Data Miners Might Have Uncovered New Weapons, NPCs, Night Mode In Apex Legends

Apex Legends has been a gold mine for leakers and data miners. While he still hasn’t been officially confirmed by Respawn Entertainment, the Octane leaks have blown up all over the internet. It’s to the point now where most people just want a response on whether or not he exists. Now, some new data has been mined that shows that there may be more than just a new character coming to the game.

The newest leak comes from the most recent update to the game, and it shows that quite a lot of new stuff could be on the way to everyone’s current favorite battle royale. Thanks to our ol’ pal @RealApexLeaks on Twitter, we have a sense of how Respawn may be looking to keep the game feeling fresh. This might include new weapons, a new mode, and possibly even NPCs.

In the files added, there were new entries that refer to a flamethrower and a remote turret. Both of these items would be pretty major additions, as the flamethrower would likely be a close range weapon that could also inflict ongoing fire damage. And as anyone who mains Torbjorn in Overwatch knows, throwing down a good remote turret is an easy way to rack up some kills. There’s also a chance that these could be character specific abilities, with maybe Octane or some other yet to be discovered character being the only one to have access to them.

But there’s more in the files than just some new weapons. Something called a “Night Mode” is mentioned within the new update. Now, this could be nothing, but fans have wondered how the map would look if the game had some kind of day/night cycle. It’s possible that Apex may be adding that in, or it may be an alternate version of the game map that shows off how King's Canyon looks after the sun goes down.

One of the most interesting things found by miners was talk of NPCs. There are various entries in the update that say things like, “npc_goliath” or, “npc_spider.” The NPCs also apparently have commands like, “NPC_STAY_CLOSE_TO_SQUAD” and “NPC_LOOK_FOR_CORPSE”.

This could mean that perhaps Apex Legends is adding in some mode that includes NPC enemies to fight. Respawn’s Titanfall series often had computer-controlled enemies running around in the background that could be taken down for points during multiplayer. So, it’s not like this would be a new feature for one of their games.

Outside of being enemies, could the NPCs be merchants or even quest givers? Could they be there to offer daily challenges that could be turned in for credits or other rewards? Are they there as Easter eggs or secrets to be unlocked like Nessie?

Or, if we consider the commands, could they be working with the players? Perhaps an AI controlled character will join a squad if they’re short a player. Or maybe one of the new characters will have an NPC buddy that works as a passive or tactical ability?

It’s also possible that these NPCs are just meant to be additional background objects. When jumping out of the dropships at the start of the game you can plainly see some giant dinosaur-like beings grazing in the waters. Maybe these are just creatures meant to show more of the natural wildlife on whatever planet Apex takes place on.

Again, these are leaks from data miners, meaning their legitimacy is up for debate. Respawn hasn’t responded to any of the recent leaks, so everything from the Octane leak to the things discussed here are unconfirmed. So, until we see Octane running and jumping like a mad man in the night towards a giant spider, take this all with a mountain-sized grain of salt.