Revenant, formerly known as Kaleb Cross, had experienced a decline in popularity leading up to the latest update. His selection rate had dropped compared to earlier seasons, prompting Respawn to take action.
Following Revenant's transformation where he awoke with a set of new abilities, players have embraced his overhauled gameplay in Season 18, leading to a significant rise in his pick rate.
This legendary character now boasts an aggressive and individualistic playstyle, enabling aggressive players to become formidable opponents for other teams on the map. This is evident through his passive ability that identifies low-health enemies and his leaping skill that surprises unsuspecting foes.
However, perfecting his state to align with player satisfaction presented its own set of challenges during development. Respawn's developers discussed some of the obstacles they encountered while reimagining Revenant in a press conference.
Apex Legends developers thoroughly tested a range of Revenant abilities. Rather than rushing his rework, Respawn explored various iterations and options for his unique in-game capabilities – passive, tactical, and ultimate. Below are some of the concepts that were discarded before reaching the live version.
Wall-Running: While Revenant retained his improved wall climbing and crouching abilities from the previous season with minor adjustments, there was a period when Respawn experimented with giving him Titanfall-style wall-running skills. Despite the appeal to players, intensive testing revealed that this ability was highly situational. The developers specifically highlighted that the layout of Apex Legends maps does not facilitate as many wall-running opportunities as Titanfall maps were designed for. Consequently, due to its lack of consistent usefulness, the idea of wall-running was abandoned.
1v1 Ultimate: Revenant's Ultimate ability served as a significant source of inspiration for the developers. While his signature totem nearly made its way into the rework, it was discovered that, similar to the previous iteration, it remained overly reliant on specific positioning and timing to achieve substantial impact. Another concept considered was a '1v1 Ultimate,' where Revenant players could transport themselves and an enemy into a 'shadow realm' for a one-on-one duel. However, the developers found that, despite the unique nature of the ultimate, Revenant players didn't feel they gained enough advantage from what should have been their most potent ability. Ultimately, the team settled on a passive ability that marks low-health enemies, a tactical skill called 'Shadow Pounce,' and a damage-blocking ultimate named 'Forged,' all of which have garnered positive feedback from professional and casual players alike.
The long-term impact of Revenant's rework on the meta is yet to be determined, but early indications are promising.
