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Apex Legends' newest upcoming character is Catalyst

15K View2022-10-20

With Apex Legends Season 14: Hunted coming to an end, Respawn Entertainment recently unveiled one of its newest Legends arriving with Season 15: Eclipse on PC and console. That Legend is Catalyst, a new defender that uses a goo-like substance called ferrofluid she can conjure and manipulate to create walls and pillars to protect her teammates. Although not too much information about Season 15 has been revealed just yet, Catalyst is Apex Legends' first character that can build platforms and take battles to new heights.

The character was initially unveiled on October 18, 2022, in a cinematic trailer called Stories from the Outlands: Last Hope, detailing Catalyst’s backstory. The near-five-minute YouTube video showcased Catalyst’s life before participating in the Apex Games.

Also known as Tressa Smith, Catalyst is transgender and one of the many LGBTQ characters in Apex Legends. Catalyst has spent most of her younger life fighting corrupt corporations like Hammond Robotics. In her battles on her home planet Boreas, Catalyst fought alongside her friend, Margot, to protect Cleo, a moon that orbited Boreas, from people wishing to mine and collect its resources.

One day, Margot requested Catalyst's help with a plan she’d organized to save Cleo. However, Margot didn’t explain everything, and Catalyst followed her friend blindly. Eventually, it turned out that Margot wanted to blow up Hammond Robotics' operation base to prevent any further mining. and damage to Boreas' moon. Once Catalyst found out, she didn’t want to detonate the bomb Margot had planted because it risked killing innocent people. Eventually, one of the corporation’s security robots caught them, and their plan fell through, ending up with Margot sacrificing her life to save Catalyst and Cleo.

However, despite losing Margot that night, Catalyst awakened a power within herself, allowing her to control ferrofluid, which is a black goo-like substance that can solidify and form into structures. This awakened power allowed Catalyst to continue her fight against the organizations harming Cleo, as well as join the Apex Games and befriend Rampart.

As the newest Legend coming to Apex Legends, Catalyst is a unique character, unlike any other defender. Although Respawn Entertainment has officially unveiled Catalyst’s precise ability kit yet, leaks detailing her skills have been surfacing since a few months ago. Because of the Legend’s ability to manipulate ferrofluid and solidify the liquid into structures, Catalyst can create platforms and pillars.

Catalyst’s passive ability allows her to strengthen doors and other structures like Newcastle’s Castle Wall by simply standing near it. Not only this, though, but Catalyst can supposedly also strengthen her own structures she creates too. This passive ability would seem extremely useful in a team with Rampart or Newcastle since Catalyst can fortify their defensive abilities, making it harder for enemies to push through offensively.

However, even without any other additional defenders, Catalyst can still be useful when protecting teammates from danger. Her tactical ability allows Catalyst to build a short structure that functions seemingly like a ramp and a barricade against walls and doors. The ability can be cast on the ground, vertical walls, and even stacked upon each other, forming stairs to traverse the battlefield. But if that’s not enough, Catalyst’s ultimate ability allows her to conjure a large structure of ferrofluid, functioning as a tower and wall that provides another form of defense for teammates and even helps gain the high ground when battling opponents.

From her leaked abilities alone, it seems Catalyst would prove to be an incredibly useful character across team compositions featuring defenders like Rampart, Newcastle, and Gibraltar. Combined with an Ash, Wraith, or Valkyrie, Catalyst might be the perfect addition for offensive and defensive gameplay. But until Respawn Entertainment releases Catalyst or more information about the character, players will have to be patient as Apex Legends Season 15 debuts later in November.

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