With 25 million players in its first week, the success of Apex Legends can’t be overstated.
The newest of battle royale games, it’s unique in that each player chooses one of eight legends, and each one has unique abilities.
In other words, it’s the perfect cross between Overwatch and Fortnite.
It’s available on PC as well as Xbox One and PS4. Whether you’re about to jump into your first battle or you’re trying to improve your game, you’ve come to the right place.
Read this guide to learn the basics of the game, as well as learn which of the eight legends is right for you.
Character Selection in Apex Legends
If you’ve played before, feel free to skip this section.
You play in a squad of three players. This seems to be the ideal number: it’s a refreshing change to play together, in contrast to Fortnite’s free-for-all format.
Using only three players also seems to work better than Overwatch’s six-player format because it’s much easier to get three players to cooperate than six.
It allows for a much lower chance that your squad is going to have people throwing the game. And it’s much easier to find a group of two other friends to play with than five, meaning a better chance for full control of your squad.
Once paired with a team, the order to select characters is randomly chosen.
That means you’ll need to have a backup choice (or two) in case you’re selected third, and your primary choice is already taken.
One thing to note is you can select a character to display as your primary legend.
This way, you can let your teammates know what character you’d like to choose, which might dissuade them from picking your primary legend. If you don’t set a character to display, it defaults to your legend from the last match.
Note that the total number of kills displayed on the intro screen is per character.
So you can easily have a player that’s level 50 with 0 kills if they’re forced to select a character they never play (or if they’re trying to master someone new).
Finally, note that each character has a symbol next to their name, letting you know their primary function. There’s offensive (a bullet symbol), defensive (a shield symbol), or support (a first-aid symbol) — although since Bloodhound is a sort of hybrid character, he has his own symbol.
Ideally, a team will have one of each.
Without further ado, here are the eight options you have to choose from (and the benefits of each one).
Bloodhound
Bloodhound is unique in that he’s primarily offensive, but he also has abilities that support his team. Because of this, the team places him in his own category, “tracker”. His skills allow you to locate enemies — either to hunt down or to hide from.
Tracker (Passive)
With this skill, you’ll see signs of recent enemy activity.
It shows footsteps, blood where they took damage, and doors that were opened. If you use the ping feature, they’ll also appear on your teammates’ maps.
Eye of the Allfather (Active)
This skill scans the area around you for clues.
It will briefly show you any clues, enemies, and traps — ping these if you want your teammates to see them as well. If there are any enemies close enough, you can see them through walls, too.
Beast of the Hunt (Ultimate)
With this ability, your vision will shift to black and white, with any nearby enemies displaying in red. It also increases your movement speed and lets you see through Caustic’s smoke. And it lets you see older enemy tracks.
Bloodhound offers a lot of range. He works well for offensive types who want to track down and kill enemies. He also works well as a defensive character to mark potential enemy locations if you’re looking for a safe space to hide and shoot.
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a defensive character that acts like a moving tank. If you’re looking for someone offering a lot of shields, this is your pick.
Gun Shield (Passive)
Simple but effective, this ability puts up a gun shield while you’re aiming down the sites. It works to block some enemy fire while you are firing.
Note that it won’t block all damage, and it will be shattered after you undergo enough fire.
Dome of Protection (Active)
Use this ability to throw a force field large enough to fit your entire team and lasts for 15 seconds. While gunfire can’t penetrate, you and enemy forces can travel beneath it.
It also makes aiming at you more difficult by slightly obscuring vision.
Defensive Bombardment (Ultimate)
Gibraltar’s ultimate is a fire strike on a selected area. Note that the bombs aren’t strong enough to kill enemies on its own, so only use it to pressure the enemy team or on a team weakened in a fight.
If you’re looking for a great front line character that can take a punch and distract the enemy team, he’s the perfect choice for you.
Lifeline
Often ranked the game’s number one legend and the game’s only healing character, it’s refreshing to see a support character that’s so powerful.
Whether you want to play a support character to keep your teammates healed up or just want the ability to run off and heal on your own, Lifeline works great in a variety of roles.
Combat Medic (Passive)
This amazing passive lets you use your healing items 25% faster, which can be the difference between life and death in a team fight.
You also revive your teammates faster and deploy a small shield while reviving. While enemies can walk through the shield, it can buy you the few extra seconds you need to complete a successful revive.
D.O.C. Heal Drone (Active)
This ability deploys Lifeline’s Drone of Compassion (DOC), which heals nearby teammates over time. It can easily help you recover after a team fight without wasting items, or you can use it to survive a team fight longer.
Care Package (Ultimate)
Her ultimate ability summons a care package in an area nearby of your choosing.
It typically contains defensive, high-level loot as well as weapon attachments. Great for yourself and your teammates, but be warned — while it drops, it’s highly visible to the enemy team and may make you a quick and easy target.
This is the first character that you’ll play in the game in training mode, and she’s surprisingly versatile. Lifeline should definitely be a staple member of any Apex Legends team.
