Respawn Entertainment’s popular battle royale Apex Legends has an interesting group of characters for players to choose from. Like many games in the same genre that have a set roster (even if this roster changes and grows over time), Apex Legends players will definitely have some characters that they’re drawn to more than others. Most gamers will only have one Legend that they main, with little room to budge once they’ve established who works best for them and suits their playstyle. Some Legends become more and more popular over time, and even though there may be a large roster to choose from, gamers will start to see the same characters popping up again and again during matches.
While some characters may get a lot of use, this inevitably means that others fall by the wayside. In Overwatch, it’s characters like Bastion and Mei that seem to have the lowest pick rates, but in Apex Legends, that dubious honor often falls to Crypto. While none of these characters are bad, per se, they definitely seem to be less popular and can feel unbalanced compared to their slicker and more competent counterparts. With the announcement that three Legends will be available for free until March 1, Crypto’s deficiencies seem to be even more apparent.
The Problems With Crypto
First introduced in Season 3, the surveillance expert has a focus on reconnaissance and stealth, scouting out and exposing enemies before he emerges to take them down. Since the character was launched, gamers haven’t known quite what to make of him. Crypto’s Passive ability, Neurolink, feels like it should just be a part of the Surveillance Drone rather than something separate, but by differentiating the abilities and depriving the character of an additional move, it makes him seem weaker by comparison. While Crypto does have some useful qualities, up until now it’s difficult for players to stay active or fully utilize his best moves in a way that is advantageous. He’s either out of the drone mode and able to engage enemies, or he’s in it and vulnerable, and that doesn’t offer a lot of flexibility.
With the release of Apex Legends Season 12: Defiance this week, it appears as if the developers have been listening to calls from players to give Crypto a buff. This comes alongside weapon updates and some changes to Olympus and Storm Point, but players that have been calling for reworkings of certain characters were more interested in how some Legends were going to be reworked. In addition to a nerf for Caustic, Crypto will be receiving a long-awaited buff that will hopefully make him a bit more playable. His drone can now be thrown in a straight line, and thanks to some tweaks to the Neurolink detection FOV more enemies will be detectable. Crypto will not need to pilot it immediately, and the drone will automatically start scanning once deployed. This not only makes him more useful to his allies, but it massively improves his moveability and effectiveness.
The Legends Being Given Away
To celebrate three years since it was launched, Apex Legends is offering players a bunch of free content, including three free Legends over the coming weeks. Players will just need to log in once a week from February 8 to March 1 to permanently unlock Octane, Wattson, and Valkyrie, as well as gain access to some themed cosmetic packs for each character. While some players who have been with Apex Legends since launch will likely already have unlocked these Legends, others might be experiencing them for the first time. With Octane and Valkyrie, in particular, having high pick rates and being amongst the most popular choices when it comes to players selecting Legends, their inclusion as freebies highlights the problems with characters like Crypto.
If the options open up for gamers with additional Legends unlocked, it’s even more unlikely that they’ll choose problematic characters like Crypto if they have him. Despite Respawn’s attempts to buff Crypto, this might not be enough if players already have a sour taste over the surveillance expert. Although the developers have looked specifically at how it can improve Crypto’s limitations when he’s using his kit and make him a more useful teammate and combatant, if players have the choice of characters that don’t currently need buffs or adjustments then Crypto risks being at the bottom of the picklist yet again.
Apex Legends is available for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
