The electricity-wielding, defense-focused Wattson was revealed as the new character for Apex Legends, and her upcoming addition to the roster may change the metagame for the Battle Royale shooter’s Season 2.
Wattson was unveiled at EA Play 2019, just before the start of E3 2019. She will be playable on Apex Legends upon the start of Season 2 on July 2, which will also launch stacked daily and weekly challenges, the L-Star plasma machine gun that was previously seen in Titanfall 2, and a new ranked mode with six tiers.
The design team at Respawn Entertainment wanted to give Apex Legends players another option from the traditional, fast-paced, run-and-gun combat promoted by most of the other characters in the game. Wattson, who first surfaced in February as part of a datamine along with Octane, certainly fits the bill with her unique mix of skills.
Perimeter Security, Wattson’s tactical ability, allows her to create electrified fences that will damage and slow enemies who pass through them, while Interception Pylon, her ultimate ability, places an electrified pylon that destroys incoming projectiles such as air strikes and grenades. The Spark of Genius passive ability connects Wattson’s first two skills by speeding up the recharge of her tactical ability while standing near her Interception Pylon, while also immediately fully charging her ultimate ability upon usage of the Ultimate Accelerant item.
Wattson’s electrical barriers, which may have up to 12 nodes running at the same time, have multiple applications, including guarding an area where her team has chosen to stay for a while, blocking enemies from accessing a certain route, or preventing opponents from chasing down her teammates. Players who know the King’s Canyon map like the back of their hand will be able to fully take advantage of the skill.
The skills and playstyle of Wattson are certainly unique, but are they overpowered? Former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive professional player Michael “shroud” Grzesiek said in his Twitch stream that Respawn did a good job in balancing the new character, but her addition to the Apex Legends roster may change the way that the game is played.
“If you’re a defensive player, she’s going to be great and you’ll probably love her,” Grzesiek said. “But if you’re aggressive, she’s not going be that good for you,” he added, speaking from the side of aggressive players as they may soon have to practice more caution unless they want to keep walking into Wattson’s electric fences.
