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It’s time for some sibling rivalry with Newcastle dropping in to Apex Legends. Let’s not dally more, and dive into the newest Legend throwing his hat into the game.
BUILDING THE NEW CASTLE
“Bangalore’s brother” and his “death” is likely all that most people know about Newcastle in the context of Apex Legends. Now that he’s totally alive and well, this gives an opportunity to see a different Bangalore dynamic. He’s also here as Team Dad, presumably with the classic brand of jokes and showing what life is like outside of the oftentimes brutal game the cast find themselves in.
From concept to fully fleshed out character, it’s hardly a straightforward process. Newcastle’s core point is to be a defender, eventually hitting on the decision to lean on the “superhero” aspect with some medieval touches. Unfortunately for the man, he’s a little unfit at this point in time, making the suit a wee bit tight. One gets the idea he’s trying to be Team COOL Dad, being all “how are you doing fellow kids”. With those building blocks, they had to work on designing an iconic shield and silhouette, drafting his basic poses and showcasing his personality, kind of like a mood-maker for his team. This gets capped off with him having Bangalore’s bracelet for that extra touch.
The team says work on his kit actually started almost two years ago, as they prototyped more defensive and support Legends. The roadmap at the time was leaning to offensive characters before any kind of shakeup came up. The kit that showed promise was dubbed “Axiom”, based around the idea of a defensive push, throwing out mobile cover for the frontline to more easily reach an enemy’s position. The original premise was a more selfish kit, until they decided to bring Titanfall‘s Jackson into Apex Legends for that whole connecting the dots.
Laid-back, while also being a staunch protector of his family and squad, the kit began to evolve around his selflessness, increasing the team focus and ensuring they stay alive. The ultimate took longer to finalize when they realized they wanted Newcastle to be able to reach his team when they need him. Instead of having to make the choice to abandon a teammate when they’re compromised, support players can now be that hero to rally your friend in need.
BEING THE CASTLE
Leaning on the fantasy of the heroic defender, Newcastle has to be one to leap into the fray to protect allies, or shield their advance and leave no man behind. He’s got the confidence – and skill – to lay his life on the line to ensure he pulls his team out of the line of fire. This meant no “classic” bunker defense, needing mobility to enable those clutch rescues.
Passive – Retrieve the Wounded
- Using his wrist-mounted Revive Shield, Newcastle can protect himself and his companion from incoming fire while he revives and pulls his ally to safety. The Revive Shield is powered by Newcastle’s own Knockdown Shield, so finding higher levels of this item increases the strength of this ability.
Tactical – Mobile Shield:
- Newcastle creates a hovering energy shield and can control its movement to adapt to the ever changing combat fronts of the battlefield. Advance the line, cover a retreat or turn the shield to guard against a sudden flank. The Mobile Shield’s versatility and top/bottom shield projections give creative opportunities to the tactical defender.
Ultimate – Castle Wall:
- Drawing his signature shield from his back, Newcastle leaps into action and slams the shield to the ground activating the construction of a massive fortress to give him and his allies a strong defensive position. Enemies in its wake are knocked back and those who try to push through the energized wall are punished and slowed.
- While Newcastle can leap great distances in a single bound with his Ultimate, it is even stronger when used to regroup. When targeting an ally, Newcastle can leap higher and farther than normal allowing him to heroically reach his companion and turn the tide of a fight.
They do have their predictions on where he might stand in the meta, but they acknowledge the live build can be unpredictable. What they hope to see is Newcastle enabling riskier plays, or the clip-worthy Super Clutch moments to turn the tides. There is some potential synergy with Bangalore where she could smoke and make it even safer for Newcastle to rescue, but also she could also push him off kilter, and he can’t protect them from aerial threats. As with any sibling dynamic, they’ve got the give and take, and you’re going to get some unique banter in too.
Mad Maggie, Fuse, Gibraltar and Bangalore herself can all be potential counters to our heroic DT here, but the team feels, balance-wise, he should have enough options to make the plays against them.
OUTSIDE THE CASTLE
They can’t confirm if Newcastle’s comic book-style intro meant we could have a physical comic release, acknowledging it would be pretty cool. The IMC wouldn’t let him be the hero he wanted to be. With the Newcastle identity, he can live that fantasy.
Now, we’ll have to see what verbal clash he and Bangalore will get up to whether they’re working with or against each other.
