ImperialHal explains why Newcastle is “trash” in current Apex Legends meta

Apex Legends pro Philip ‘ImperialHal’ Dosen has explained why Newcastle is “trash” in the current Season 13 meta.

Since arriving on May 10 with Season 13, Newcastle has been extremely popular with the Apex Legends community, maintaining a solid 7% pick rate.

With a kit that’s completely centered around protecting allies from gunfire and dragging them out of danger, he’s the perfect character for players who prefer taking a more selfless role in a squad.

Despite this, not everyone is convinced that the Heroic Defender will carve his way into the meta, especially when it comes to the competitive scene.

One of which is TSM pro ImperialHal, who doesn’t think Newcastle’s abilities are strong enough to compete in Season 13 compared to Legends like Valkyrie, Caustic, and Gibraltar.

ImperialHal doesn’t think Newcastle is strong in Season 13

During his May 17 stream, ImperialHal was asked by one of his viewers for his opinion on Newcastle in the current meta.

In response, Hal explained that Newcastle falls into the “trash” category of Legends in Season 13 as he lacks any damage abilities.

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As a result, players piloting the Heroic Defender have to completely rely on their gunskill, whereas Legends like Caustic, Valkyrie, and Gibraltar have ways of zoning enemy squads and dealing easy damage.

In Hal’s opinion, it’s essential for a character to have some form of damage in their kit as in the current meta, there’s a lot of ability spam to weaken opposing teams before a push.

It’s worth noting that as a pro player for TSM, Hal competes against some of the best competitors in Apex, so his advice doesn’t mean Newcastle won’t be strong in lower tiers of Ranked or standard matches.

If the Heroic Defender fits your playstyle and you excel with his abilities, then there’s no need to drop him just because he’s not considered meta.

However, if you want to maximize your chances of winning matches and forming the best team comps, it could be worth looking elsewhere towards Valk, Gibraltar, Caustic, or even Wraith.