Apex Legends Season 14, dubbed Hunted, is adding a new recon legend to the games: Vantage. And ahead of the season's release, Respawn has given a detailed look at Vantage's lore and abilities during a recent Apex Legends Press Event.
Vantage's real name is Mara and she was raised in isolation on the ice planet of Pagos by her survivalist mother, Xenia. Early on, Vantage proved handy with a sniper rifle and always carries an older Sentinel model on her (which is her ultimate ability in-game). Because of this raising, Vantage is the ultimate survivalist but also not the most social character in the Apex Games. She understands a lot of the world thanks to reading the Encyclopedia Outlandica, but reading/experiencing are two different things. Vantage is very frank, as a result, and to her, it's not rude if it's true. Vantage also has a very hard time reading social cues.
At the age of 18, she would join the Apex Games, making her the youngest character in Apex Legends next to Rampart. This happened because Vantage discovered a wrecked ship (which she took her Apex name from, Vantage) and snuck onboard. Her mother was a prisoner on this ship when it wrecked. Vantage gets hurt searching it and severely wounded, badly enough that Xenia would activate its SOS beacon to see her daughter recovered, while she is imprisoned again. Vantage takes to the Apex Games because it fits her survivalist skillset but also to raise attention for her mother, who she believes is wrongfully accused and imprisoned. The recent Apex Legends trailer, however, shows something sinister about Xenia, but how that story develops remains to be seen.
Apex Legends Season 14: Hunted - Vantage's Abilities
- Passive - Spotter’s Lens: Using her Spotter’s Lens to read tactical information on enemy squads at a distance, Vantage always has the upper hand with critical intel like Legend name, Shield rarity, team size and range.
- Tactical - Echo Relocation: Vantage’s companion Echo is at the ready to help her reposition herself in a fight. Using her modified jetpack and targeting system, Vantage can launch herself towards Echo’s position and take the high ground.
- Ultimate - Sniper’s Mark: There’s nowhere to hide from Vantage’s custom sniper rifle, which reveals enemies with its scope and with its ammunition: a successful hit highlights opposing squads for 10 seconds accompanied by a diamond marker, and damage scales up with each hit.
Her passive adds a nice level of recon dimension to her character, as knowing a squad size and shield type could influence how aggressive Vantage and her enemies push. Meanwhile, Echo Relocation is useful for getting better situated and gaining the high ground. It should be noted that Echo Relocation itself cannot necessarily be encountered, but of course, Vantage is left vulnerable when jumping, and players can watch Echo to determine where she will land.
Vantage's ultimate works perhaps the most uniquely of any Apex Legends abilities, in that players do not have to wait until it is 100% charged to use it. Vantage players can pull out her sniper at any time, with the ultimate charge determining how many bullets it has. It has five shots at 100%, so that's 1 shot for every 20% of charge. Its first shot on someone will deal 50 damage and mark them for ten seconds (but it should be noted this is not a scan and does not reveal enemies through walls). It just shows other players which character is taking boosted damage. This adds a nice level of support factor to Vantage's older model Sentinel ability, and it benefits clearly from good team composition and coordination.
Apex Legends is available now for Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