Pathfinder
The team’s second support character, Pathfinder is a great legend once you get a handle of his abilities.
Insider Knowledge (Passive)
This ability lets you find the location of the next ring by scanning the floating survey beacons nearby. This lets you get a head-start on heading to the next ring location so you can hopefully set up before the others arrive.
Grappling Hook (Active)
Use your grappling hook to cover a lot of ground quickly. It also lets you make a quick escape if you’re losing a team fight. Or, you can use it to swing from high up in the air.
Zipline Gun (Ultimate)
This works like your active ability but puts in a yellow zip line that anyone is able to use.
Unfortunately, your enemies can use it as well. Use it to move your entire team quickly — be that to get the high ground, escape a losing fight, or quickly get within the ring.
If you like characters with great mobility, Pathfinder is definitely the choice for you.
Wraith
Wraith is an offensive character and is often considered one of the best legends in the game. However, she has a steep learning curve. If you can learn to master her abilities, you’ll be winning games in no time.
Voices from the Void (Passive)
With this ability, you’ll get warned when enemies are nearby, as well as if another player has spotted you. While it doesn’t inform you as consistently as Bloodhound, it’s still a handy skill to have.
Into the Void (Active)
Probably her most useful skill, this ability allows Wraith to travel through the shadow realm.
This means for a few vital seconds, she turns invisible and will not take any damage, and experience an increased movement speed. Warning — you’ll leave a trail behind, so you aren’t totally invisible, and the ability takes a second to kick in, so it won’t always save you from lethal damage.
Dimensional Rift (Ultimate)
When you use this ability, you’ll open up a temporary (60 seconds) portal between where you started the ability and where you end the ability.
Then, teammates can move between portals in the shadow realm. That’s right — that means they’ll move faster and be invulnerable while traveling through your portal.
If you want an offensive hero with unique abilities that can get you out of a fight in a pinch, Wraith is the undeniable choice.
Bangalore
The most aggressive legend in the game, I’ve never played with a Bangalore that doesn’t run straight into the fight.
Doubletime (Passive)
Part of what makes Bangalore such a great aggressive character is her passive ability. If you take fire while running, you move more quickly. This lets her get in and out of conflict situations faster than any other character.
Smoke Launcher (Active)
This move deploys a smoke grenade in the surrounding area. That way you can make a quick escape or use the hidden time to revive one of your teammates.
But be warned that this also obscures your vision, so use it cautiously.
Rolling Thunder (Ultimate)
Similar to Gibraltar’s ultimate but much more powerful, it launches missiles surrounding Bangalore which start to explode after a delay. Again, it’s best to distract enemies or to finish off weak ones.
If you like to play offensively and be at the center of the action, choose Bangalore as your legend.
Caustic
Note that Caustic is one of two characters that must be unlocked — you don’t start out with him available to play. You can either pay 12,000 Legend Tokens (free in-game, and you’ll have enough coins by level 23), or 750 Apex Coins (about $7.50).
If you’re willing to pay or to wait, he makes a great legend choice. This defensive character uses toxic gas to control the map.
Nox Vision
This skill lets you see through the toxic gas that Caustic deploys. This gives him a huge advantage: you can sneak up on players that can’t even see you.
Nox Gas Trap
Caustic has 6 trap canisters, and each time you use the ability you lay down two of them. When one of your enemies gets near or shoots at your trap, they’ll deploy toxic gas that makes it impossible to see and damages them.
Use this time for a sneak attack or to get away quickly.
Nox Gas Grenade
Similar to the gas trap, this deploys a large toxic smoke grenade. This ability covers a substantial area and is best for defending a point.
If you like map control, Caustic makes a great choice. He’s also a good pick for those who like to set up traps and bunker down in a building — which is how most games will end eventually, anyway.
And he’s generally considered to be the better one to purchase.
Mirage
Mirage is a stealthy offensive character that has to be unlocked just like Caustic. Note that by level 43, you’ll have enough Apex Coins to unlock both legends.
If you can get over the annoyance of him talking about “bamboozling” his enemy every few seconds, he makes a great choice for flanking.
Encore!
This skill automatically activates when knocked down by an enemy. You project a decoy of yourself and become invisible. Ideally, you can use this time to crawl away for a revive.
Psyche Out
This skill creates a decoy that walks forward in front of you.
When enemies shoot your hologram, it reveals your location. So use your decoy to pull enemies out of their position or to distract them from firing at you and your teammates.
Vanishing Act
Sort of a combination between the other two abilities, this sends out multiple decoys and turns you invisible.
Unfortunately, more experienced players are unlikely to fall for these decoys because they run straight into walls or other objects. It’s best to use your decoys in open areas for maximum deception.
If you enjoy deceptive characters (like the Spy in TF2), Mirage is probably your best bet.
Go Out There and Become a Champion!
Now you know the best Apex Legends character to choose for your next battle. If you enjoy battle royale game mode, check out our guide to becoming a PUBG master.
Did we miss something? Or do you have a unique strategy you’d like to share with us? Contact us or leave a message below!
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