Overview
A guide for all the stuff that the tutorial doesn’t tell you.
Introduction
Hey there, this is my first ever guide so please leave feedback if it was helpful!
On too it:
Apex Legends is a 60 player, squad based battle royale set in the Titanfall universe so if you are familiar with that game then the basics of movement, weapons and legend abilities will be familiar.
The game is coming up on its 2 year anniversary and was just brought to Steam with Season 7. However, the game can appear complicated and daunting to new comers. While there is a very high skill ceiling and movement is very important for higher level play, there is nothing to say you won’t have fun as you grow.
There are three full time game modes:
Duos
Trios
Ranked
There are currently 3 maps: (although there is only ever 2 in rotation and most maps have variants)
Kings Canyon
World’s Edge
Olympus
There are currently 15 legends in the roster (so far, we get one new legend every season). The legends all have a ton of lore that gets flushed out with every new event, quest or feature. Each legend has a passive ability, tactical ability and ultimate ability.
There is a bunch of weapons and loot to go over as well so lets get started with the details. Oh and while this is more meant for beginners, there are some little nuggets of info that even common players don’t realize so pay attention!
**I intend on keeping this up to date as new season and legends come out. If you find something that isn’t in this guide then please let me know and I will update it the next chance I get. Thanks for reading!
Maps
Kings Canyon –
– The above image is the Season 6 and most recent version of the Kings Canyon map. However, it was taken out of rotation with the introduction of Olympus in Season 7. It is likely to come back into rotations or for limited time modes in the future.
– KC is the smallest of the maps and the original map, with two updated versions. Due to the size and lack of cover, this map will be the one where you experience the “third party” most.
– The map is half grass and half sand desert island with some of the best hiding spots in all of the game.
The “hottest” places to land would be Airbase/Gauntlet, Salvage/Market, Artillery/Containment or Capacitor/Labs.
– KC has loot bunkers, flyers, loot ticks and the supply ship to find for some potentially game winning loot.
Loot Bunkers can be opened and entered. Each one around the map has a different gold gun that remains the same through the split of the season.
Loot Ticks are the same design as apex packs. There will make little chittery noises when you are close to them and they shine the color of the tier of loot they contain.
Flyers will also make noise when you are around, except they scream and reveal your location to other players. Sometimes they are in a cage, if so, do not walk in front of the cage or every team within 5 miles will hear it and run your way. The ones not in cages will sometimes have a loot box clenched in their grasp that they will release when shot.
Charge Towers can be found spread around KC in locations that never change. These towers will fill the ultimate bar of any legend standing on the platform when activated. Great way to get your entire team their ultimate ability at the beginning of a match.
The Supply Ship is present at the beginning of the match as the drop ship comes in. It will fly to a point highlighted on the map and land there. Later in the match another will appear and do the same. Both of these will have weapons and other loot, usually at least one high tier piece, and are a magnet that attracts teams to land on them so be weary.
World’s Edge –
– The above image is the Season 6-7 version (the only difference is the rocket took off from launch site and is docked on Olympus.)
– WE is the largest map and was originally introduced in Season 3. This map has also received multiple updated versions.
– Fragment East/West were originally one location called “Capital City” so you will often hear one of those words used as a call out for the location.
– WE is very different from KC. This map features a lot of green grass, geysers, lava, mountains and cities. The mountains are used to divide the map into sections. This can protect from the “third party” but also make your rotations flow through choke points and sometimes go in directions you don’t really want to go.
The “hottest” places to land would be Fragment East/West, Skyhook/Countdown and Sorting/Launch Site/Tree. Don’t be surprised if you have a game where the entire lobby lands between the two cities of Skyhook and Fragment and takes 10 minutes… if you can survive.
– WE has loot vaults and cargo bots. There also used to be a train that acted like the supply ship from KC but was deactivated in the most recent version of WE.
Loot Vaults require a key to be opened. To find a key, you need to find a cargo bot that has one of its lights lit up red. Vault keys take a spot in your inventory but also give a voice line for being picked up and will also display all locked vaults on the map. Once you get to the vault there will be high tier loot. Be wary though, anyone around will try to trap you in there and kill you quickly.
