Catalyst is the next legend joining Apex Legends, and she stands out in the cast of characters for her use of ferrofluid to put other legends into sticky situations.
As with most Apex character leaks over the last several months, fans got a hint at what Catalyst’s abilities may be as part of the huge character leaks prior to season 13. That leak accurately predicted Newcastle and Vantage and showed off their ability kit almost in full, although Vantage’s abilities got some more changes before she came to the game.
As such, Catalyst’s abilities have been changed and altered quite a bit compared to the original leaked version of the character. She does still create obstacles with ferrofluid as the leaks once suggested, but they’ve taken on very different forms and shapes.
With that in mind, here’s everything we know about Catalyst and her abilities so far.
All abilities for Catalyst in Apex Legends
Catalyst is a defensive character. She’s described as a “defensive conjurer” on the season 15 splash page. She doesn’t have the fortified perk, however. Her character model is much more in line with defensive legends like Wattson and Rampart, as opposed to the bigger character models of Gibraltar, Caustic, and Newcastle.
As stated above, her abilities come from her use of ferrofluid to create obstacles for enemies and strengthen existing structures. Here’s what those abilities looked like earlier in development.
When fans finally got a look at Catalyst and her abilities in the game, however, many who had seen the previous leaks were surprised at just how much they changed. The building mechanics are completely gone and Catalyst’s abilities focus instead on slowing and stalling enemies who want to push her and her squad, as well as denying enemy squads information that they can normally gather easily.
Passive – Barricade
Ah, doors in Apex. They can be so useful when you need to heal and don’t want an enemy getting into your building, but they’re also fairly easy to destroy. Catalyst’s passive ability helps change that since Barricade will effectively “lock” doors with ferrofluid. Doors that are barricaded cannot be opened normally and must instead be destroyed. Barricaded doors also are able to withstand more damage than normal. This ability can also repair destroyed doors.
The Eclipse gameplay trailer showed off this ability, with a set of doors clearly being reinforced by Catalyst’s ferrofluid and taking many more melee hits than normal for a team of legends to break down.
Catalyst can use Barricade on up to two sets of doors at a time. If she uses the ability on a third set of doors, the first Barricade that she put down will disappear.
Tactical – Piercing Spikes
Catalyst’s tactical ability allows her to place ferrofluid on the ground that forms spikes that will slow and damage enemies who step on them. Using Piercing Spikes forms a black rectangular patch on the ground, which looks specifically designed to serve as a welcome mat behind doors and other narrow spaces for Catalyst’s foes.
Enemies caught in the Piercing Spikes won’t be fully stuck, like in Ash’s Arc Snare tactical. But sticking a full team in one Piercing Spikes seems to be a ticket to three easy kills for Catalyst and her squad.
Ultimate – Dark Veil
Catalyst’s ultimate is undeniably the centerpiece of her ability kit and the one ability that can shake up the game’s meta the most. Dark Veil forms a massive ferrofluid wall that blocks enemy vision and prevents enemy scan abilities from working through it. This means that characters like Seer and Bloodhound won’t be able to reveal enemies on the other side of the wall to their squad.
Dark Veil also slows and temporarily blinds enemies who try to pass through the wall. So, while just running through the Dark Veil is an option for players, they’ll most likely be easy pickings for Catalyst and her team if they choose to do so. Dark Veil does not stop bullets or ordinance, and it can be traversed over with vertical movement abilities.
