[GameSpot] - Apex Legends Ballistic - Abilities, Lore, And Everything We Know

[343iBot]

Apex Legends' latest episode of Stories From The Outlands, titled "Encore," has finally introduced players to Apex's 24th legend: August "Ballistic" Brinkman, a former Thunderdome champion who retired from the Games after tragedy struck. But now he's un-retiring, determined to take his son's place in the Apex Games.

Although we don't currently know much about the seasoned bloodsport champion, Encore contains loads of context clues that--combined with leaked details regarding his in-game abilities--paint a much clearer picture of the silver-haired legend. Keep reading for a closer look at the newest character slated to hit Apex Legends when Season 17: Arsenal goes live on May 9.

Unconfirmed: Abilities

All leaks should, of course, be taken with a large grain of salt. That said, Apex Legends dataminers seem to have unearthed a list of Ballistic's in-game abilities, which are listed below. While the legitimacy of these abilities is questionable, each of them make a good fit for Ballistic, so it's quite possible they're real.

According to leaks, Ballistic's abilities are as follows:

• Passive - Weapon Sling: Allows players to store a third weapon. Access via inventory or the d-pad. The sling weapon cannot take attachments.
• Tactical - Smart Bullet: Shoots a projectile that debuffs the enemy. Enemies' guns will start to heat up as they shoot. Overheating will cause a reaction that deals damage. Hold the tactical button to lock-on to a target.
• Ultimate - Weapon Enhancer: When activated, Ballistic and any nearby teammates get a buff applied, increasing reload time, unarmed move speed, and infinite ammo. Any weapon stored in Ballistic's Weapon Sling will be instantly equipped and upgraded to gold-tier for the duration of the buff.

Gibraltar may be his biggest fan

As revealed in Encore, Ballistic was once a champion of the Thunderdome Games, a now-defunct bloodsport similar to the Apex Games. But he's not the only legend familiar with Thunderdome matches--Makoa Gibraltar was also a big fan of the place, having manned the concession stand in his youth. Gibraltar claims that he learned some of his current combat techniques from watching Thunderdome competitors, and even shared his first kiss with ex-boyfriend Nik inside the arena.

Given the amount of time Gibraltar spent hanging around the Thunderdome, Gibraltar is likely familiar with Ballistic. Several recently uncovered lines of character dialogue appear to suggest that the two legends know each other.

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

But in many ways, this little lore tidbit raises more questions than it answers. As seen in Ballistic's episode of Stories From The Outlands, Ballistic's son, Nathaniel, is not joining the Apex Games. Ballistic went out of his way to ensure this was the case, so why on Earth do Gibraltar and Mirage seem to think Nathaniel is showing up?It seems the answer is located in the Firing Range, where a cargo shuttle signaling Ballistic's arrival can be found.

Nearby is a collection of gossip magazines speculating on the current state of Ballistic's family while also implying his son is joining the Apex Games. When players interact with the pile of magazines, the datamined dialogue will usually play, suggesting that Ballistic's return to bloodsports may not have been made public--or perhaps indicating that the news of his comeback simply hasn't reached the rest of the Outlands yet. Either way, it seems like at least two legends will be surprised to see Ballistic enter the ring instead of his son.

He has history with Octane's grandfather

In Encore, Ballistic breaks into Torres "Duardo" Silva's office, leaving a trail of carnage in his wake when Silva's security team tries to stop him. Eventually, he has Silva at gunpoint, demanding that he be allowed to join the Apex Games. Ballistic tells Silva (who seems surprisingly relaxed, given the circumstances) that it'll do wonders for Apex's ratings.

Silva replies with a question.

"And for this you want what, old friend?"

The interaction clearly implies the two have a history, but details regarding their relationship are not revealed.

Ballistic and Torres seem to know each other well.

Unconfirmed: He may be medicated

It's possible that Silva may have used his position as CEO of Silva Pharmaceuticals to pull some strings for Ballistic in the past. This is thoroughly speculative, of course, but "Encore" is full of hints about Ballistic's medical status.

