The free-to-play battle royale- hero shooter game Apex Legends, developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts, features a diverse cast of playable characters known as Legends. Apex Legends is set in the same science fiction universe as Respawn Entertainment's Titanfall series, with several characters from the Titanfall series appearing either as minor characters or playable Legends.

The game launched with 8 characters, with at least 16 more added in each subsequent new season post-release. A match starts with each player selecting from one of the available hero characters for a bloodsport competition known as the Apex Games, which operates in an area called The Outlands. The games involve combatants entering an arena on the island and battling each other in squads of three. The victors among the contestants of the Games or "Legends" are known as "Apex Champions".

While each of the game's characters have their own unique abilities and play styles, they are broadly divided into five role classifications: Assault, Skimisher, Recon, Support and Controller. Each character comes with a passive ability, a tactical ability and an ultimate ability. Season 16 implemented a new system that emphasizes new class-specific perks to add a new layer of strategy to this shooter, with each of the five classes having a unique perk attributed to it.

The game's cast of Legends is notable for its diverse inclusion of different cultural, ethnic, gender and sexual orientation identities. The characters have an overall positive response from critics and academic publications.

Overview

When the game launched in 2019, there were eight characters available for players: Bangalore, Bloodhound, Caustic, Gibraltr, Mirage, Lifeline, Pathfinder, and Wraith. ^[1] Each Apex Legends character has an in-universe home world. ^[2]

Assault

Ash

Ash was originally Dr. Ashleigh Reid, a scientist who worked on working on Project Iris alongside her mentor Horizon to research the existence of a material called Branthium, which can only be found in black holes. She is reconstituted as a simulacrum, a robotic construct, prior to her death.

Ash's playstyle favours aggression.

Ballistic

Ballistic is the call sign of August Montgomery Brinkman, a billionaire orphan who decided to use the financial resources he had access to early in life to dominate the battlefield. He can shoot a projectile that causes an enemy's projectile to overheat as they shoot. He can also support nearby teammates by granting them faster reload and movement speed, as well as infinite ammunition.

Mad Maggie

She was introduced in Season 8 of the game as the childhood friend of Walter "Fuse" Fitzroy. Maggie and Fuse became mercenaries together while dong some shady deals to increase their power. She can move very fast with shotguns. Mad Maggie also has a riot drill that can phase through any surface and deal damage to the enemy.

Also, she can throw a giant wrecking ball that destroys everything in its paths, including players. The giant ball also, creates an path that increases her speed. Mad Maggie's playstyle favours aggression.

Bangalore

Bangalore is the callsign of Anita Williams, who was separated from her family during a military mission and wants to make some money in the Apex Games in order to be reunited with them.

Fuse

Walter Fuze Fitzroy, is a mercenary from Salvo. He was a childhood friend of Mad Maggie, but since, their relationship hasn't been strong, due to an incident where Fuse's arm was blown off by a grenade from Maggie. Fuse is well know for saying the word Bloody.

Due to this, Fuse has a mechanical arm which can be used with his passive and tactical. Fuse's Passive gives him the ability to carry two grenades per inventory slot. This used to be a thing that all legends could do before Fuse's release. Fuse also has the option to launch his grenades out of his mechanical arm, allowing them to travel higher and further. Fuse's Tactical Knuckle clusters are a type of grenade that he launches out of his mechanical arm. Once attached to an object they deal extra damage. Fuse's Ultimate the Motherlode, is where Fuse uses a large device that launch projectiles in the air, that spread out, land on the ground and make a large ring of fire. Stepping in the fire deals lingering damage to anyone including Fuse, but also slows them down.

Skirmisher

Horizon

Dr. Mary Somers, also known as Horizon, is an astrophysicist and gravitational expert originally from the planet Olympus. She survived being stranded near a black hole for 87 years as a result of Ash's treachery, and is intent on searching for the whereabouts of her son that she left behind.

Her Passive and Tactical abilities involve adjustments to her custom spacesuit for navigation purposes and the manipulation of gravity respectively.

Valkyrie

Kairi Imahara (Japanese: 今原カイリ; Imahara Kairi) better known as Valkyrie, is a high-flying Legend introduced in Season 9 of Apex Legends. Her equipment includes a jetpack built from the parts of her father's salvaged Titan (a modified nothstar). Her purpose for joining the Apex Games was to find her own path in life apart from her father's legacy. her father is very iconic for his role as viper in titanfall 2 as a Apex predator.

