Apex Legends Ash - abilities, backstory and more

Apex Legends Ash abilities
(Image credit: EA)

Apex Legends Ash is joining the fight, bored from overseeing the Apex Arenas, they've entered the Battle Royal and will arrive in Apex Legends Season 11. Ash has been teased for many seasons, with a lot of lore surrounding her character from inside quests, Apex comics and their current gig - hosting the team deathmatch Apex Arenas. 

Fans of Titanfall 2 will recognise Ash as one of the Titan mercenaries of the Apex Predators you needed to defeat, and have been eagerly waiting for her to be announced as an Apex Legend. The animated short "Stories from the Outlands" helps explain their past, and why they're joining the battle royal. This guide will give you all the details on Ash, her past, and her legend abilities, and what we can expect from the new season. 

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Ash's Release date in Apex Legends

Apex Legends Ash abilities

(Image credit: EA)

Ash's release date in Apex Legends coincides with Season 11 - Escape will launch on November 2nd. From there, you will be able to unlock Ash (if you have enough legend tokens) and enjoy the new map Gia, the fourth map in the game. It's a tropical island, filled with jungles, abandoned ships and wildlife that will interact with players, perhaps causing even more confusion to a third party. The Combat Advanced Round aka C.A.R. S.M.G.,  will also arrive at the same time. Titanfall 2 fans will also be familiar with the gun. It is said to use both heavy and light ammo, making it a pretty formidable gun.

Apex Legends Ash backstory

Apex Legends Ash abilities

(Image credit: EA)

Many players know Ash from Titanfall 2. Once known as Dr Ashleigh Reid, Ash was an elite pilot and mercenary before being turned into a Simulacrum (a robot with a copied human brain pattern) after a mission went horribly wrong. They were also one of the antagonists you must defeat and part of the Apex Predators, a mercenary group using  Titans who where hired by the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation, or IMC, to destroy the human frontier militia. This group was headed by Kuben Blisk, who now runs the Apex Games. 

Ash's story begins before Titanfall 2 with our our first glimpse of Ash's past coming  from fellow legend Horizon's own animated cinematic. Before being turned into Simulacrum, Ash worked with Horizon, Dr Sommers, on a mission to retrieve Apex's mystery substance, Branthium. Ash then betrays Horizon, letting her be sucked into a black hole and later storming the facility to steal the Branthium. However, this mission goes horribly wrong with Dr Reid being fatally wounded. In an attempt to save her, her mind is transferred into Simulacrum, leaving Dr Reid no more and only Ash. Her memories were locked away with a code; however, Ash's story from the outlands shows fragments of Dr Ashleigh Reid still living within Ash. 

During Titanfall 2, Ash was defeated by Jack Cooper. They were then put back together and used by Vision Dynamics. After this Ash's body was discarded. Blisk even throws Ash's head into a rift that splits her head into nine pieces. During Season 5's Broken Ghost quest, Loba is tasked by Hammond Robotics with putting Ash back together. Hammond Robotics use Ash for codes and then discard her again, where Pathfinder later finds her, where they can only remember her name. Blisk then visits Ash to offer her a job in the Apex Games. 

From here Ash runs the Apex Arenas, an underground deathmatch, however now board of this they enter the Apex Games as a participant, hoping to remember her past. 

Apex Legends Ash abilities 

Apex Legends Ash abilities

(Image credit: EA)

Thanks to the trailer, we can get a good look into what the Apex Legends Ash abilities could look like in game. Ash appears to be an offensive type legend, with some tracking abilities. Dataminers managed to find out the names for Ash's ability and paired with the trailer it seems to be right. 

  • "Marked for Death" Passive Ability: Ash's map shows the location of recent death boxes. Press on a deathbox to mark surviving attackers on Ash's map (once per box).  
  • "Arc Snare" Tactical Ability: Throw a spinning snare that damages and tethers the first enemy that gets too close.
  • "Phase Breach" Ultimate Ability: Tear open a one-way portal to a targeted location.

Ash's abilities would be great for those who like a calculated offensive strike. Marked death boxes will highlight where a fight has just taken place, with possible enemies still lingering. Arc Snare, will allow you to get the jump or possibly using a one way portal to strike on unassuming enemies. Overall, Ash's abilities would be best paired with Revenant for his Death Totem and Caustic for his Nox Gas. 

Apex Legends Ash Legendary skin

Apex Legends Ash abilities

(Image credit: EA)

Ash's legendary skins have not been confirmed, however, every new legend starts with 4 legendary skins that can be unlocked with crafting materials. The price for a legendary skin is usually 1200 crafting materials. These skins cannot be bought, but instead require you to collect enough crafting materials to purchase them. Although it is also likely that the battle pass will have either a Legendary or Epic skin for Ash, Respawn usually gives the new legend a nice skin at the beginning of the battle pass.

Ugbad Elmi

GamesRadar freelance writer with a MA in Digital Media from Goldsmiths. I love video games that immerse me in different worlds, and a fast paced FPS that keeps me on my toes. I edit videos and stream in my spare time. My favorite games are The Last of Us 2, Apex Legends & Red Dead Redemption 2.