Apex Legends Season 4's The Sentinel Is Another Sniper Rifle With A Unique Charging Mechanic

As we learned through the Season 4 Reveal Devstream, Apex Legends Season 4: Assimilation will add plenty of new content to Respawn's battle royale, including a brand-new sniper rifle. Although datamined assets and recent gameplay changes seemed to hint that Titanfall 2's Volt SMG would be the next weapon added to Apex Legends, Respawn revealed the new weapon is actually the Sentinel. [Update: Apex Legends Season 4: Assimilation is now live--read up on all the new changes in the Season 4 patch notes and check out the Battle Pass rewards gallery.]

"The Sentinel is a new sniper rifle--it's a bolt action sniper rifle," Apex Legends design director Jason McCord said during the stream. "So it feels really powerful, it's got that cool animation where you cock it back, and it's a little different than our other sniper rifles because it has a charge mechanic."

Given that Season 3: Meltdown already added a sniper rifle that requires charging, the Charge Rifle, it's not immediately clear how the Sentinel differentiates itself--though it seems like the new weapon will behave similarly to a Triple-Take or Peacekeeper that has a Precision Choke attachment equipped. "Don't wanna go too deep on [the charge mechanic] right now but it does give you a little more decision-making to do whenever you're taking those shots." McCord said. "Do you really want to try and take the most powerful shot you can take right now?"

Follow-up comments from Apex Legends community manager Jay Frechette seem to support the idea that the Sentinel is a sniper rifle that can fire quick but weak shots or a charged but slow single shot without the need for any attachments. "I've enjoyed playing with [the Sentinel] a lot as well," he said. "It has that neat twist of almost having another fire mode."

Respawn community coordinator Jason Garza also noted the fun he's been having with it, responding to a Reddit thread about a previous leak that mistakenly included a shot of the Sentinel. "Lol, I've been quiet about this one, but I messed up when I was capturing a Crypto finisher and it shipped with that weapon showing," he wrote. "But then I was like, meh. I'll let you guys have fun figuring it out. Gotta say, you all didn't disappoint. But this weapon is amazing, favorite gun for me ATM. Can't wait for you guys to use it."

Season 4: Assimilation will also see the return of Kings Canyon and the addition of a brand-new playable character, Forge. Assimilation begins on February 4.