As with all of Apex's cinematic trailers, Encore's premiere kicked off with a two-minute countdown timer only visible to those watching the premiere. Interestingly, a commercial for an anti-aging drug makes up the entirety of the countdown. The drug--known as Legentifax--has a host of potential drug interactions (along with a comically long list of horrific side effects), but appears to be in high demand nonetheless. As far as use goes, Legentifax appears to be a miraculous anti-aging tonic. Despite its repulsive ingredient list (which includes prowler blood), the pros of Legentifax appear to outweigh the cons, keeping its users youthful and strong for far longer than nature would otherwise allow. The drug's manufacturer is none other than--you guessed it--Silva Pharmaceuticals.

In Season 12's main storyline, it was revealed that Torres "Duardo" Silva is over 100 years old, despite looking to be in his mid-forties. Players also learned the wealthy CEO had murdered his own son (and Octane's father), stealing his identity for reasons unknown. Given the fact that Torres owns and controls Silva Pharmaceuticals, use of Legentifax is arguably the best explanation for both his longevity and his shockingly youthful appearance.

But Torres isn't the only person who appears to be chugging Legentifax--Ballistic appears to be on it as well. Encore opens with a disorienting POV shot of the inside of a blender. Blood-red liquid swirls violently for a few seconds before the shot cuts away to reveal that Ballistic is making a smoothie. A bottle of alcohol can be seen on the countertop, but the rest of the smoothie's contents are unknown. Still, the amount of screentime the smoothie gets combined with the odd pharmaceutical commercial that players were shown immediately before the premiere suggests that Legentifax smoothies may be Ballistic's current drink of choice. It may be possible that Legentifax use is the source of his relationship with Torres Silva.

Something is definitely up with that smoothie.

Unconfirmed: He might be the oldest legend ever

In addition to being one letter shy of the word "legend," Legentifax may explain how Torres and Ballistic came to know each other. It certainly explains how a grey-haired shut-in managed to get himself in shape for a cutthroat bloodsport after years of no practice. Fuse--who is currently 55 years old--is currently the oldest legend in the game. But that may soon change, as Ballistic looks significantly older than Fuse, despite his possible use of Legentifax.

He's responsible for the death of a squadmate

According to the Encore cinematic, Ballistic's fighting style in Thunderdome matches was flamboyant, performative, and dangerous. Far more dangerous than the Apex Games, in fact. This was mainly due to the fact that Respawn Beacons were not available, meaning players who died in a match turned into a corpse instead of a deathbox.

Ballistic's penchant for peacocking eventually led to the death of a squadmate, but not just any squadmate--Ballistic's self-centered playstyle got one of his family members killed.

His ex-wife was his squadmate

Ballistic's refusal to focus on anyone but himself during matches resulted in the death of his brother-in-law, ruining his relationship with his other teammate, who happened to also be his wife. Sick of Ballistic's carelessness, selfishness, and reckless behavior, Sok Leng Phua left August, taking their son Nathaniel with her.

Interestingly, an in-game magazine cover (identical to the one in the Firing Range) suggests Sok may have had something to do with the invention or improvement of the Flatline.

Ballistic greets the crowd as his wife weeps over her brother's corpse.

He's estranged from his son

Even after getting his wife's brother killed, Ballistic didn't learn his lesson. Sinking into a years-long state of substance abuse and self-pity, he spent years ignoring his son. Tears and pleas went ignored, so Nathaniel left with his mother, eventually choosing to take her last name instead of his father's.

Still, Ballistic appears to truly love his son, despite struggling to show it. His desire to take Nathaniel's place as an Apex legend seems to come from a genuine desire to protect his son at any cost, though it's unlikely Nathaniel will see it that way. Ballistic seems to believe he's doing Nathaniel a favor, but it's possible that the idea of being upstaged by his son also played a part in his decision to join the games. Even the bloodiest Apex match is still much safer than the tamest Thunderdome match ever played, simply because the Apex Games aren't meant to end in death.

Ballistic and his son in happier times.

He's a heavy drinker

Like Valkyrie, Ballistic seems to enjoy a good drink (or three), and it seems as though anti-aging smoothies aren't his only vice. His episode of Stories From The Outlands depicts him surrounded by an ever-increasing number of booze bottles as he sinks further and further into his depression. Even the teaser tweet Respawn posted the night before Encore premiered showed off his well-stocked bar.

pic.twitter.com/17q72czXq6

— Apex Legends (@PlayApex) April 22, 2023

Here's hoping he gets things under control before he gets behind the wheel of a Trident.

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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