Cargo Bots, as previously stated, will have one of their lights be lit up red when it contains a vault key. This is the only way, aside from killing someone who has an unused key, to get one. However, they also have other loot and it changes tiers all the time. If you watch the bot it will be blue, purple then gold. Gold will last the shortest amount of time and blue will be the longest. To get the ball, show the bot transporting it and they will drop the ball with one shot. If you hit the ball, they will speed up to get away and it will take numerous shots.
Olympus –
– Olympus is the newest map, and I dare say my personal favorite. The map size is debated but it definitely feels quite large.
– Unlike the other two maps, this is a floating city in the sky that was originally meant for the wealthy so the colors and just everything about it are out of this world. But be aware, there is a lot of open space that you can get caught in if you don’t know how to use your abilities and surroundings.
– This map is very, very likely to get updated versions as the others did. There is a piece of lore that says the city is controlled by a computer system that can change the terrain and other stuff based on need, so the door is wide open for what they can do.
– Olympus has some other unique features the other maps don’t but we will get to those in another section.
The “hottest” places to land would be Oasis/Estates, Elysium/Hydroponics, Hammond Labs, Gardens and Bonsai. Honestly, this map has the best spread of loot and Points of Interest that allow the lobby to spread out more than the others.
– There is currently no feature like a supply ship, cargo bot or loot vault. However, the next event (in a few days on 5Jan2021) will introduce MRVNs around the map that will give you loot similar to the others.
MRVN units are going to be spread around the map similar to loot ticks. Just the same, their screen on their chest will show a different face and color that tells you what loot they have. Should you have an arm from another MRVN bot you can give this new one the arm and he will be so thankful, he will give you gold loot regardless of his original tier.
Starter Legends
Apex Legends currently has a roster of 15 legends. When you first start the game you will start with 6, the others can be unlocked by using 750 Apex Coins or 12,000 Legend Tokens. We will start with the starter legends and then go in order of release.
Legend Classes:
– Offensive
– Defensive
– Support
– Recon
*Classes can have a perk that applies to all legends in that class. However, the only perk that currently exists in this fashion is for Recon class legends to scan survey beacons.
Fortified Legends (incoming damage reduced by 15% and not slowed by bullets) :
Gibraltar
Caustic
Low Profile Legends (incoming damage increased by 5%) :
Lifeline
Pathfinder
Wraith
Wattson
Starter Legends:
Bloodhound (Recon)
Passive : Tracker
BH can see clues of actions (such as footprints, doors used, severe bleeding, etc) performed by enemies that occurred within the last 90 seconds and ping them for teammates.
Tactical : Eye of the Allfather
BH will project a cone in front of you to reveal enemies, traps, clues and loot ticks.
The cone is 125 degrees and will scan out to 75 metes.
BH will be notified on screen of how many enemies were picked up and they be revealed for 4 seconds. *The usual 25 second cool down of this ability is reduced to 8 seconds while in ultimate ability.
Ultimate : Beast of the Hunt
This ability takes 180 seconds to charge and lasts for 35 seconds. Downing an enemy will extend the ultimate by 5 to 15 seconds, depending on how much time is left. In this ability your speed will increase by 30% and your vision turns black and white with the exception of enemies and their footsteps which glow red.
Gibraltar (Defensive)
Passive : Gun Shield
When aiming down sight, his gun shield pops up to protect the upper half of his body and block incoming shots and allow him to shoot out. The shield has 50 HP and does not have bleed through damage. If broken, it takes 9 seconds to recharge.
Tactical : Dome of Protection
Gibby will throw a dome shield with a radius of 6 meters and last for 12 seconds. The dome will block any damage from entering or leaving it. While in the dome, Gibby can get a fast revive with a shorter 5 second animation (versus the usual 7 seconds) and anyone inside the dome can use a heal 15% faster.
Ultimate : Defensive Bombardment
This ability takes 270 seconds to charge and lasts for 6 seconds. A smoke grenade is thrown that marks a 24 meter radius for a mortar strike. The strike does 40 damage per hit, as well as shell shocking.
Lifeline (Support)
Passive : Combat Revive
This ability allows Lifeline to run up to a downed teammate and tap the revive button, deploying DOC to revive the teammate behind a shield leaving Lifeline free to fight versus a normal revive. The revive is a 5 second fast revive and the shield blocks incoming damage.
