Revenant’s chapter in Pathfinder’s Quest isn’t about who he was—it’s about who he became, according to Apex writers

We interviewed the writing team about the divisive chapter in Pathfinder's Quest.
Image via Respawn Entertainment

Most Apex Legends fans are familiar with Revenant, the bloodthirsty, robotic assassin who carved his way into the Apex Games after killing Jimmy “Forge” McCormick and swearing revenge against Hammond Robotics.

Recommended Videos

On the other hand, not everyone has heard of Kaleb Cross—Revenant’s old identity from before Hammond Robotics turned him into a simulacrum over 300 years ago.

Pathfinder’s Quest, Apex‘s first lore book, dives into the legends’ origin stories—and Revenant is no exception. The book shares two major details about Revenant’s past: his name and how he died. And those are basically the most important parts of his first life—because, in the end, his chapter isn’t about Kaleb Cross.

“Revenant’s story is the story of who he is now and where he’s going from here, and not the story of who he was in those first 40 years as a human,” Respawn writer Tom Casiello told Dot Esports. “That’s who he is as a being, the last 300 years.”

This may be a curveball for fans who hoped to learn more about Revenant’s backstory, but it’s certainly not a break in his character.

Casiello wanted Revenant’s chapter to reveal key facts about him, such as his real name. But getting the simulacrum to part with that information would be tricky. “There’s no reason for Revenant to say any of this,” Casiello said. “He’s not gonna open up to [Pathfinder].”

Instead, the writer intended to have Revenant use his past to mess with the MRVN.

“I think I knew early on, like, he’s going to convince him that [Pathfinder] murdered his creator,” Casiello said. Revenant would do it “just for the hell of it, just for shits and giggles.” That’s where Cross’ story comes in.

Revenant employs the twisted anecdote to torment Pathfinder and convince him that “very good people can do very bad things.” The story is a tool to wreak havoc on Pathfinder’s mind, but a side effect is that it gives fans a glimpse into Revenant’s first life. That look into Cross’ life has roots in the simulacrum’s self-loathing, vitriolic, and undoubtedly partial perspective.

“There is no one who hates Kaleb Cross more than Revenant,” writer Ashley Reed told Dot Esports.

Pathfinder’s Quest hammers down the point that perspective matters and Revenant’s viewpoint is disfigured by his self-loathing and bloodlust. “That’s why he messes with Pathfinder: misery loves company,” Reed said.

Revenant’s hatred of himself (and, by extention, of Cross) steers the story. The core of the narrative develops from the perspective of Bob Woods, the man who killed Cross, and Kaleb “is very much not a character in his own story,” according to Casiello.

Revenant does acknowledge his past self, but hardly in a positive light. In his own words, Cross was a man with no morals, no values, and no regard for human life whatsoever. And as Revenant recounted Cross’ gruesome death—drowned in untreated, pestilent sewer water—the simulacrum said that it was where Cross belonged.

Despite his horrible fate, Cross “was a simple man with a simple death, and that was it,” according to Casiello. Because after all, he only died once, and that was over 300 years ago. Revenant’s story goes much further than that.

The simulacrum himself remarks on it during his chapter. “I was a skinbag for 44 years. I’ve been this for 313 years. What makes those 44 any more important than the 313 that followed?” Cross died once, while Revenant has gone through thousands of painful, gruesome, unsettling deaths. And he remembers all of them.

Revenant was programmed to forget all the times he met his end, a clean slate until the next drowning, explosion, or fatal knife wound happened. “Hitmen don’t die peacefully in their sleep,” he says in a loading screen. He spent 300 years unaware of his inhumanity and his past until his programming failed.

The corruption of Revenant’s systems forced him to relive the lives (and deaths) of which he had little recollection. “300 years of death, of fear, of terror all rushed back in a single, solitary second,” he tells Loba in The Broken Ghost. “It’s hell. Every second of my existence is hell.”

As a character, Revenant’s biggest conflict only started to take shape long after the end of his human life—if there was ever any humanity to Kaleb Cross.


Dot Esports is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more
related content
Read Article Oversight Women’s Series is bringing ALGS-style competition to Apex’s female pros
An image of a female character in apex legends holding a weapon
Read Article How to fix the error code Clog in Apex Legends
Mirage, Rampart, and Crpyto lean over in the Apex Legends season 20 graphic.
Read Article Apex leaks hint at new legend who looks straight from the Void
Void Apex
Related Content
Read Article Oversight Women’s Series is bringing ALGS-style competition to Apex’s female pros
An image of a female character in apex legends holding a weapon
Read Article How to fix the error code Clog in Apex Legends
Mirage, Rampart, and Crpyto lean over in the Apex Legends season 20 graphic.
Read Article Apex leaks hint at new legend who looks straight from the Void
Void Apex
Author
Pedro Peres
Pedro is Dot Esports' Lead Destiny Writer. He's been a freelance writer since 2019, and legend has it you can summon him by pinging an R-301 or inviting him to run a raid in Destiny 2 (though he probably has worse RNG luck than the D2 team combined). When he's not shooting Dregs, you can see him raising the dead in Diablo IV, getting third-partied in DMZ, or failing a stealth heist in Payday 3. Find his ramblings on his Twitter @ggpedroperes.