Yesterday, a massive information leak was unveiled to theApex Legendscommunity. In all, the leak shows off nine new legends, five new Arena mode maps, a new map for the Battle Royale mode, as well as new attachments, changes to currently available maps, and more. WhileApex Legendsfans will undoubtedly be digesting all the information included in the leak for some time, one of the new heroes managed to immediately stand out from the crowd.
Uplink, an upcoming Recon legend and one of the characters detailed in the leak, boasts arguably one of the best kits forApex Legends. Their abilities, which seems to be the strongest even when compared to the othernine leakedApex Legendscharacters, centers around shielding and reviving allies. Unfortunately, with a character like Uplink on the horizon, it seems like already underpowered characters like Crypto and others are becoming increasingly obsolete.
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A Look at Uplink’s Kit in Apex Legends
Uplink’s kit consists of three main abilities:
Uplink’s Immortality Relay Beacon could be one of the most game-changing ultimate abilities ever put in the game.Apex Legendshas dealt with overpowered abilities before; like recently, when a player discovered a bug that causedFuse’s ultimate to work as a wallhackof sorts. Still, Uplink’s ability seems to pose huge problems even if it works exactly as intended. A brief immortality buff would give any team a massive advantage in any battle where it was not easy for the enemy to disengage. Without even considering the other two abilities, Uplink would become a must-pick character if implemented into the game with this current kit concept.
The Shield Satellite ability also seems oddly similar toLifeline’s D.O.C Heal Drone— another skill that has been notoriously tricky to balance. If Uplink were to use their Shield Satellite ability in conjunction with the Immortality Relay Beacon, it would be possible for Uplink and another teammate to defend a third downed player, who is being revived by the Satellite, during which it would be impossible for the squad to be fully wiped. The other skill, Network Communion, also seems as though Uplink will get 25% of all health and shield regeneration used by teammates within a certain range.
Apex Legends: Why Uplink Would Make Crypto, Other Recon Characters Obsolete
It’s no secret that Crypto has been a difficult character to figure out inApex Legends. The character was brutally underpowered upon release, and despite changes in Season 12, most fans feel thatCrypto’s buffs were not significant enough. Perhaps the biggest issue plaguing Crypto was their inability to truly compliment most teams inApex Legends.
Since deploying in and out of a drone takes time, and deploying his Drone EMP ultimate was rather cumbersome, Crypto inevitably lagged behind in most engagements. If you compare Crypto’s current kit to the kit proposed for Uplink — one that clearly prioritizes staying near the team — it’s clear why Uplink’s release will once again make Crypto fall by the wayside for a better legend.
Unfortunately, Crypto is not the only character that would be overshadowed by Uplink. At one point, Lifeline was a must-pick character inApex Legends, butchanges to Lifelinehave seen their pick rate fall substantially. With Uplink’s kit co-opting Lifeline’s best ability to some degree, it’s possible that Lifeline could become one of the least-played characters in the game. While Shield Satellite is not a total replacement for the D.O.C Healing Drone, it’s a good enough alternative that teams would likely opt for Uplink instead of Lifeline in light of the rest of their respective kits.
Apex Legendsis available now on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
