Gibraltar’s Dome Shield is an impenetrable bulwark in Apex Legends—or at least it was until Mad Maggie came along. The Rebel Warlord’s Riot Drill tactical ability can punch through Gibraltar’s Dome Shield, dealing damage to players on the other side, even in the safety of Gibby’s bubble.
Maggie’s Riot Drill in particular is gonna present “real problems” for characters that “might normally have felt safe” behind cover or legend abilities like Gibraltar’s Dome Shield or Rampart’s Amped Cover, gameplay engineer Chris Winder said in a press conference yesterday.
Maggie’s ability to “displace or destroy an entrenched position,” as Winder called it, “is always useful to a team, no matter the composition.” But given Gibraltar’s popularity, Maggie could potentially deny Gibraltar and his squad the safety of a Dome Shield, which is invaluable, especially in the late stages of a match.
Players can catch a glimpse of the interaction in today’s trailer, which gave fans a detailed look at Maggie’s entire kit in action. The cinematic shows Maggie firing her Riot Drill at an enemy Gibraltar’s bubble, denying him a revive and forcing him to move away. This is one of the few abilities that penetrates the Dome Shield, meaning Maggie offers a lot of counterplay to the Shielded Fortress.
That’s not to say Maggie is completely unstoppable. Wattson is a strong counter to Maggie, according to Winder, and the defensive legend has a leg up on Caustic after the Toxic Trapper’s significant tweak in season 12.
Players can use Mad Maggie to pierce Dome Shields when Apex‘s 12th season, Defiance, launches on Feb. 8.