Pathfinder

A robot with an overly cheerful personality within the roster of Apex Legends. His kit is oriented mainly on movement, which in itself is centred on various ziplines to reposition himself or even teammates. His tactical is to shoot out a grappling hook then swing himself through the air with it whilst his ultimate is to erect a zipline that he and his teammates can ride on.

Wraith

Wraith, also known as Renee H. Blasey, is a former scientist turned interdimensional fighter in the Apex Games. She was part of an experiment gone wrong, granting her the ability to manipulate space and time. Haunted by visions and voices, she seeks answers and redemption in the chaos of the arena. Her tactical allows her to enter the void, making her invulnerable for a brief amount of time, and her passive gives her senses from the void. Her ultimate ability allows her to create a portal, allowing her and others to enter through the void and out of the exit.

Octane

Octane is a fast paced legend who has one of the most unique skill set of any character in the game. his tactical is a stim that he can use as much as he wants with no cooldown, but drains a small amount of health, and his passive will allow him to automatically regenerate health over time. His ultimate deploys a jump pad, which allows the player to bounce further than a regular jump.

Revenant/Revenant reborn

Kaleb Kross, also known as Revenant, was a mercenary who worked for the Mercenary Syndicate, renowned for his lack of morals. During Kross's time with the Syndicate, he eliminated multiple targets, including his father. However, he was poisoned by Bob Woods, the husband of one of Kross's victims. The biological remains of his brain were stored as the Syndicate tried countless methods to transfer his consciousness. After many experiments, Kross was eventually transferred into a Simulacrum. His passive was that he could climb further and quicker, and crouch walking was faster. His tactical, previously, was that he could 'silence' enemies, temporarily disabling their abilities, and his ultimate created a totem that he and others could use to be put to less HP but respawn at the totem if killed. However the Syndicate leader, Torres 'Duardo' Silva, created a new body for Revenant, giving him new abilities. His passive remained the same, but his tactical was a pounce that throws him forwards, and his ultimate grants him 75 extra health.

Horizon

Recon

Bloodhound

An enigmatic technological tracker and expert huntsman that utilizes high-tech gadgetry to pursue their enemies on the battlefield.

Bloodhound see footprints left behind by other players, and see evidence of other actions like shooting, looting and moving, as a passive ability. The Eye of the Allfather, which invokes elements of Norse mythology. Their Tactical Ability reveals hidden enemies, trips and other secrets, and their Ultimate ability and enables them to move faster and highlight opponents for the player's benefit.

Crypto

Crypto is the alias of Tae Joon Park, a hacker and encryption expert who was framed for a murder.

Crypto deploys a series of aerial surveillance drones to aid him in battle.

Seer

Obi Edolasim, or Seer, was named a cursed child at birth and branded an outcast by his community, although he is loved by his parents and raised to be kind and compassionate. He gains renown after he accumulates a series of victories in the Apex Games, by using his skill with micro-drones to his advantage, eventually gaining a fan following.

Vantage

Controller

Catalyst

Catalyst is the alias of Tressa Crystal Smith, who hails from the planet Boreas, where the residents learn early to manage resources efficiently. She is the first transgender character introduced in Apex Legends. ^{[3] [4]} Catalyst has the ability to manipulate a substance called ferrofluid and apply it in combat situations. She can use ferrofluid to barricade doors, throw out a patch which turns into spikes, and raise a permeable wall of ferrofluid to hinder her enemies as her Ultimate ability.

Caustic

His real name is Alexander Maxwell Nox, he is also known as Dr. Mikhail Caustic. He grew up in the planet Gaea which is home to legends like Crypto and Rampart. he is the brother of crypto, who is adopted into his family of him and his mother. he utilizes noxious gas in combat. he was sent to the apex games as a punishment for crimes when experimenting his gas on innocent, non-consenting humans. this gas originates from the venom of spiders from Salvo.

Rampart

The owner of a successful firearms modding and selling shop, Rampart is a keen engineer with a love for firepower. her ability kit revolves around protecting her team and dishing out as much damage as she can from behind her "amped walls", a one way barrier that she can shoot through while protecting herself from challenging fire. her ultimate is a minigun called Sheila that she can use handheld or mounted, if fired from the hip she has a limited magazine, but when mounted she can infinity reload. the mini gun can instantly destroy doors.

