Respawn is absolutely spoiling me, releasing two incredible defender legends within the span of half a year. I’ve already spoken at length as to why I love Season 13’s Newcastle for how his ability kit supports players who aren’t that good at first-person shooters still enjoy a fast-paced game like Apex Legends by helping their more able teammates survive. Apex Legends Season 15 gives us another character like that, Catalyst, who excels at reacting to incoming threats and staving off attacks long enough to give her teammates time to heal up, reposition, and re-engage.
Like the rest of Year 4’s legends–Mad Maggie, Newcastle, and Vantage–I don’t foresee Catalyst breaking the mold of Apex Legends‘ competitive meta, even if she’s an anti-scan legend, a type of playable character I figured only Apex Legends Mobile would be lucky enough to have. As powerful as the scan meta is in Apex Legends, the movement meta is stronger, and Catalyst’s abilities can be easily countered by legends with excellent mobility like Valkyrie or Horizon. She’s still a valuable character, however, as her kit is designed to reward supportive and defensive plays.
“She plays into a familiar playstyle that I think players will know how to just pick up and play and start using her abilities,” Apex Legends game engineer Chris Winder told me.