Apex Legends Wattson guide [Season 11]: abilities, tips and tricks

Looking for Wattson tips and tricks for Apex Legends? There's never been a better time to jump in and learn how to play as the defensive and electrical expert Wattson, now that Season 11 has seen fit to grant her a series of buffs that make her abilities much more potent.

We'll break down each of Wattson's abilities below, along with tips and tricks on how to use each one effectively in any situation.

On this page:

• Apex Legends Wattson abilities
• Wattson tips and tricks
• Wattson Passive tips: Spark Of Genius
• Wattson Tactical tips: Perimeter Security
• Wattson Ultimate tips: Interception Pylon
• Apex Legends Wattson backstory

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Apex Legends Wattson abilities

Wattson has access to three unique abilities: Spark Of Genius (Passive), Perimeter Security (Tactical), and Interception Pylon (Ultimate). Together they make for one of the most defensive toolkits in Apex Legends, rivalling that of Caustic and his Nox Gas traps. Wattson is unsurpassed at fortifying a position thanks both to her Tactical, which allows her to place fences which punish enemies that step through them; and her Ultimate, which acts as a counter to grenade spam and as a potent shield-restoring device to all those within range.

But there's a lot more to Wattson's abilities than this - particularly with the changes brought about in Season 11. We'll go through each of her abilities below, with tips and tricks that cover each one. But first, we'll talk a little more about Wattson in general, her strengths and weaknesses, and how to make the most of her power.

Wattson tips and tricks

Below are a few tips and tricks that will give you a better idea of Wattson's strengths and drawbacks, how to make the most of her abilities, and how to avoid situations where she does not excel.

• Use your abilities freely. With Wattson, your abilities are flexible enough and come often enough that you should be using them as often as possible, particularly during or in the leadup to fights. Wattson is absolutely mediocre in a fight if she doesn't make proper use of her Tactical and Ultimate.
• Careful placement of your nodes and pylons will be rewarded. Both nodes and pylons can be destroyed if the enemy gets a clear shot, so you need to learn to see your surroundings in terms of good and bad positions for placement. This is much easier when indoors, but you should also bear it in mind while out in the open; try to find cover for everything you place down.
• Work closely with your team. Wattson is not a Legend that generally does well on her own. She has no escapes, no mobility, and despite her turtle-centric abilities she can be very easily overwhelmed by a whole team. Work closely with your teammates, and try to be flexible in what they want to do. If they want to push, don't hang back just because "you're a defensive character".

Passive ability: Spark Of Genius

Description: Ultimate Accelerants fully charge Wattson's Ultimate and she can carry more Ultimate Accelerants. Wattson slowly restores her shields over time.

Wattson's Passive ability is much like Caustic's, in that it serves merely to augment the character's other powers. In Wattson's case, it gives you the ability to entirely charge your Ultimate using a single Ultimate Accelerant, and the fact that you can stack two Accelerants in the same inventory slot means it is more worthwhile for her to take them than most other Legends.

In addition, Wattson will passively recharge 1 shield every 2 seconds as long as she hasn't been damaged in the past 6 seconds. It doesn't sound like much, but it means you can save using Shield Cells and Shield Batteries until you really need them (i.e. during fights).

Wattson Passive tips:

• Use actual Shield healing items when needed. Don't rely purely on your Passive shield recharge, because it is a slow, cumulative effect. If you don't feel entirely out of danger, use a Shield Battery.
• Ultimate Accelerants are much more valuable for Wattson than for anyone else, so feel free to collect and hoard them, particularly in the early-game. An early Interception Pylon can help turn the tables of a challenging fight.

Tactical ability: Perimeter Security

Description: Create electrified fences by connecting nodes. Fences damage and slow enemies. Cooldown: 30s.

Perimeter Security is Wattson's signature power. Up to 12 nodes can be placed upon the map at a time, and if you place more then the oldest will disappear, much like Caustic's Nox Gas Traps. Once you finish placing a chain of nodes, they will turn into fully electrified fences, which will slow and damage enemies passing through them - even more so after the Season 11 changes - but will do nothing to hinder you or your teammates if you step through them.

