Wattson, among the less popular legends in Apex Legends has enjoyed a significantly boosted pick-rate ever since she was offered to players as a free login reward as part of the anniversary event.
Apex Legends' anniversary event is in full flow and the players are having a great time enjoying season 12 in all its glory. The new Control game mode is super-fun and a lot of players are enjoying it. Respawn Entertainment has also been generous enough to offer players three locked legends as a login reward every week.
This is a pretty cool deal for new players or infrequent players that don't have legend tokens to unlock new legends. Interestingly, it has also turned out to be a great deal for Wattson, whose pick rate has skyrocketed the week she became the free legend to claim,
As a defensive legend with a higher skill floor, Wattson wasn't exactly one of the most popular picks in the game. As it turns out, however, that might not necessarily have had anything to do with her abilities being too weak or difficult.
Wattson currently sits at a pick rate of 5.4 and is the 6th most picked legend in the game. What's interesting about this is that she's leapfrogged Mad Maggie, the new Season 12 legend in pick rate. Why is she so popular all of a sudden? Read on to find out
Wattson is free to play
For new players, there are quite a few legends that are locked at the beginning and can only be unlocked using legend tokens or apex coins. Wattson is among those legends. With the Anniversary event, Respawn Entertainment announced that players would receive three of the locked legends for free as login rewards. Along with the locked legends, they'd also receive thematic Apex Packs that would gift players cosmetics for that particular legend.
She's fantastic in the Control LTM
Another reason she could be picked a lot more this week is that her abilities are super useful in Control mode. The game mode is all about capturing and defending zones and with Wattson's ability to lock up a perimeter around the capture points, she's easily one of the best legends for the new game mode. She was a popular pick even before she became the free login reward in Control.
What about Octane, then?
There are players who feel that Octane being free should also propel his pick rate. As a matter of fact, it has but not as much as it did for Wattson. Octane was already among the most popular legends in the game. Many new players unlock him as their first legend simply because of his abilities and persona. Wattson isn't necessarily the type of legend players would be want to spend their tokens on. With her being free, many new players thought they'd give her a try. Octane is currently the most picked legend in the game at 13.3%.
Mad Maggie has a lower pick-rate
The most interesting consequence of Wattson's boosted pick rate is that Mad Maggie has dropped below her. It has usually been tradition each season for the new legend to dominate pick rate before tailing off to their original pick rate. But Mad Maggie started out at just 9% and has since dropped to 5.1%. The fact that a more defensive and skill-based legend has leapfrogged the new legend is as surprising as it is interesting. Does Maggie need a buff?
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