sounds like a great combo with other Legends like Valkyrie who are equipped to fight from overhead. In terms of Fortnite, it's reminiscent of the towers that players often build by hand, as well as the Port-A-Fort item.
pillar fortnite skin
As with any leak, Apex Legends fans should take Catalyst with a grain of salt. It's possible that Catalyst's final kit will be completely different from the leaked version, since it's likely this character won't release for a long time - if at all. Still, Catalyst sounds like a strong potential addition to the Apex Legends cast. Since it premiered, Apex Legends has been praised for its strong movement systems. Combining Apex Legends' sense of mobility and speed with some of Fortnite's malleable improvised structures sounds like a great way to mix up combat.
Overall, it doesn't sound like Catalyst will truly replicate the Fortnite experience since their building skills are limited, but it's still remarkable to see that Apex Legends might borrow such a central mechanic from another battle royale. Coincidentally, Fortnite has temporarily disabled building, but the mechanic is too crucial to disappear forever. Fortnite and Apex Legends will always be very different games, but Catalyst could at least create a little overlap that helps Apex Legends appeal to fans of Fortnite.
Apex Legends is available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One. A mobile version is available in some regions, and PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions are in development.
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