Electronic Arts revealed what’s coming next to Apex Legends during its EA Play event today in Los Angeles. This includes the new playable character Watson for its second season, which starts on July 2. It is also getting a new weapon and game mode.
Apex Legends had a surprise launch on February 4, 2019. The free-to-play battle royale shooter has been a big hit for developer Respawn Entertainment and EA, amassing over 50 million players.
Watson is the game’s 10th legend, and she’s the second to come out after launch (following the release of Octane as part of season one). She is an engineer that can lay down traps and defensive structures. Most of Apex Legends’ most powerful characters focus on offense. They are fast and can quickly run toward the nearest gun fight. Respawn is hoping that Watson’s defensive tools can shake that meta up a bit.
She can create electric fences. You can place the poles for the fence on the map and then electric barriers will automatically connect the posts. Her Ultimate ability summons a pylon that can protect allies from some attacks, like air strikes, and it can recharge friendly players’ shields.
The L-Star, a plasma gun that was also in Titanfall 2, is the new weapon. It is only available via care packages that spawn into the map, so it is among one of the rarest and powerful guns you can find. Respawn is also going to buff some of the game’s weaker weapons, including the Mozambique.
The battle pass for season two will be faster to complete. You can unlock items and progress through the pass by finishing challenges. It will also include more skins than the last one, and it won’t include stat trackers.
Season two is also adding a Ranked Mode. It will include six tiers, so aspiring players can work their way through the ranks. Respawn is also teasing some updates coming to the game’s map.
Respawn has become one of EA’s most important studios. Not only is actively working on Apex Legends, but it is also developing Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. That single-player action game is coming out on November 15.