Tactical : DOC Healing Drone
Placing the drone will connect to and heal any player that is within 3 meters of it. The drone lasts 20 seconds and can deal health at 7.5HP per second with a max of 150HP. The drone can not be moved once placed and only heals health, not shields.
Ultimate : Care Package
This ability takes 360 seconds to charge and takes 15 seconds to land once called in. Lifeline’s care package is blue (not orange like game drops). The care package will have a level 3 shield, helmet or knockdown in slot 1, heals in slot 2 and a level 3 weapon attachment in slot 3.
Pathfinder (Recon)
Passive : Insider Knowledge
Pathfinder can use a survey beacon to reveal the next round’s safe zone. However, using this also fully charges Path’s ultimate ability as well as reduces the cool down by 10 seconds for every scan with a max of 6 times. This can lower his ultimate cool down from 120 second to 60 seconds.
Tactical : Grappling Hook
The grapple has a max length of 21 meters and will attach to the first item, player or zipline that it hits. You can aim your grapple and air strafe to get massive momentum and control. The cool down currently ranges from 10 seconds to 30 seconds and all depends on the distance that you traveled.
Ultimate : Zipline Gun
This ability takes 120 seconds to charge, but can be lowered to 60 seconds using survey beacons, and activates almost immediately. You can create a zipline up to 100 meters, with 4 active on the map at once and can be used by any player.
Wraith (Offensive)
Passive : Voices from the Void
When a trap is around, an enemy aims at you or people have died around your area then Wraith will get a warning voice in her head that can be shared to the team to warn them of danger.
Tactical : Into the Void
There is a 1.25 second animation of wraith focusing and then a .5 second animation of activation. When activating, speed is slowed by 20% but once activated, a speed boost of 30% is granted for duration. Upon activating you will be in the void for 4 seconds and you will be invulnerable to all damage. Enemy players can see a blue trail of where you run. You can see them but you can not interact with anything in the world such as enemies, doors or ziplines while in the void.
Ultimate : Dimensional Rift
This ability takes 210 seconds to charge and lasts for 60 seconds. Wraith will create a portal and can place the ends up to approximately 75 meters apart. Players passing through this portal move at 5x speed and do not take damage. The portal can be used in either direction and by anyone. Players using the portal will be visible by a blue trail similar to wraith’s tactical. Wraith can skip the 1.5 second focus animation of her tactical by using these simultaneously.
Bangalore (Offensive)
Passive : Double Time
If Bang is shot or a shot/grenade just misses her she will given a 30% speed increase for 2 seconds. This ability has a cool down of only a couple seconds.
Tactical : Smoke Launcher
Two smoke grenades that take 23 seconds to evaporate. Canisters can deal 10 damage to players.
Ultimate : Rolling Thunder
Call in an artillery strike that starts where you mark and lays down a 6×6 square in a wave pattern for 70 meters. The missiles land for 4 second then explode, each doing 40 damage and shell shocking.
Unlocked Legends Thru Season 3
Caustic (Defensive)
Passive : Nox Vision
Caustic is immune to his and enemy gas. Enemies (except other caustics) are highlighted green when in gas similar to a digital threat sight.
Tactical : Nox Gas Trap
Caustic can hold 3 barrels, but deploy up to 6 at a time. Gas slows enemies and prevents sprinting. Gas deals health damage, ignoring shields. Traps float on water and can be destroyed by shooting the bottom.
Ultimate : Nox Gas Grenade
Takes 150 seconds to charge and lasts for 20 seconds.
Mirage (Offensive)
Passive : Now You See Me…
When downed, Mirage deploys a decoy and cloaks himself for 5 seconds. Mirage can also cloak when reviving or respawning a teammate.
Tactical : Psyche Out
Creates a duplicate hologram of Mirage. Decoy will have the same posture and momentum of Mirage when deployed. Decoys can not climb, use doors or ziplines. Decoys have 45HP. Deploy can be controlled to mimic Mirage. Can be activated while skydiving.
Ultimate : Life of the Party
Takes 60 seconds to charge, cloaks for 1 second while summoning 6 decoys around mirage that mimic his movements. Decoys have 45 HP.
