The Apex Legends Backstory Explained: The Key Lore That Newbies Must Know

The Apex Legends backstory is not something anyone expected EA to work on when the game first launched in February 2019. The game was seen as a fun battle royale but Respawn Entertainment and EA have worked on the lore extensively through comics, cinematics and more. The narrative of the Apex Legends backstory is very interesting and it all began with Titanfall and it continues with the battle royale. The introduction of treasure quests in the game has helped build the Apex Legends backstory and here is everything we know so far. 

Apex Legends Backstory: Frontier War

The Titanfall series is where it all began and the Apex Legends universe is set after the events of the Frontier War, which took place during Titanfall 1 and Titanfall 2. The Frontier is a vast collection of planets which was colonized by the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation, formerly known as Hammond Engineering. Despite their attempts to colonize the Frontier, war broke out on Earth and the organization had to leave. But civilization already settled in the Frontier and did not want to be controlled by the IMC which led to the conflict. 

Legends Involved In the Frontier War

The Frontier War lasted decades and is one of the most important parts of the Apex Legends backstory. Some of the Frontier citizens who fought in the war became “Legends” in the Apex Games. One of the Legends was Anita Williams who is known as Bangalore in-game. She was born into a family of IMC vets and was part of the final battle in the war at Gridiron. She was stranded in the Frontier after the war and had no option but to compete in the Apex Games. Mirage was also involved in the Frontier wars but he never fought in it. It was his three brothers who were soldiers while he chose to stay with his mother and develop Holo technology.

Pathfinder has an unusual obsession with high-fives. If you have played Titanfall 2, you will notice another MRVN robot who mimics the same behaviour and it is possible that they are the one and the same. The character is constantly in search of his maker. We got more details on Pathfinder’s tragic background in a recent cinematic and it looks like he has an important role to play in the future to preserve mankind. 

Multidimensional assassin Wraith broke out of the IMC Detention facility during the Frontier War. According to audio logs found within the game, she was a research science pilot for the IMC during the war. 

Aftermath of The Frontier War and The Rise of The Syndicate

The Apex Legends backstory’s foundation lies in the Frontier War but the game itself focuses on the present Apex Games era. There was no clear winner of the war with the IMC being decimated and the Frontier Militia disbanding. The remainder of the population in the Outlands were left in shambles and it turned into a lawless world. 

A mysterious organization known as The Syndicate wanted to take advantage of the fighters involved in the war and created the Apex Games. It is presumed that Kuben Blisk, who is an ex-IMC fighter and one of the antagonists of Titanfall 2 is the founder of the organization. Fuse and Maggie, two of the game’s newest characters reference the Syndicate in Season 8 but we are yet to know what is going on behind the scenes at the organization. 

The Modernization of The Apex Games

Blisk and the Syndicate turned the Apex Games from a competition into a flashy blood sport that is broadcast throughout the outlands. Talented individuals were hired towards the modernization of the Apex Games and one of the people involved was Luc Paquette, who is Wattson’s father. Natalie ‘Wattson’ Paquette created the Modified Containment Ring but her father died on the day of the ring’s reveal, leaving her torn in grief. She decided to join the Games under the name Wattson in hopes of making her father proud. 

Crypto was a computer engineer for The Syndicate and he made use of the drones to broadcast the games. He was framed by the Syndicate for the murder of his sister but he escaped and joined the games to seek revenge and find answers about the people controlling the mysterious organization. He is not a trained fighter but he hacked into the systems and registered himself as a Legend. 

He destroyed the Repulsion Tower in King’s Canyon which forced the games to move to World’s Edge temporarily. Bloodhound, one of the most important characters in the Apex Legends backstory is a native of World’s Edge and lived and was part of a tribe that lived there before the arrival of the Syndicate. 

Hammond Robotics’ Attempt at Restoring Itself

 After the war, Hammond Robotics went through a rebranding campaign to distance itself from the IMC and weapons manufacturing. It started creating robotic soldiers with human minds and it led to the birth of Revenant. Many forgot about the dark history of Hammond Robotics.

Revenant emerged as a bloodthirsty robot after his programming failed and he realized that he was not human, but a walking robotic nightmare. He took his revenge by murdering Forge, a legend who was supposed to join the Apex Games. He pressured the Syndicate and Hammond Robotics to let him join the Apex Games. 

Loba came seeking revenge for the murder of her parents and found herself in the Apex Games. Revenant had murdered Macros and Alanza Andrade who were con artists and had a huge bounty on their heads. Thievery ran in their blood and Loba went on to become one of the most notorious thieves in the Outlands. 

She found a facility full of Revenant bodies in King’s Canyon and attempted to destroy it. She managed to destroy Skull Town and Thunderome but not Revenant himself. She put her quest for revenge on hold and attempted to pursue something known as “The Broken Ghost”. 

Introduction of Olympus and Horizon

Dr. Mary Somers, also known as Horizon is a scientist from Olympus who left her planet to find a solution to an energy crisis. But she was betrayed by her assistant and was left stranded in space. She did find a solution to the energy crisis which was a mineral called Branthium. Her research forced her to see less and less of her son but she wasn’t aware that she would not be able to return home.

After extracting Branithium and attempting to return home, her assistant took the resource and left her stranded in space. Horizon was stuck in space for 5 months but it amounted to 87 years back home. Her son died before she could see her again. When she reaches home, she notices that Olympus suffered a catastrophic incident. 

It is presumed that Ash, a character from Titanfall 2 was Horizon’s assistant and is responsible for the betrayal. Fans came to the conclusion because he has a quote that says “wee bit of betrayal”, a line that is also used by Horizon. 

That is the Apex Legends backstory so far and Respawn will continue to build on the lore moving forward. Future seasons are likely to focus more on Pathfinder finding his purpose, Ash’s whereabouts and a deep dive into The Syndicate. 

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