With each season of Apex Legends, the roster of playable characters continues to swell. Currently, the total number of Legends in the game is an impressive 21. With such a diverse roster, it is understandable that some characters have decreased in popularity in recent seasons as others have become part of the current meta. One of those Legends with a low pick rate is Newcastle, the Heroic Defender and brother of Bangalore.
Introduced as the Season 13 character for Apex Legends, Newcastle can be a walking fortress for his team on the battlefield. Sporting a number of defensive abilities, he has the opportunity to provide a lot of utility for his squad. For example, his Ultimate called Castle Wall allows him to jump large distances and deploy an electrified stronghold near his teammates. Despite abilities like this, he has seen a drastic reduction in popularity, causing some fans to call for Respawn Entertainment to buff him.
In a post on Reddit, a user known as ZantWasTaken shared an image revealing the pick rates of the various Legends in Season 13 of Apex Legends. According to the chart based on data from Apex Legends Status, Newcastle had an abysmal 1.6% pick rate. This low popularity tied him for the least picked Legend in the battle royale with Crypto and put him even below Mad Maggie, the Season 12 Legend, who had a 1.9% pick rate.
Since ZantWasTaken posted these pick rates on Reddit, numerous members of the Apex Legends community have weighed in. With more than 4,400 upvotes in only a day, some fans wanted Respawn to potentially buff Newcastle, while others pointed out weaknesses with the character's kit. For example, some compared the Legend to Gibraltar, with one gamer claiming that Newcastle’s abilities are more difficult to use effectively. In addition, another player added that Newcastle’s Mobile Shield was underwhelming as it was too easy to be destroyed compared to Gibraltar’s Dome of Protection. Interestingly, one player even claimed that Newcastle seemed to do worse in lesser-skilled lobbies.
However, some believed that there were other reasons behind Newcastle's low pick rate besides an underwhelming kit. Some claimed that the popularity of characters in Apex Legends did not always correlate to their viability in combat. "I am tired of saying this. Low pick rates dont always mean the legend has a problem," DoughnutSignificant9 said on Reddit.
While the community continues to debate how to make lesser-picked Legends, such as Newcastle, more viable in the battle royale, Apex Legends has already started teasing the next character expected to be added to the game. Known as Vantage, they are rumored to be part of the Recon class in Apex Legends with abilities that provide intel for their teammates. Time will tell how this possible new Legend could influence the pick rates of existing heroes, such as Newcastle.
Apex Legends is available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Dexerto, Apex Legends Status