Octane (Offensive)
Passive : Swift Mend
While not taking damage, Octane restores 1HP per second.
Tactical : Stim
Activating stim will grant a 30% normal movement speed increase and a 40% sprinting speed increase. Reduces (not removes) slow effects on activation.
Ultimate : Launch Pad
Takes 60 seconds to charge. Place up to 4 launch pads that have 200 HP. Anyone can use a jump pad. Will launch you in the direction you were moving and will give you one double jump. Jumping before hitting the pad will increase your arc height.
Wattson (Defensive)
Passive : Spark of Genius
Can store 2 ultimate accelerants in one inventory slot. Ultimate accelerants fully charge her ultimate regardless of percent needed. Perimeter Security has 3 sec cooldown (vs 30sec) when near interception pylon.
Tactical : Perimeter Security
Place up to 12 nodes. Nodes connect to form electric fences that deal 15 damage and slow effect. Nodes can be up to 20 meters apart. Nodes have 25 HP and deploying a new node beyond the max will delete the oldest node.
Ultimate : Interception Pylon
Takes 180 seconds to charge and lasts for 90 seconds. You can place a max of 3 pylons. Pylons recharge 2 shields per second, have 150 HP and is neutral. There are two radius points on the ground. Any ordnance outside the larger will not penetrate, any inside the smaller will not escape.
Crypto (Recon)
Passive : NeuroLink
Crypto’s drone highlights doors, bins, traps and enemies. Crypto and his team can see what the drone sees within 30 meters.
Tactical : Surveillance Drone
Crypto can fly his drone up to 200 meters. The drone can ping enemies within 125 meters. When not in the drone, it will hover where last operated unless recalled or destroyed. Drone has 60 HP. Drone can open doors, get banners, respawn teammates and reloads crypto’s weapon while in flight.
Ultimate : Drone EMP
Takes 180 seconds to charge and takes 3 seconds to detonate. Requires drone being deployed. Does 50 shield damage to enemies and crypto. Does not damage teammates. Slows enemies for 2 seconds.
Unlocked Legends Thru Season 7
Revenant (Offensive)
Passive : Stalker
Crouch walking speed is the same as walking speed. Can climb walls 2x higher (10-11m) and 25% faster.
Tactical : Silence
Orb that lasts for 10 seconds on ground. Orb does 10 damage and prevents all abilities for 20 second when an enemy touches it.
Ultimate : Death Totem
Takes 180 seconds to charge and lasts for 30 seconds. Totem has 100 HP. Any player can use totem. When activated player enters shadow mode and has 100 HP. Shadows can not heal. If shadow is defeated they return to totem with 50 HP less than when they activated it.
Loba (Support)
Passive : Eye for Quality
Can see and ping epic and legendary loot through walls and in bins up to 112 meters. Loot ticks and death boxes can not be seen into.
Tactical : Burglar’s Best Friend
Teleportation bracelet that can be thrown 70 meters from ground level or 100 meters from high ground. You can end the bracelet early. Where ever it lands, Loba teleports too.
Ultimate : Black Market Boutique
Takes 90 seconds to charge, however, Loba starts the match with 50% charged. Market has 100 HP and can be used by anyone. Market has a range of 112 meters and can grab any loot that is not closed in a care package, loot tick or cargo bot. Unlimited ammo can be taken. Limit of 2 items other than ammo.
Rampart (Defensive)
Passive : Modded Loader
Increases magazine size by 15% and decreases reload time by 25%. Applies to LMGs and Shiela only.
Tactical : Amped Cover
Can hold 3 walls, place a max of 5. Walls have 400 HP while the amped barrier has 175 HP. Barrier takes 3 second to deploy and can be destroyed with 1 shot during that time. Boosts outgoing damage by 20%.
Ultimate : Emplaced Minigun “Shiela”
Takes 120 second to charge, can place a max of 3 turrets. Shiela has 350 HP. Requires 1.25 second wind up. Infinite reserve ammo. Picking up recharges ultimate by 50% if not used or damaged.
Horizon (Offensive)
Passive : Spacewalk
Increased movement in air (improved air strafing) and reduced slow upon landing from high places.
