It’s thanks to the arrival of Newcastle in the Apex Legends Season 13 update that fans of the battle royale got access to quite a new Defensive Legend. Through Newcastle, Apex Legends players have a new approach to defense, especially when Jackson Williams completely changes the combat meta.
Thanks to his mobile defensive kit, Newcastle can deploy mobile shields in numerous ways – one that follows his commands and another that creates a barrier in front of him. Not only that, Newcastle can even drag allies to safety and is naturally more resistant to bullets. However, how can players maximize this Legend?
10 Defense Becomes Mobile
Perhaps the primary advantage of taking control of Newcastle in Apex Legends is his defensive prowess. Unlike the likes of Gibraltar who can defend a particular location or Caustic and Wattson which essentially act as area denial Legends, Newcastle basically transforms himself into a mobile fortress. Thanks to his kit, Newcastle enjoys enhanced natural defenses while at the same time capable of pulling allies to the safety of his defensive deployables.
While Newcastle does present himself as a defensive powerhouse, he does transform into a mobile target. His presence makes him a threat, especially for his capabilities of bringing his team back for a comeback victory. It’s advised for Newcastle players to be smooth and stealthy to secure safe assists, and consistently aggressive to maximize his kit to secure areas.
9 Fortified Makes For A Scary Vanguard
Similar to other Legends, Newcastle does have an innate quality unique to his build. Called Fortified (Perk), Newcastle essentially receives a 15-percent defense buff against all incoming damage except for headshots. Not only that, but getting hit by bullets won’t slow him down either. This Perk seems straightforward enough in the context of Newcastle being a mobile guardian, but this means a lot for more creative players.
For instance, the defense buff not only makes Newcastle a mean shield but also a devastating Legend for aggressive players. The 15-percent protection against bullets means Newcastle can resist shots for another split second or so when compared to a downed player, which can be more than enough time to get to safety. Not only that, this incentivizes a more aggressive approach to combat.
8 Passive: Retrieve The Wounded Has A Catch
It’s implied from the get-go that a Defensive Legend like Newcastle would get a Passive in line with his toolkit. And while a Defensive Legend would immediately “seem” like a tank, it’s Newcastle’s Passive that declares his status. Thanks to Retrieve The Wounded (Passive), Newcastle can drag his allies while reviving them. Not only that, but Newcastle can protect the team via Revive Shield.
An immediately noticeable caveat here is that anyone equipped with a Knockdown Shield will have the Shield drop HP once Newcastle starts to revive them. It’s only after the reviving process that the Knockdown Shields start recharging. Not only that, but Newcastle disengages the revive as soon as he falls or if he interacts with utility deployables such as the Gravity Cannon, jump pads (Octane), and gravity lift (Horizon). Newcastle also can’t interact with Wraith’s portal in the process.
7 Even Setbacks Have A Shortcut
There are also other setbacks to Newcastle’s Retrieve The Wounded (Passive) that can affect the way he helps his team. Aside from not being able to use it on himself, Knockdown Shields also generate extremely loud sounds when activated, making it not as viable for stealth saves. While it’s indeed tricky to use Newcastle’s Passive with these setbacks, there are ways for players to still maximize his toolkit.
For instance, stealthing a drag-revive can still be possible if players drop their Knockdown Shields before using it. And if players can’t deal with the prolonged Knockdown Shield charge time, they can always drop it and pick it back up to reset the timer. Likewise, while Wraith’s portal is unusable in the process, Newcastle can drag downed allies near a portal and have them teleport to safety.
6 Tactical: Defense Becomes Mobile
Perhaps the highlight of Newcastle’s entire toolkit has to do with his Mobile Shield (Tactical), which for all intents and purposes is literally a mobile shield. When this Tactical is used, Newcastle throws a defense drone that projects a shield in front of it. The drone can be thrown as far as 25 meters and then follows the player’s reticle for destination, and it even deals 20 damage when hitting an enemy.