Wattson

Wattson's father was key in the beginning of the Apex Games, as he was responsible for the creation of the ring. Wattson's Passive, Spark of Genius allows her to recharge her shields without having to use a healing item. However it does not heal Wattson as fast as Octane's Passive which does the same, but to health. As well as this, Wattson is able to carry two Ultimate accelerants in one inventory slot. Not only this, but an Ultimate accelerant charge her Ultimate to 100%. Wattson's Tactical, Perimeter security allows Wattson to place up to 12 fence nodes which join together to make an electric fence. The fence damages enemy, as well as obscuring there vision and slowing them down. Wattson's Ultimate, Interception Pylon, Is a large machine that can be placed. If within it's radius, it heals Wattson and her teammates sheilds at a drastic rate. Not only this but it reduces her cooldown for her tactical from 10 seconds to 2. As well as this, any ordnances or ordnance abilites with are used in the area, from an enemy, our stopped. This includes all three grenades and any other Legend throwables, such as Nox Grenade.

Support

Gibraltar

Makoa Gibraltar is a large built man whose strong defensive abilities is intended to fulfil the classic "tank" role in a team.

Lifeline

Ajay Che, or Lifeline, is a healer who renounced her association to her family, who made their wealth profiting from war, and dedicates herself exclusively to good causes.

Most of Ajay's abilities are administered by her companion drones. Her D.O.C. drone revives downed party members as part of her Passive Ability.

Loba

Loba Andrade is a master thief with teleportation abilities. She grew up an orphan after her family was killed by Revenant, which forced her to survive by picking pockets and cultivating her instincts.

Newcastle

Newcastle, also known as Jackson Williams or Lamont Craig, is a former IMC pilot that joined the Apex Games in Season 13. Throughout childhood, him and his sister Anita Williams (Bangalore) shared a strong kinship, even going through basic military training together. Known to have a friendly rivalry, the two kept scores of who became the 'better Williams child'. After the Battle of Gridiron, Newcastle gave the idea of desertion, though Bangalore strongly protested the thought. Despite that, he sedated her to prevent her from starting a mutiny. After escaping the IMC and arriving at the Outlands, Bangalore was reminded that Newcastle caused the entire crew in committing treason and proceeded to send an SOS message to the IMC. Though a leading officer attempted to execute Newcastle, she intervened and fought the officer off. Newcastle was celebrated by his people in Harris Valley despite his many denied attempts at joining the Apex Games, still regarded as the local hero. Eventually, he was let into the roster. His passive carries fallen allies away whilst simultaneously reviving them, and his tactical deploys a mobile shield that provides a temporary barrier. His ultimate leaps him to an ally or targeted area and slams down, created a fortified, electrified wall.

Mirage

Mirage, also known as Elliott Witt, is a legend in Apex Legends known for his charm, wit, and penchant for practical jokes. He grew up in the shadow of his family's successful business, Mirage Voyage, where his talents for entertainment and illusion flourished. However, Elliott's desire for adventure led him to pursue a career as a competitor in the Apex Games. Despite his flamboyant and humorous demeanour, Mirage harbours a deeper desire to prove himself as more than just a "holographic trickster." His journey in the Apex Games is not only about fame and fortune but also about discovering his true potential and identity. His passive allows him to turn invisible when reviving a teammate, either knocked or at a respawn beacon, and his tactical deploys a holographic decoy. His ultimate deploys many decoys, which all mirror the player's movement.

Conduit

Conduit, also known as Rowenna Valentina Coffey Divina, is a legend introduced in Season 19 of Apex Legends. Following the Nexus Revolution, Conduit often appeared in the crowds of the Apex Games, aspiring to join their ranks. However, her aspirations were fuelled by a pivotal event when her sister returned home injured. Faced with the financial struggles of their family, Conduit took matters into her own hands. She embarked on a daring mission to salvage the irradiated battery from the wreckage of The Monarch, fashioning it into a powerful exosuit. Her ingenuity and determination quickly garnered attention, earning her an invitation to compete in the Apex Games. Her passive gives her the ability to run faster when facing a far teammate, and her tactical grants her and a selected teammate a temporary shield. Her ultimate ability deploys several 'jammers' that damage enemies that step inside.

Reception

The characters of Apex Legends have received significant coverage for the perceived diversity of its playable characters, although some reviewers felt that the nature of the game did not allow for a narrative which properly highlights this diversity. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

Several characters are LGBTQ, including one non-binary character, ^[8] and a trans woman. ^[3] Catalyst received a nomination for Best LGBTQ+ Character at the Gayming Awards 2023, but lost to Lor from New Tales from the Borderlands. ^[9]

References

Further reading

• Hawreliak, Jason; Lemieux, Amélie (2020). "The semiotics of social justice: a multimodal approach to examining social justice issues in videogames". Irish Journal of Asian Studies. 2. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
• Richard, Gabriela (2021). Playing as a Woman (of Color) as if a (White) Man (PDF). ETC Press. Retrieved June 30, 2023.