Tactical : Gravity Lift
Anti Gravity lift that lasts for 10 seconds. Can lift any player up to 30 meters off the ground.
Ultimate : Black Hole
Takes 120 seconds to charge and lasts 12 seconds. Newt has 200 HP. Enemies pulled in by Newt are highlighted to any teammate with a line of sight.
Gear
There are 5 levels of Gear in Apex Legends :
– Level 1 is Common (Gray)
– Level 2 is Rare (Blue)
– Level 3 is Epic (Purple)
– Level 4 is Legendary (Gold)
– Level 5 is Heirloom (Red)
There are 4 types of Gear in Apex Legends :
– Helmets
– Armor
– Knockdown Shields
– Backpacks
Helmets :
– Level 1: Reduces headshot damage by 20%
– Level 2: Reduces headshot damage by 40%
– Level 3: Reduces headshot damage by 50%
– Level 4: Reduces headshot damage by 50% AND reduces tactical/ultimate recharge time by 20%.
Armor :
– Level 1: Absorbs 50 damage
– Level 2: Absorbs 75 damage
– Level 3: Absorbs 100 damage
– Level 4: Absorbs 100 damage AND syringes/shield cells heal for 50 instead of 25.
– Level 5: Absorbs 125 damage
*Armor in this game, except for Lvl 4 Gold Armor, is evolution armor. Meaning, if you do a certain amount of damage, your shield will auto level up to the next level. You will have to heal that new 25HP of shield though. If an evo shield is dropped or the user dies, the progress carries over to the next wearer.
– Level 0: Deal 100 damage to level up
– Level 1: Deal 150 damage to level up
– Level 2: Deal 300 damage to level up
– Level 3: Deal 750 damage to level up (level 4 evo does not exist, levels to level 5)
Knockdown Shields : (shields are directional protection and reduce movement speed by 55%)
– Level 1: Blocks 200 damage
– Level 2: Blocks 450 damage
– Level 3: Blocks 750 damage
– Level 4: Blocks 750 damage AND can be used to self-resurrect. (ability consumed on use)
Backpacks : (Players start with 10 inventory slots)
– Level 1: Increases to 12 slots
– Level 2: Increases to 14 slots
– Level 3: Increases to 16 slots
– Level 4: Increases to 16 slots AND restores 50 HP and 50 shields, in addition to the 20HP granted, when reviving teammates.
Consumables
Shield Cell :
– 3 seconds to use
– Restores 25 shields
– Spawns in stacks of 2
– Stacks of 4 when in inventory
Shield Battery :
– 5 seconds to use
– Restores 100% of missing shields
– Spawns one at a time
– Stacks of 2 when in inventory
Syringe :
– 5 seconds to use
– Restores 25 HP
– Spawns in stacks of 2
– Stacks of 4 when in inventory
Med Kit :
– 8 seconds to use
– Restores 100% of missing health
– Spawns one at a time
– Stacks of 2 when in inventory
Phoenix Kit :
– 10 seconds to use
– Restores 100% of missing health and shields.
– Spawns one at a time
– Cannot be stacked in inventory.
Mobile Respawn Beacon :
– 15 seconds to deploy, 7 seconds to use
– Can only be used once
– Cannot be stacked in inventory
– Creates a respawn beacon where ever you are
Ultimate Accelerant :
– 7 seconds to use
– Restores 35% ultimate charge (100% charge for Watton, 20% charge for Loba)
– Cannot be stacked in inventory (Wattson can create stacks of 2 in inventory)
Weapons and Throwables
Apex has 3 types of weapons; Normal, Legendary and Supply Drop.
Normal weapons include ARs, SMGs, LMGs, shotguns, snipers and pistols. These weapons are found in “common” state with no attachments or additional ammo.
Legendary weapons are fully kitted versions of normal weapons with the highest quality attachments (that can not be removed).
Supply Drop weapons are heirloom tier weapons that can only be found in care packages and a limited amount of ammo that can not be replenished.
Normal Weapons (Common Tier) :
ARs:
– Flatine: Heavy Ammo, Single Fire or Full Auto, 380 base mag damage capability.
– G7: Light Ammo, Single Fire or 2 round burst, 340 base mag damage capability.
