[GameSpot] - Leaked Apex Legends Dialogue Suggests Season 17's Legend Is Related To Titanfall Villain

[343iBot]

Apex Legends' Season 16: Revelry marked the first-ever season of the game to debut without introducing a new legend. While that decision was evidently well-received by players, it hasn't stopped them from searching far and wide for information on Season 17's upcoming legend. This week, they succeeded, with Apex Legends YouTuber bobz uploading what appears to be datamined dialogue lines that reveal more about the next legend, currently known as Ballistic.

Ballistic--sometimes referred to as Caliber, which appears to be the codename used in last March's massive legend roster leak--is rumored to be Season 17's new legend, and bobz' video references other datamined information about the character. This includes his abilities (which may include a Smart Pistol similar to the one from Respawn's Titanfall franchise) and appearance, but the datamined voice lines from preexisting characters like Gibraltar and Mirage expose even more interesting info about the mysterious legend--including his parentage.

"Huh, Ballistic? The Ballistic? That brings back memories, bruddah. I always bet on him back in my Thunderdome days," Gibraltar claims in one of the datamined audio files. "Gonna be wild, squadding up with his kid."

This suggests the two have history, as we know Gibraltar also participated in Thunderdome matches, which served as the original version of the Apex Games, before eventually being shut down near the end of the Frontier War. Thunderdome matches were brutal, and there were no respawn beacons to fall back on meaning competitors frequently did not live to see the end of the game. (Bloodhound's first love, Boone, died fighting a wild beast in one of the Thunderdome's gladiator-esque matches, as revealed in the Pathfinder's Quest lore book.)

The Thunderdome is also referenced in text from a Season 4 transition screen. In it Revenant is talking about Tenmei, the high-class restaurant where he slaughtered Loba's family. Regarding getting a meal at the expensive eatery, Revenant says, "...even I'm probably going to have to place a few bets at the Thunderdome to afford my next visit. Kuben all the way!"

This is a reference to Kuben Blisk, a Syndicate merc and commissioner of the Apex Games, who also served as the primary antagonist of the Titanfall series. He, too, was once a competitor in the Thunderdome, and given Gibraltar's oddly-worded voice line about "squadding up with [Ballistic's] kid," it's possible that Kuben Blisk's son may have taken on his father's former callsign and will be joining the games using this moniker in Season 17. After all, he wouldn't be the first competitor to take up the mantle of a different legend.

This theory is backed up by another new line of recently datamined dialogue included in bobz' video, this one from Mirage.

"Man, what do I gotta do to get my cover story? What is this?" the holographic trickster muses before quickly changing his tune and adding, "Well, I'm glad I don't have to compete against my dad's legacy, y'know? Heh, am I right? You--y'know? I'm gonna go cry."

In addition to reinforcing Mirage's insecurity about his relationship with his absentee father, the line appears to confirm that Season 17's Ballistic is not the same Ballistic who competed in the Thunderdome, but his son. Of course, nothing about Ballistic--including his family lineage--can be confirmed until Respawn officially unveils him to the public. But when looking at recently leaked character models, it's hard to ignore the family resemblance.

Apex Legends is free to play on console and PC. A mobile version of the game, Apex Legends Mobile, is available to play on Android and iOS devices, but will be sunset on May 1.

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