All Alter abilities and lore in Apex Legends

Apex Legends season 21 is almost here, and Alter is ready to change the game with a set of abilities that can warp the battlefield to her will.

Apex season 21 will begin on May 7. Community members got their first few breadcrumbs when leaks and data mines revealed the beginnings of Alter’s abilities, but Respawn Entertainment has now revealed all that she can do.

All Alter abilities in Apex Legends

Alter’s defining ability is her tactical, Void Passage, which allows her to open a portal through a solid surface which her team—and any other enemy players—can use to pass through that surface. She brings plenty of movement utility to the battlefield and should launch as a strong option for players.

• Class: Skirmisher
• Passive – Gift from the Rift: Alter can interact with a deathbox from a distance and claim one item.
• Tactical – Void Passage: Alter’s tactical creates a portal passageway through a surface up to 20 meters deep. This portal can be used both horizontally and vertically, and can be used by any player, ally, or enemy. After exiting through the portal, players will emerge in phase form for a short time, similar to exiting the Phase Runner on Olympus.
• Ultimate – Void Nexus: Alter creates a regroup point by placing a device in the world that lasts for a period of time. All allies can remotely interact with it by looking at it within a large radius to open a Nexus Relay back to that location. The Nexus Relay persists in the world and can be used by enemies and allies alike to travel back to the regroup point. Every member of Alter’s team can use the Void Nexus once per ultimate placement.

Who is Alter in Apex Legends?

Alter, real name YingLing Lui (雷盈灵), is an interdimensional traveler and assassin who’s managed to break into the current reality of the Apex Games in an attempt to get close to Horizon.

The season 21 teasers began with Olympus appearing in the skies above the various Apex maps through strange, green portals. Shortly after that, Alter’s name briefly appeared in the trailer for the Urban Assault event, replacing Fuse’s at the top of an in-progress leaderboard. That’s not the only place Alter seems to have turned up; her Doc Ock-like claw was also seen in the background of the player lobby. All of these point to Alter being something of a trickster character, as mischievous and she is dangerous.

All the legend portraits on the official Apex website were also graffitied over. Some legends just get symbols, lines, or the devilish mask that’s appeared in other trailers. But a select few legends get taunts and insults. This includes Horizon, whose portrait has an ominous message scribbled over it: “I’m here for you, deary.”

As far as backstory goes, we only know what Alter tells us about herself: that she was a trained assassin who was betrayed, that her parents were kills, that she became an Old Ways hunter, a champion fighter, even a Mahjong champion. None of these backstories are necessarily true, however, as Respawn has described Alter as an unreliable narrator. She is, however, fully fixated on Horizon, which is her reason for entering the Apex Games.

Whatever it is that Alter exactly wants, it’s likely to come to light in season 21, beginning on May 7.