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Given the futuristic setting of Apex Legends, the hero battle royale is no stranger to gimmicks such as poison gases, reviving totems, and even the occasional black hole. Entering the fold as the next materials specialist of Apex Legends is Catalyst, wielding the flexible ferrofluid which allows her to create an assortment of spike traps and walls that give an eerie darkness to otherwise vibrant battlefields.
Reworked as a Controller Legend in Apex Legends, Catalyst’s toolkit gives players access to nifty traps designed to reinforce both outdoor and indoor spaces. She's a defensive-leaning control Legend that punishes enemies trying to enter her team’s space. Players who want to wreck other enemy teams as Catalyst might want a deeper understanding of what her kit offers.
Catalsyt: Ferrofluid Enthusiast
Tressa Crystal Smith grew up in Boreas. Her interests in witchcraft, moon rituals, and crystal readings are contrary to the traditionalist perspectives of the planet. When a close friend went to great lengths to protect the planet from corporate influence, Tressa chose to avoid conflict and spent the most of her days on the planet’s moon, Cleo, where she joined crews who worked in terraforming the satellite.
It was during this “retreat” that Catalyst became in tune with the stylish ferrofluid and found a more welcoming community in Cleo. And when the Apex Games arrived to threaten her newfound peace, Tressa chose not to run and instead participated. She’s been using prize money from her matches to support her family, now as an Apex Legend known as Catalyst.
Why Play Catalyst: Offensive Area Control
Unlike other Legends with direct damage-dealing abilities, Catalyst has deployable gadgets that punish enemies who pass through them. This can be a turn-off for players who want intense gameplay, but it makes hera perfect character for players who want to transform any Apex Legends map to their advantage. Players who want to master using her should consider the following highlights:
- Transform access points into death traps: This is a great way of using Catalyst as an offensive-leaning defender. Her Spike Traps can deter access to crucial points that could ordinarily lead to safe zones. This taps into her nature as a Controller, where players can block doors and passageways with Spike Traps to ensure enemies can’t get through.
- Actively endanger environments: Unlike other Legends where deployment of defensive abilities usually take time and only usually serve as a physical blocker, Catalyst’s damaging Spike Traps are also usable in live battle. Using this to corner mobile opponents or even stop the retreat of other allies can transform Catalyst into an aggressive fighter.
- Block lines of sight: Thanks to Dark Veil (Ultimate), Catalyst can create a ferrofluid wall that can slow and blind enemies that pass through them. However, this skill can also block relevant lines of sight to Catalyst and her team, making it crucial when guaranteeing the safety of her squad when escaping or repositioning.
The Basics Of Catalyst: Trap-Setting Extraordinaire
Compared to other defensive-leaning Legends, Catalyst shines when she transforms a space into a point of no return. Her spikes and walls give her the means to transform rooms into death traps or areas into blinding zones. Her defensive kit becomes even deadlier when she’s using an Apex Legends Assault Rifle, as her control over spaces can make them shooting ranges when enemies stumble upon them. Players who want their Apex Legends gameplay to be similar to a tactical shooter and less about a fast-paced battle royale may appreciate the variety Catalyst offers. Here’s a basic rundown on Catalyst’s kit:
- Barricade (Passive): Catalyst uses her ferrofluid to reinforce doors and doorways, locking them from enemies.
- Piercing Spikes (Tactical): Catalyst releases ferrofluid that turns to spikes when enemies approach them. She is immune to ferrofluid, both hers and the enemy’s.
- Dark Veil (Ultimate): Catalyst uses extra ferrofluid to create a permeable wall. Enemies who walk in this area are temporarily slowed and blinded.
Catalyst's Toolkit
Passive: Barricade
Catalyst has access to ferrofluid to pair with Apex Legends weapon combos. She can use this special fluid to further barricade doors and fully lock them from enemies in the form of Barricade (Passive). This can become detrimental to enemies in heated combat, as they may not be able to exit areas or even enter safe zones. Here are things to consider:
- Properties: It takes 0.5 seconds to reinforce doors or doorways, and Catalyst can do this to up to two doorways. Reinforced doors are destroyed after 4 melee hits, while ferro-barriers get destroyed after 2 melee hits.
- Take note of inherent weaknesses: Despite the nature of Barricade as a defensive option, this ability still has its weaknesses. For instance, enemies can still damage reinforced doors and ferro-barriers as usual; it just takes more hits to destroy them. This means Catalyst and the team have a limited time to form an action plan after barricading an area.
Tactical: Piercing Spikes
Perhaps the cream of the crop in Catalyst’s toolkit, Piercing Spikes (Tactical) is a convenient way of weaponizing the ground. Catalyst throws a patch of ferrofluid on a surface that transforms into spike traps when enemies are in the vicinity. Since Catalyst is immune to ferrofluids, she can easily transform areas into deathtraps where she can finish off enemies with even a simple Apex Legends pistol. Here are things to note:
- Properties: This ability has a 25-second cooldown, with Catalyst accessing two 2 charges at a time to release up to 3 patches in a 30-meter distance. When released, she creates a 2m x 11m patch that is perpendicular to her view, which deals 15 damage to enemies stepping on them. The spike traps have a core with 300 HP, which appears when enemies are close to it. Enemies trigger the spikes when they are within 10 meters of it.
