Among map changes, meta changes, new game modes, and more inApex LegendsSeason 21 is its new character, Alter. Her design and story are immediately eye-catching, but perhaps the most interesting element is her kit.Apex Legendsfollows a “Design for Impact” ethos that sees each character launch strongly and be tuned from there, but even after her fair share of tuning, it seems clear that Alter could have a huge impact on the Meta for the foreseeable future.
Alter’s background is mysterious and her abilities play into that, ensuring she can strike fear into anyone no matter how safe and secure they might be. Alter and her allies can pop up anywhere, ensuring thatdefensive plays inApex Legendsnow have a legend that can punch through them with ease. To learn a little more about Alter, Game Rant recently spoke with her narrative writer and designer Jaclyn Seto and Ian Holstead, respectively.
Apex Legends: Alter’s Abilities Explained
Alter’s abilities inApex Legendscan make her a bonafide menace, fitting to her character design. Her passive allows her to loot 1 item from death boxes at a distance, allowing her to kit up or get a jump on loot, depending on the circumstance. Her Tactical is where her true power lies, as she can create her own doors through walls and buildings. This ability operates with aportal similar to Wraithand Ash, but at a much shorter distance. It can punch up to about 20 meters deep, meaning it can sometimes be used to circumvent certain blocks between POIs, but not all of them. Primarily, it can be used to get around fortifications and open up new pushes and attacks from unforeseen angles. It can be used directly in front, to push up from below, or to push down from the top, making her a menace if one team has a building locked down and Alter’s team is either below or on top.
Fittingher Skirmisher role, Alter’s Ultimate is similarly used for pushes and retreats. She creates a Nexus Point which grants her teammate 1 return, allowing them to push and then fall back. Some of the counterplay here is that these portals linger for a short time, meaning enemies could push back as well. However, it also allows teammates to piggyback off each other’s portals, adding a nice strategic element to their use. Her Tactical and Ultimate both pack a lot of power, and it’ll be interesting to see how she impactstheApex Legendsmeta.
Alter Was Born Out of Her Tactical
Interestingly, at one point all Alter was was her Tactical. Holstead explained how Alter’s powers and character originated from this idea of a breaching portal during our discussion.
“Her breaching portal was actually the start of her kit. That avenue, we thought, was really interesting to explore. It actually started out as her Ultimate, where it could go a lot further. It could go through whole walls, and you know, a lot of walls divide our POIs. Over time, as we were testing it, we found that it was really hard to use over those extreme distances. A lot of times, there are height changes and you don’t really know where you will end up. Also, having an Ultimate cadence meant that you couldn’t make these cool clutch plays very often, so we shifted that over to the tactical and explored other areas for her Ultimate. Eventually, we did a bunch of iterations on her passive as well to get her where she is today.”
Apex Legends: Alter’s Story and Lore Explained
Alter is one of the more mysterious,villainousApexcharactersto appear on the roster. She has spent time traveling dimensions to kill certain figures for reasons unknown to the player, and as the trailer highlights, every single target wants to know who she is. She lies to them, each and every single time, creating a really beautiful trailer and adding to the mystery of her character. As a result, she’s an unreliable narrator, and while some players may want to trust her, they may not be able to. The one consistent element of her background is that she is Chinese, specifically speaking Cantonese.
It’s also clear that she has some sort of fixation withHorizon, but why is not certain yet. However, Seto ensures us that this reveal will be “world-shattering,” and presumably it would have something to do with Horizon’s son, Newton. Set also adds that, while Alter seems to be traveling dimensions, this is not some major multiverse arc forApex Legends. Story-telling in the BR game comes through the lens of its characters, so it would only be explored within the context of that character’s arc. Notably, though, Alter has one more important obsession other than Horizon:
“You hear this at the end of her trailer, where she’s there for the end of the world. She really loves seeing the ends of worlds. That’s something you’re quickly going to see about her with her voice lines and everything as well. It was really about figuring out why she likes seeing these worlds ending and building the backstory to get her there. Of course, like, I can’t reveal why she likes the end of worlds and everything like that, but I think you’ll find out soon enough.”
Apex Legends
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.
