Apex Legends' latest update has had some major ramifications for the meta. While this is to be expected with any seasonal patch, Apex Legends' change to support characters has made Newcastle particularly potent.
Apex Legends' latest season has had a mixed reception, mostly due to its surrounding context. Not only have more fans become worried about Apex Legends' monetization, but the season had a strange launch. While the update had some social media teases through sponsored artwork, the season's trailers didn't release until the season itself began. This truncation of Apex Legends' typical release cycle has left many fans wondering if Season 23 was rushed.
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How Apex Legends' Season 23 Broke Support Characters (Especially Newcastle)
On the upside, this season finally made good on Apex Legends' Lifeline rework—something many fans have been waiting for after over a year of leaks. In conjunction with this rework of the game's Support-class posterchild, the class as a whole saw some changes. Its old perk, being able to craft the banners of slain teammates, has become universal—allowing the class itself to gain some new specific attributes. However, this change has been something akin to the finger curl of a monkey's paw, with many quickly realizing just how powerful these changes are:
- Support class Legends can now walk faster when healing, and gain double the benefit from small meds (something that used to require a rare golden EVO shield).
- These Legends also now revive faster, and cause allies to regenerate health upon being revived (something they also benefit from when revived themselves).
- Support Legends can see whether a deathbox contains a Mobile Respawn Beacon before opening it.
These are some big perks to Apex Legends' support class, who were already no pushovers. Compared to carrying extra ammo or having a bit of extra shield when in ring, Support Legends easily benefit the most from their class perks. The impact on the meta was immediate, with new Support-based team comps immediately rising to the top. In particular, Newcastle has hugely benefited from these changes—forcing Respawn to remove a certain item to keep him in check.
Newcastle's Team Composition Potential Made Respawn Remove A Support Item
Despite a low pick rate when introduced, Newcastle has since had a respectable meta position in Apex Legends thanks to his solid abilities. However, Season 23 gave him an absolute stranglehold on the battlefield. This is in large part due to the Support class' new revive bonuses, though its other perks are also hugely beneficial. Newcastle's Passive allows him to move allies when reviving them, while also activating his Knockdown Shield to protect them. Faster revives hugely strengthens this feature, as even in close-quarters it can be tough to thwart a Newcastle revive.
Solid team composition with other Support Legends boosted this into the stratosphere. Gibraltar and Lifeline also have unique revive Passives, as well as ultimates that create a shield barrier against foes (which Newcastle also possesses). Since all three are Support Legends, this makes them a nightmare to kill when put together; whenever one goes down, the other two can get them back up very fast—and that's without mentioning the benefits of regeneration upon reviving.
This was boosted even further still by the use of a Golden Knockdown Shield, which grants extra health to allies revived. This item, which has been in the game for a long time but only recently gained this function, was especially useful in Newcastle's hands. Not only would it allow those he revived to benefit from the strongest type of Knockdown Shield, but it would grant those revived extra health on top of the new Support-class health regeneration. The Golden Knockdown Shield has since been removed from Apex Legends Season 23, but Newcastle and support characters like him are still a force to be reckoned with.
Apex Legends
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 81 /100 Critics Rec: 74%
- Released
- February 4, 2019
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Respawn Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Engine
- Source on console/PC, Unreal Engine 4 on mobile
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- PC, PS4, Switch & Xbox One
WHERE TO PLAY
Conquer with character in Apex Legends, a free-to-play* Hero shooter where legendary characters with powerful abilities team up to battle for fame & fortune on the fringes of the Frontier.
Master an ever-growing roster of diverse legends, deep tactical squad play, and bold new innovations that go beyond the Battle Royale experience—all within a rugged world where anything goes. Welcome to the next evolution of Hero Shooter.
This game includes optional in-game purchases of virtual currency that can be used to acquire virtual in-game items, including a random selection of virtual in-game items.
- Cross Save
- Cross Progression lets you share your game progress across PC, PlayStation®, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- yes
- Platform(s)
- PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, iOS, Android, Switch
- Genre(s)
- Battle Royale, First-Person Shooter
- X|S Optimized
- yes
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
