Apex Legends is adding a second spooky murderbot to its roster, one that both Apex and Titanfall 2 fans might recognise. Ash is a simulacrum (human consciousness in a freaky robot) who was previously a baddie in Titanfall 2. Since May this year, she’s been overseeing Apex’s new 3v3 Arenas mode – you know, that ominous voice that tells you to crush your enemies. But in the battle royale’s next season, Escape, she’ll be joining the fight herself.
You might have encountered Ash in Titanfall 2, during the level Into The Abyss, where you fight her in a factory full of assembly lines and traps she’s laid out (Alice0 says it’s the coolest level). Despite you “killing” her there, she’s been involved in Apex for a while, and we find out in her introductory cinematic that she’s tangled up with everyone’s favourite Scottish mum too. The human inside Ash is Dr Reid, the shady scientist who leaves Horizon for dead, drifting in space.
The video shows Reid’s transformation into Ash, after some sort of sneaky operation to steal info from a lab goes wrong. Reid ends up with a knife in her chest, and the only way to save her is to become a simulacrum. From there she ends up as a titan pilot who gets crushed in Titanfall 2’s campaign, then sometime after is rebuilt for the Apex Games.
She’s had a complicated life that only seems to be getting worse, because Ash has taken on a mind of her own, while Dr Reid struggles to take control. Horizon doesn’t seem too thrilled about it either, judging from the recent comics Respawn used to tease Ash’s arrival (those are well worth a read if you’re into Apex’s story stuff).
There’s no word on what Ash’s abilities will be just yet, but hey, she’s a spooky murderbot, perhaps she’ll have similar skills to the spookier murderbot Revenant.
Ash will arrive in Apex Legends’ next season, Escape, along with the CAR SMG (which is also from Titanfall). The new season will be revealed proper on Thursday the 21st of October, and will launch on November 2nd.