Apex Legends: Is Crypto Good?
Tae Joon Park, AKA Crypto, is an interesting Legend. Ask the community their thoughts on Crypto and a large portion will say he’s bad, while another portion might say he’s actually really good. So which one is it? Let’s go over Crypto’s kit, his strengths and weaknesses, and determine whether Crypto is as bad as some players say he is or if he’s an underrated star.
Crypto Abilities Overview
Neurolink (Passive)
- Crypto and his teammates see what the Surveillance Drone detects up to a 30m radius
Surveillance Drone (Tactical)
- Deploy an aerial drone. 40-second cooldown if destroyed.
Drone EMP (Ultimate)
- Charge up an EMP blast from your drone. The blast deals 50 shield damage, slows players, and disables traps.
As you can see, Crypto’s kit revolves entirely around his Surveillance Drone. Every single ability is linked to the drone. Next, let’s dive deeper into what these abilities are capable of.
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Click to enlargeNeurolink (Passive)
The most basic of Crypto’s abilities, Neurolink, automatically detects players within a 30m radius of the drone. Detected players will be highlighted for Crypto’s entire team, similar to Bloodhound’s scan. Crypto can still manually ping players, traps, and other items from his drone, but Neurolink is a nice touch.
Surveillance Drone (Tactical)
The main selling point of Crypto’s kit. Surveillance Drone sends a small remote-controlled drone up into the air. Contrary to popular belief, the drone can be used in a plethora of different ways outside of just scouting enemies.
For example, when Crypto’s drone is aimed at any of the banners around the map, the number of hostile squads in that area will be revealed. This information could prove invaluable. It puts you one step ahead of enemy teams that may not know you’re around. Additionally, it lets your team know if it’s safe to loot or not.
Another little known secret relating to Crypto’s drone is its ability to remotely recover teammate’s banners AND revive them. That’s right - Crypto players can send out their drone to retrieve teammate banners from a distance. Oftentimes it’s impossible to physically recover a teammate’s banner. Maybe the enemy team is camping it, or it’s just in a hard to reach location.
With Crypto, players can just send the drone out to retrieve it. And that’s not all. Players can fly the drone to any Respawn Beacon to initiate the revive. All without ever taking a single step. Crypto can use his drone in similar ways to open supply bins and doors.
It’s important to note that the drone does not always need to be actively piloted either. Crypto players can simply leave the drone out for constant monitoring.
Drone EMP (Ultimate)
The sound of a Drone EMP is one of the scariest noises in the game. The EMP has so much utility, and it’s the reason why Crypto is a heavily picked Legend in high-level Apex Legends esports.
When detonated, the Drone EMP deals 50 shield damage to all enemies in the vicinity, slows players, and disables traps. This includes Gibraltar’s Dome Shield, Wattson’s fences, and Caustic’s Nox Traps. Crypto is a hard counter to some of the most annoying and powerful Legends in the game. Additionally, the damage Crypto’s Drone EMP deals actually counts toward his Evo Shield. One well-placed EMP will contribute 150 extra damage toward his Evo. This allows Crypto players to build up to purple and red Evo Shields early in the game.
Crypto’s Drone EMP is insanely powerful when used in collaboration with other Legends’ abilities. Crypto is a mainstay in many different team comps for this reason. One example of this is the Crypto, Revenant, Wraith comp. Crypto initiates the fight with a Drone EMP. This will make the other team weak and destroy any and all of their traps. From there, Wraith, Revenant, and Crypto rush in with a portal and death totem combo. This is an absolutely deadly combination that even the best players in the world have a hard time defending against.
Click to enlargeCrypto’s Weaknesses
While Crypto can be quite powerful, he is not without his flaws. Using the Surveillance Drone leaves Crypto extremely vulnerable. While controlling the drone, Crypto is a sitting duck. And on the flipside, Crypto can’t take advantage of any of his abilities if he never gets a chance to fly the drone around.
Teams will try and take advantage of this. When you see a drone flying around, you know that that team is essentially down a player. Crypto players will need to be aware of this and be ready to exit the drone and help your team. Crypto players have a bad rep for getting tunnel vision in the drone. Don’t leave your teammates to fight 2v3 and make sure you’re well hidden before entering the drone.
Crypto’s drone is also relatively weak. It only has 60 health. Granted, it is difficult to hit, but if destroyed, Crypto has to wait 40 seconds to bring it out again. This is 40 seconds where Crypto essentially has zero abilities.
Finally, Crypto has no movement or escape abilities. Crypto players need to be extremely aware of their positioning during fights. You can't phase shift into the void like Wraith or grapple out like Pathfinder.
If you ask the average player their thoughts on Crypto, they’ll probably say he’s a bad/underpowered Legend. The fact is though; he would not be used at high-levels of play if he wasn’t good. Crypto is just a very difficult Legend to master and use well. Getting the most out of Crypto requires a coordinated team and a Crypto that knows how to use him. Put the time in, and Crypto is one of the strongest Legends in the game.
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Images via Respawn Entertainment