With Apex Legends’ 14th season coming in fast and its pre-launch promotional push in full swing,developer Respawn Entertainment has shared further details on new hero Vantage - this time focusing on her abilities - ahead of her arrival next Tuesday, 9th August.
Vantage was officially unveiled as Apex Legends’ 22nd hero at the end of July, in a new Stories from the Outlands video introducing her as a young hunter on the snowy planet of Págos. Adding a sport of drama to her backstory, her mother is an escaped prisoner (wrongly convicted) who was forced to turn herself in after Vantage was badly injured in an accident.
With that lore dump out the way, Respawn has now turned its attention to detailing what Vantage will bring to Apex Legends in gameplay terms, revealing her abilities to be based around two core elements: her sniper rifle and her bat-like companion Echo.
First up is Vantage’s passive ability, known as Spotter’s Lens. This lets players zoom in on enemies to reveal tactical information from a distance - Legend name, shield rarity, team size, and range - that can be shared with team mates by pinging.
Then there’s her tactical ability, Echo Relocation, which lets players order Echo freely around the battlefield, initially without using a tactical charge. When they’ve found a new position that might help provide a strategic advantage - high ground for a better viewpoint, perhaps, or or away form harm if need be - they can then use their tactical charge to jetpack to Echo’s location.
Finally, then, is Vantage’s ultimate, which works a little differently to those of other heroes. Known as Sniper’s Mark, it’s literally Vantage’s sniper rifle, which can be used at any time without needing a full charge, provided it has ammo in it.
Hitting an opponent with the sniper rifle will do 50 damage and mark that target with a highly visible shimmering red effect for 10 seconds. That marked target will take 100 damage from Vantage’s rifle on a subsequent hit and additional damage from team mates too. Sniper’s Mark will recharge when it’s not in use.
Apex Legends players will finally have an opportunity to put Vantage’s talents to the test when she makes her debut next Thursday, 9th August - alongside a raft of new changes to the Kings Canyon map - as part of Season 14: Hunted.
