Respawn Writer Reveals Why Pathfinder Is Affected By Nox Gas

If there's one thing that gamers love to dig into, it's the logic and lore behind their favorite characters. Apex Legends fans are no different in this regard, as proven when one gamer reached out to one of the game's writers with a question about the character Caustic. In Apex Legends, Caustic releases a gas that can damage the other Legends, even if they seem to have ample protection from such an attack.

This fan asked Respawn writer Tom Casiello, "what out of interest is your logic that Path, Rev and Blood could be affected by Caustic's Nox gas?"

"You mean his corrosive gas that eats through clothes, skin and metal, unless countered by a chemical compound only he possesses so it doesn't affect him?" responded Casiello. "That Nox gas?"

So there you have it, folks. According to writer Tom Casiello, Caustic not only created the Nox gas, but he invented a special chemical compound that counteracts the gas' deadly effects. This would make a lot of sense, considering the fact that Caustic is meant to be a chemical engineering genius. Of course this Legend would have devised a way to keep himself safe from his own big bad chemicals. It also goes a long way toward explaining just what the chemicals used in the Nox gas actually do. Rather than functioning like a sedative of some kind, the Nox gas actually has acidic properties, slowly eating away at any materials it comes in contact with.

This explains why Bloodhound's mask doesn't offer much help. Sure, the mask can filter the gas fumes, but it doesn't do much to stop it from burning away at the unfortunate Legend that's stuck in the path of the gas.

Likewise, Revenant's reaction to the gas makes more sense. Even though Revenant used to be a human, his organic processes have all been replaced by machinery. But he doesn't have to be able to breathe to be affected by a chemical compound that eats through his metallic body. And poor Pathfinder, who is certainly all-metal, would basically be stopped in his tracks by the gas.

It has been pointed out by a few fans that this explanation doesn't entirely make sense. As one fan tweeted, "I'm just echoing what someone said on Reddit but why does it not eat through structures then? A corrosive has that eats through metal and clothes, Wattson fences and people... But buildings are fine? Hmmmm."

The gamer who originally asked Casiello about the gas' properties actually defended the writer on this point, mentioning that this all comes down to the fickle concept of "Gameplay logic."

While it seems like a bit of a cop out, that's actually a fairly excellent point. Sometimes something just has to make enough sense for the game to work on its own terms. For instance, it's easy to be upset about not being able to pull off the insane moves that your character appears to be capable of in cutscenes (which is such a common complaint that there's a whole TV Tropes page on it), but then you're kind of missing the point.

It's great that the writers for Apex Legends were able to offer an explanation for this apparent gap in logic, even if it doesn't exactly cover all of the bases. Casiello even mentioned that this problem was addressed in the writer's room a long time ago, but it's never come up in public before. It seems like Casiello enjoyed taking the opportunity to expand on the lore of the game in a public way. In fact, the writer even offered a possible tease of plot threads to come.

Unable to resist a second round of questioning, the original poster questioned why Caustic is always seen wearing his goggles and gas mask, with no options of looking underneath. The question here is, does the Toxic Trapper ever take those things off? This is especially interesting if Caustic is supposed to be completely immune to the Nox gas.

"He does wear them all the time," responded Casiello. "I'll bet you he has a reason for that. I wonder when we'll find out what it is?"

This is an interesting answer for multiple reasons. For one, it suggests that Caustic still has a few secrets up his sleeve, otherwise why would he be wearing those safety precautions all the time? What's wrong with his face? It also implies that there may be some story expansions coming soon to Apex Legends in regards to Caustic and his past. This is a tantalizing tease for fans of the series and the character.