When Respawn Entertainment released Apex Legends' Shadowfall limited-time mode, it quickly became clear the horror-themed mode would offer a new kind of experience. At first, it seemed as though Pathfinder, Mirage and Wraith were the standout character choices for players who wanted to emerge victorious in this zombie-themed experience.
But, as people began to explore the possibilities, Apex Legends fans discovered another standout performer: Wattson.
Initially, Wattson may seem like an unusual choice. Indeed, many players find this character difficult to play even in normal modes. Her fences require more mastery than, say, Lifeline's fast healing abilities. Therefore, those who opt to play her tend to be strategic, rather than aggressive, players. (There are some notable exceptions, such as Tollis, who mains Wattson and has more than 27,000 kills with the character.)
Wattson is a useful character in Ranked games as well as tournament play, both of which often require players to play conservatively and use camping strategies to earn valuable placement points. Since her release, the character has received several nerfs. However, she can still be very useful, depending on a player’s play style.
At the outset, Wattson’s Ultimate ability isn’t particularly useful in Shadowfall. Her bullets can collect grenade spam and can protect her from Gibraltar’s and Bangalore’s ultimate abilities. But in Shadowfall, most fights are 1v1, which means it's typically faster and smarter to rely simply on firearms to take out an opponent.
Similarly, a shield cell or battery will replenish shields much more quickly than Wattson’s Ultimate. While the ability can be helpful in a team of three to add an extra boost mid-fight or when recovering from one, it’s not as useful in Shadowfall Legend fights… and it’s especially not useful once the players have joined forces to get to the rescue ship.
And then there are the fences. While her fences deal a small amount of damage to opponents, their main draw is that they slow down players and make them easy targets. As such, a Wattson opponent is frequently forced to choose between charging through a string of fences, taking time to shoot the fences down (which Watton players can track on the map) and going another direction. Wattson players can use these tactics to force players to take less-than-optimal routes and ambush them accordingly.
However, in Shadowfall, this small amount of damage, when paired with the ability to stun opponents, makes the fences incredibly potent defenses against Shadows. Shadow Legends spawn in with very low health. When playing as a Shadow, simply running into a fenced-in barricade can completely drain that player's health. If the fences alone don’t do it, the Shadow's health becomes low enough even minor bullet spam can kill them.
Players that realized this then began to develop creative ways to use the fences. It reached the point where there are now numerous video clips and tip videos offering insight into how to rack up kills and win Shadowfall using this character.
In Shadowfall, the Wattson strategy plays out rather predictably. A Wattson will camp in the same place through most of the game. Here, the Wattson will put draw on their Ultimate Ability to place a pylon. This recharges Wattson's fencing ability quickly. Then, the player will place so many fences that a Shadow cannot easily break through them without seriously depleting its own health. Once the player count hits ten, fellow Legends may join a Wattson player in their safety area. As these still-alive Legends gather, then can then make their way to the rescue ship as a team.
Shadows can break the fences by meleeing the fence rods. However, it is somewhat difficult to do so without losing health points as a result.
However, endgame remains a weakness for a Wattson player. Because Wattsons don’t have many mobility options, they can try to join forces with a Pathfinder or a Wraith, possibly choosing to put fences at the ends of their zipline or portal respectively. Gun in hand, Wattson can assist the team as a whole by taking down Shadow players until they all get to the ship.
Perhaps it sounds complicated in practice. But it works out surprisingly well.
Here are a few examples of Wattson's fence methods in practice.
As fans can see, Wattson is a sleeper character for Shadowfall. These tactics may work best for seasoned Wattson players who understand the nuances of how to play the character. But for those new to Wattson, Shadowfall could be the optimal way to learn the ins and outs of playing this Legend.