- Multi-use nature: Players should remember that they can use Piercing Spikes alongside other actions such as firing, reloading, and even healing. This allows Catalyst to deploy Piercing Spikes in combat, which can be an effective way to corner knocked-down or damaged foes.
- Offensive and defensive capabilities: Players need to remember that spike strips go under doors, meaning they can still damage enemies trying to hide behind close spaces. Likewise, Catalyst can deploy spike strips with the core next to door hinges and beside the wall, so destroying the door won’t damage the core.
Ultimate: Dark Veil
Despite the flexible nature of ferrofluid, it’s still an extremely dangerous substance when exposed improperly. Catalyst makes use of this quality through Dark Veil (Ultimate), which allows her to unleash her ferrofluid and transform it into a huge wall that everyone inside and outside the Apex Legends team can interact with. In addition to blocking whatever lies behind it, stepping inside it can temporarily slow and blind enemies.
- Properties: This ability has a 2-minute cooldown and lasts for 30 seconds. Its measurements are 55m x 8m, from the perspective of Catalyst’s reticle. The Veil travels this distance until it reaches a wall with a height that can’t be climbed, and is dropped at a distance twice a Legend’s climbable height. Enemies who enter this location get 15% slow and a 7-second blind.
- The veil is not a wall: The Dark Veil can’t block abilities, ordinances, or bullets. It simply blocks line of sight, meaning only scanning will not apply. Catalyst needs to remember this when using this ability in firefights. Enemies brave enough to traverse and go gung-ho on their abilities can become deadly.
- Take note of weaknesses: A recommended strategy of using the Dark Veil is to taunt enemies into getting inside for the debuffs, and then finishing them off. However, certain abilities from enemies still work from behind the veil, such as the detection from The Motherlode (Fuse) and Warlord’s Ire (Mad Maggie) that projectiles apply. Additionally, Exhibit (Seer) and Surveillance Drone (Crypto) can still see through this Ultimate.
Catalyst Gameplay: Punishing Defense
Players with a penchant for traps will enjoy Catalyst’s gameplay, especially with a toolkit geared to help her secure almost any space. When equipped with any weapon alongside her tactical skill, skill, Catalyst can make short work of foes who dare enter her protected zones. There is a multitude of ways players can capitalize on her skills’ interactions to make the most out of her defensive playstyle.
- Master angles of Piercing Spikes: Since Spike Traps have the general length of a Thermite Grenade, they can be pretty “long” and span a huge area. The biggest concern here is attacking its exposed core to destroy it. To avoid making fragile traps, Catalyst should position the core to points that aren’t immediately accessible. For instance, Catalyst can block doors more efficiently by positioning the core to the right or left wall of the door, so that it’s not exposed when the doors are blasted away.
- Control live battles with sabotaging plays: When engaging in combat, Catalyst should remember that her Spike Traps are still damaging AOE moves, especially against fragile opponents. Knocked Down and reviving opponents can be interrupted with Spike Traps, giving her the means to isolate weaker enemies and give her team more chances of finishing off opponents.
- Taunt enemies to get into the Dark Veil: Due to the detriments of the Dark Veil, Catalyst should use this as a mini-shield. Since she’s immune to her own Veil, she can simply get back and forth from her Dark Veil to engage opponents, retreating when they try to strike back. This taunts enemies to either push to catch Catalyst and her team, or simply wait the Ultimate out. Either way, Catalyst’s team can use this time to heal or even revive.
Controller Class: Perks
Given Catalyst’s penchant for reactive defenses, it’s important for players to know best areas for deploying her ferrofluid. With the creeping Ring an ever-present threat, Catalyst players may not have enough time to think their defenses through. Thankfully, being part of the Controller Class gives Catalyst the opportunity to plan her defensive approach in advance. Here is a Perk she can receive under this Class.
- Access Ring Consoles: Ring Consoles are new devices scattered around Apex Legends maps. By accessing them, Catalyst can see where next Ring location will be, giving her advanced insights into the areas where she can deploy her traps and walls. This can be invaluable for a defensive-leaning Legend who relies on proper placement to maximize her protection.
Loadout Recommendations
When Catalyst releases her ferrofluid spikes, she can fortify positions. This allows her to use even a base pistol to defend herself and her teammates. However, Catalyst players who want to maximize her ferrofluid’s damaging and debuffing potential might want to use weapons that can finish enemies off as soon as they enter her vicinity.
- Charge Rifle (Sniper): Players who are gunning for a long-term approach with Catalyst can use the Charge Rifle as a reliable weapon, especially when camping in defensive spaces. The laser blast from the Charge Rifle might give away Catalyst’s position, but this can be a baiting move to ensure enemies trigger her traps.
- R-99 (SMG, Light Ammo): Considering how Catalyst’s kit can work both as a preemptive defense and an active combat deterrent, she needs a gun that can help her adapt to planned and unintended combat situations. These usually happen when Catalyst and her team pursue an enemy squad in mid-range, which makes a weapon like the R-99 work as a decent middle ground.
- VK-47 Flatline (Assault Rifle, Heavy Ammo): Players who want to use Catalyst’s kit more strategically might need to wait for certain situations to ensure her traps get more bang for their buck, which requires some patience. This means arming her with a reliable weapon that can accommodate most firefights. The VK-47 Flatline offers a decent firing rate and handling for her abilities.
Apex Legends is playable on the PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.