Here are our top Perimeter Security Tactical tips for Wattson:

• Any enemy passing through the node will be stunned/slowed for 3 seconds, and dealt 20 damage. This is enough to make the fences a powerful zoning tool, as most enemies will not want to push through.
• Each fence post, or node, has 25 Health and can be destroyed, so try to place them in out-of-reach areas so they cannot be easily shot.
• Fences are extremely visible from a distance, so they're not to be used as an unexpected trap like Caustic's Nox Gas Traps. Rather, you should use Wattson's Tactical to zone areas, block chokepoints, and guard your flanks.
• Nodes can connect to multiple other nodes, allowing you to create triangles. This should be used liberally, because a triangle of fences in front of a door will force a pushing enemy to take at least twice as much damage as a normal point-to-point fence.
• Place fences in front of ziplines and gravity cannons, between Wraith portals, and in other areas where enemies will be forced to pass through them in order to continue with their plans.

Ultimate ability: Interception Pylon

Description: Place an electrified pylon that destroys incoming ordnance and repairs damaged shields. Standing near a Pylon boosts Wattson's tactical recharge rate.

Built to nullify the threat that so often appears when a fight is first initiated against you, the Interception Pylon not only acts as a Lifeline Drone for Shields, but it also destroys any grenade, Arc Star, or ordnance from Gibraltar's or Bangalore's ults before they land. In addition, it boosts Wattson's Tactical recharge rate if she is standing near a Pylon so that you can use and replace fences more quickly. This combo gives Wattson some very impressive power when it comes to defending a location - particularly an indoor one.

Here are our top Interception Pylon Ultimate tips for Wattson:

• As of Season 11, Wattson's Interception Pylon has a pool of 250 Shields which it distributes evenly to all those in range as needed, much like Lifeline's Drone. Once the pool is depleted the Pylon won't recharge shields, though it will stay up indefinitely to destroy incoming ordnance.
• As well as explosive projectiles, the Interception Pylon will also intercept other throwables such as Loba's Tactical, Bangalore's Tactical, Revenant's Silence, Caustic's Gas Grenade and Gas Traps, and Horizon's Gravity Lift.
• Wattson's Interception Pylon recharges 5 shields per second, split between all those in range - both allies and enemies.
• The Pylon will intercept your team's grenades and projectiles as well as enemies', so don't waste your grenades or abilities while near a Pylon.
• The Pylon can be destroyed fairly quickly by shooting it, so you should hide the Pylon from obvious lines of sight.
• As with other abilities with large areas of effect, the Pylon's usefulness increases in smaller circles, so try to save one (or an Ultimate Accelerant) for the end-game.

Apex Legends Wattson backstory

Hailing from the planet Solace (home to Kings Canyon), Wattson's true name is Natalie Paquette, and her sheltered origins tie directly with the Apex Games themselves. Her father was Luc Paquette - the lead electrical designer of the Apex Games - and under his guidance and tutelage, and thanks to her own voracious appetite for knowledge, she quickly become an expert in all things relating to electricity. In fact, it was she, with her father's assistance, who developed the all-important Ring which closes in each Apex match, drawing its players closer together.

Of course, this can't be an Apex Legends backstory without a bit of tragedy. On the day of the Ring's reveal and the culmination of her work, Wattson's father died, leaving her alone in the world. As the sheltered and innocent youngster of the roster, she was taken in by a group of other Legends - Lifeline, Gibraltar, Bangalore, and Caustic - and they became her new family. From there she began to join them as a competitor in the Apex Games which she herself played a hand in developing.

And that's all we've got for now on the Static Defender and electricity expert that is Wattson. Hopefully you've learnt a thing or two about how you can use her abilities to the benefit of your team as a whole. For more information on all the different Legends on offer, look no further than our Apex Legends characters guide.