Like with every Apex Legends collection event before it, the new Warriors event has its own set of mythic cosmetics. After two long years, Crypto players can spend shards to get the character's heirloom set. The set consists of the "No Escape" banner pose, the "I Will Find You" intro quip, and most importantly, the Biwon Blade melee heirloom weapon. This brings the number of Legends who have their heirlooms to 13 out of Apex Legends' 20 total.
Heirloom weapons are cosmetic items that swap out a Legend's default punch and kick animations with something more unique. Octane has his butterfly knife, Revenant gets the Dead Man's Curve scythe, and now Crypto comes equipped with a Biwon Blade. Heirlooms don't extend a Legend's melee range, do extra damage, or give a player any sort of advantage over another. They are purely cosmetic items that, thanks to the animation, design, and sound teams over at Respawn Entertainment, look cool to use.
The Biwon Blade Is An Extension Of Crypto's Character
Crypto's Biwon Blade is unique for several reasons. From the first-person perspective, he has seven idle draw animations for the weapon (the most for any Legend), and three draw animations when he is sprinting. He has multiple inspect animations for the Biwon Blade, most of which have him interacting with his drone, Hack. One animation has the two playing a sword-hacking video game, while another has them doing a secret fist bump. Another animation has Crypto charging the blade as He-Man does in Masters of the Universe. There are a couple of animations that have Crypto furling and unfurling the Biwon Blade's multiple segments, but the best may be one where he opens up the weapon's secret compartment to reveal a photo of him, his foster sister Mila Alexander, and his foster mother, Katerina Ticacek "Mystik" Nox.
Apart from the draw and inspect animations, Crypto players equipped with the Biwon Blade also get running, slide, crouch, and zipline animations - all of which transition smoothly into one another. These are a far cry from earlier heirloom weapons like Octane's butterfly knife, which at release had missing animation frames that made the weapon look janky and unfinished. It goes to show how much Respawn Entertainment has upped its animation game since Apex Legends released in 2019.
Seeing as the Biwon Blade is a heirloom weapon, it comes with its own attack animations. As players would expect, Crypto slashes and stabs his enemies with satisfying swishes and swooshes that pronounce each attack. Past heirlooms have had secret animations, and Crypto's is no exception. When a player is attacking with the Biwon Blade, there is a chance Crypto will instead attack with a Rubik's cube in his left hand. Another secret animation has him repurpose his Hack drone and use it as a melee weapon, something players can see Crypto doing in his banner frames, finishers, emotes, and in many Apex Legends trailers.
Last, but certainly not least when it comes to first-person animations is the inclusion of a secret animation for breaking down doors and interacting with survey beacons. When breaking down a door, Crypto might call upon Hack to bust it down for him. The unique animation for interacting with survey beacons shows that instead of popping in a hacking device like other Legends, Crypto players with the Biwon Blade use that weapon to scan beacons. While it is still quicker and safer to use a drone, the inclusion of an animation that interacts with the world of Apex Legends (apart from destroying it) could mean future heirlooms will have similar animations.
Apex Legends' Crypto is Just as Expressive in Third-Person
While the majority of the animations for the Biwon Blade can only be seen in first-person, players should not discount how the Biwon Blade looks from a third-person perspective. When not in use, the Biwon Blade hangs off the side of Crypto's hip like a gun. Should the player put their weapons away to run faster, Crypto brandishes the blade as he enters an attack stance. Crypto's third-person attack animations on the ground and air feature a series of stabs and slashes that visually close the distance on enemies. Unlike Gibraltar's War Club, Caustic's Death Hammer, or Mirage's Too Much Witt trophy (all of which share the same third-person animations as Bloodhound's Raven's Bite axe), Crypto's animations are unique and showcase the character's mastery of the sword.
Should Crypto players get their hands on heirloom shards, they definitely won't regret spending them on Crypto's Biwon Blade. The unique first and third-person animations, coupled with smooth transitions and nods to Crypto's story, make it one of Apex Legends' best heirlooms to date.
Apex Legends is available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
