During the first day of the Apex Legends Preseason Invitational in Kraków, Poland today, three characters have dominated team compositions across the board—Wattson, Wraith, and Pathfinder.
The trio has been hands down the most popular team composition in the tournament, leaving the remaining seven legends in the dust. Their unique ability to provide defense, offense, and mobility makes them a well-rounded combination and a true force of power.
Here’s what each legend offers to a team comp and why they synergize so well together.
Wattson
Wattson, the newest character introduced to Kings Canyon, made an immediate impact on the battle royale’s meta. The Static Defender found a place in every team comp, especially in higher ranks, where her support abilities were deemed necessary to climb the competitive ladder.
Her ability kit is fairly straightforward. Get inside, place electric gates in front of all entrances, put down a pylon to destroy any projectiles, and wait. But why did Wattson impact the meta so dramatically?
The answer is simple. The legend offers something that no other champion in the battle royale does—safety.
Apex fans may argue that other champions like the defensive duo Gibraltar and Caustic, or support-star Lifeline, can give a team safety. Wattson’s skills, however, allow a team to be defensive and offensive at the same time.
Players with a Wattson on their team can peek outside windows or chokepoints and take out enemies while preventing anyone from breaching their safe haven. Caustic, on the other hand, impairs his teammates and only really provides safety for himself that lasts as long as his gas does. The same goes for Gibraltar’s Dome of Protection, which has a time limit of 18 seconds. And even though Lifeline is the only character who can heal teammates, her drone doesn’t increase body shield health and it requires players to stack on top of each other to use it.
Respawn’s developers tried to knock Wattson down a peg by giving her the Low Profile debuff, which increases the damage she takes by five percent. Judging by her popularity in the competitive scene, however, the nerf did little to stop her effectiveness.
Wraith
As the poster child of Apex, Wraith already garners the highest play rate and win rate in the game. And her individual prowess is easy to assess since she can become invincible and boasts the smallest hitbox in the game. But the Interdimensional Skirmisher also offers plenty to any team comp.
Wraith’s ultimate allows her teammates to get out of any sticky situation. Is your team pinned behind crappy cover? Wraith portal out. Is your team stuck in a shack while getting pushed by an enemy team? Wraith portal out. Is the ring closing, threatening to burn your team alive? Wraith portal out.
Wraith’s ultimate can be used as a getaway or to engage on an enemy team with poor positioning. Using the portal to flank your opponents before they suspect anything is a strong tool for aggressive gameplay, especially in this defensive meta.
Pathfinder
The lovable robot boasts a big hitbox, despite also suffering from the Low Profile debuff, which may seem to make him ineffective in the meta. His mobility, however, makes him a staple in any team comp.
His zipline gives his team the ability to go anywhere and with its short cooldown, it can be used multiple times in a game. A seemingly bad position in the last circle can be instantly turned around by zipping on top of a mountain or building and shooting enemies in the low ground.
The information that Pathfinder’s passive provides by allowing you to see where the next ring location will be is also crucial intel that can help you set up shop before your enemies know what hit them.
Why do they synergize so well?
You can’t go a second of watching the Apex Preseason Invitational without seeing a team playing this trio. They all provide wondrous perks to their teams, but why exactly do the three have such good chemistry?’
For one, setting up a home base in the high ground is a popular strategy among high-rank players. Players use Pathfinder’s zipline to take his team to the best position within the ring. Wattson then places her electric gates by the zipline’s landing so any enemies that take your Pathfinder’s zipline will get slowed and electrocuted before getting picked off.
Wraith’s ultimate is most commonly used in the tournament to safely transport a team through the open fields. When a team has to rotate through the sandy deserts of Kings Canyon to make it to the next ring location, a Wraith portal is the safest option. Then players can reset and start another base in the new ring location.
This isn’t the first time that this team composition dominated a tournament. In the EXP Invitational at the X Games Minneapolis last month, the trio received heavy attention. TSM’s Mac “Albralelie” Kenzie Beckwith explained why the team comp was so successful at the event in an interview with Dot Esports.
“So we got Wattson for holding down buildings, she makes defending an area a lot easier,” Albralelie said. “Pathfinder gives you the early intel that you need for rotations with his passive… and his zipline is good for taking control of high ground. And Wraith can get her team out of a hard spot with her portal pretty safely.”
Safety, mobility, and aggression. The trio covers it all and will likely continue to dominate the competitive scene unless a new character is released or Respawn decides to bring down the nerf hammer.