In terms of sheer numbers, the defense drone has a total of 700 HP, or 350 HP for both its upper and lower halves. The deployable itself lasts for 20 seconds until it’s destroyed. What’s perhaps interesting is its movement mechanics, where the Mobile Shield moves as fast as crouching with weapons equipped. And while the tactical button can be pressed again to relocate the Shield to the cursor, it won’t change orientations until it’s a meter within Newcastle.
5 Pure Defense Has Its Advantages
One of the most noticeable things regarding Newcastle’s Mobile Shield (Tactical) is how the party can’t destroy the Shield or shoot through it, making it a completely pure defensive asset. It doesn’t help that the Shield is rather slow in movement, meaning one wrong deployment and the opponents can quickly react to it.
Ways of taking advantage of this purely defensible asset are to change the ways of perceiving its properties. Firstly, instead of seeing the Mobile Shield as a tool with a 15-second cooldown, its 20-second presence needs to be a part of the process as well. Not only that, but players need to be more alert and use the limited protection of the Shield to locate enemies as quickly as possible, especially since the Mobile Shield’s effective distance is essentially the player’s line of sight.
4 Ultimate: Castle Wall Establishes Safe Zones
One of the most surprising aspects of Newcastle’s kit is his Ultimate. Castle Wall (Ultimate) brings down quite a hulking mass in front of the Legend that can defend him and his teammates in the most dangerous of situations. While Castle Wall has a 2-minute cooldown, its contribution in combat can mean survival or death.
At its core, Newcastle can target an area within 35 meters of him. He leaps to that area and erects a large wall in front of him. This wall has nine segments, with the middle and end parts being much larger than the others. Each segment has 750 HP, although they can be destroyed with two attacks. Newcastle can remove individual segments, which the team could use as peek holes for attacks. And enemies who dare approach and climb will be in for a world of hurt as the walls are electrified on the front, dealing 20 HP damage and stunning foes who make contact.
3 Ultimate Defense Can Get Mobile
As though Newcastle’s kit is not tanky enough, there are ways to get creative with Castle Wall (Ultimate) and maximize its uses. For instance, the leaping distance actually extends to 75 meters if Newcastle wants to target an ally or a death box. This makes sense, given the point of the Castle Wall is for defense. He can even re-orient himself mid-flight to change the orientation and direction of the wall.
However, it’s important to note that if Newcastle cancels the leap or can’t erect a wall due to his ending position, 70-percent of the Ultimate charge will be refunded to him. This essentially makes Castle Wall a great mobility tool, as he can simply start the leap and stop the jump halfway to refund his charge. This might not erect the wall, but he at least jumped extremely high, making it perfect for stealthy retreats.
2 The Instinct Is To Shoot
Given how most interactive deployables in Apex Legends are harmful, it’s reasonable for players to immediately shoot at them. This is what makes Mirage’s clones so effective in bamboozling others, or what makes eliminating Caustic and Wattson’s defensive deployables so annoying. Newcastle can use this to his advantage, however, as his deployables aren’t necessarily harmful but they’re incredibly posing.
In a chaotic combat situation, Newcastle’s deployables can introduce new elements to confuse opponents, especially in the form of bulky backups. Instead of simply deploying his Castle Wall or Mobile Shield to defend allies, Newcastle can use these to impede an opposing team’s vision by giving them a lot of elements to check.
1 Consider Confinement As Offense
While one of the best ways of using Newcastle’s kit is to provide an extra layer of protection for the party, it helps to use his defense a little more aggressively as well. For instance, players with a penchant for defending spaces can use Mobile Shield and even Castle Wall to fortify their defenses, especially from the outside.
And where it gets wild is using these abilities from an opposite perspective. An aggressive Newcastle can deploy his Mobile Shield to block doors and passageways, and his Castle to essentially deny opponents of any one area. In extremely tight spaces, these obstacles can force enemies to panic and get careless, perhaps revealing their locations, wasting bullets, and even squandering their skills just to try and escape.
Apex Legends Season 13 was released on May 10, 2022 and is available on the PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X | S, and the Nintendo Switch.