Sounds good, but why does it need legs for an ocean landing?
The legs change the aerodynamics (and the weight distribution) of the booster as it re-enters back into the atmosphere so they have to make sure it’s all going to work during this test.
“Sounds good, but why does it need legs for an ocean landing?”
It doesn’t, this is a test to prove the design for future landings on solid ground.
They want to re-use the rocket, regardless of the outcome of the landing gear deployment test. My understanding is that they are using the water landing as a “softer” place to test the gear. They should be able to confirm proper attitude, deployment, speed, and height at deployment from onboard sensors/recorders.