– Hemlok: Heavy Ammo, Single Fire or 3 burst, 396 base mag damage capability.
– R301: Light Ammo, Single Fire or Full Auto, 252 base mag damage capability.
– Havoc: Energy Ammo, Full Auto, 432 base mag damage capability.
SMGs:
– Alternator: Light Ammo, Full Auto, 285 base mag damage capability.
– R99: Light Ammo, Full Auto, 220 base mag damage capability.
– Volt: Energy Ammo, Full Auto, 304 base mag damage capability.
LMGs:
– Devotion: Energy Ammo, Full Auto, 576 base mag damage capability.
– L Star: Energy Ammo, Full Auto, 414 base damage capability.
– Spitfire: Heavy Ammo, Full Auto, 630 base damage capability.
Shotguns:
– Eva 8: Shotgun ammo, Full Auto or 2 burst, 504 base mag damage capability.
– Mozambique: Shotgun ammo, Full Auto, 180 base mag damage capability.
– Mastiff: Shotgun ammo, Single Fire, 624 base mag damage capability.
Snipers:
– Longbow: Sniper ammo, Single Fire, 330 base mag damage capability.
– Triple Take: Sniper ammo, Single Fire, 414 base mag damage capability.
– Sentinel: Sniper ammo, single fire, 280 base mag damage capability.
– Charge Rifle: Sniper ammo, single fire, 360 base mag damage capability.
Pistols:
– Wingman: Heavy Ammo, Single Fire, 225 base mag damage capability.
– P2020: Light Ammo, Single Fire, 180 base mag damage capability.
– RE45: Light Ammo, Full Auto, 192 base mag damage capability.
Supply Drop Weapons (Heirloom Tier) : (One or two of these are rotated back to floor loot in exchange for another weapon sometimes. For Season 7 they removed the R99 and replaced it with the Prowler)
– Kraber: Sniper Rifle, comes with 12 rounds and an exclusive 6x-10x scope, headshot kill, 580 base mag damage capability.
– Prowler: SMG, comes with 210 rounds and a digital threat sight, 5 round burst or full auto, 525 base mag damage capability.
– Peacekeeper: Shotgun, comes with digital threat sight and precision choke for tighter pellet spread, 25 rounds, 660 base mag damage capability.
Legendary Weapons change every season so there is no point to me listing them. (if you are curious, this season is Alternator/G7/Havoc/Sentinel/Wingman) They can be found in high tier loot areas.
Throwables :
– Frag Grenade: 4 second fuse, 10 impact damage and 100 damage within 10m radius. Destroys doors.
– Thermite: Instant fuse, 10m long horizontal wall of fire that is perpendicular from direction thrown, deals 4 damage per tick in flames and over-time burn of 25 damage. Destroys doors and bypasses knockdown shields.
– Arc Star: 2.8 second fuse, 30 impact damage and sticks, 70 damage in 10m radius, slows those effected, deals triple damage to shields. Destroys doors and can be thrown further than other grenades.
Attachments and Hop Ups
Attachments are broken into 5 categories and all are used to improve weapon stats:
– Barrels (less recoil)
– Extended Mag (faster reloads, high mag capacity) [shotgun bolts fit this category]
– Optics (magnification specified)
– Stocks (faster handling, less drift)
– Hop Ups (enhancements)
Barrel Stabilizer :
– Level 1: 10% less recoil and 15 % less randomness
– Level 2: 15% less recoil and 20 % less randomness
– Level 3: 20% less recoil and 30 % less randomness
– Level 4: 20% less recoil and 30 % less randomness AND reduced muzzle flash.
Extended Magazine :
– Level 1: Ammo increase depends on weapon
– Level 2: Ammo increase depends on weapon, slightly faster reloads
– Level 3: Ammo increase depends on weapon, noticeably faster reloads
Shotgun Bolt :
– Level 1: Rate of Fire increase 10% Mozam/Eva, Increase 7.5% Mastiff
– Level 2: Rate of Fire increase 20% Mozam/Eva, Increase 13% Mastiff
– Level 3: Rate of Fire increase 25% Mozam/Eva, Increase 16% Mastiff
Standard Stock :
– Level 1: 15% faster switch speed, reduced aim drift.
– Level 2: 25% faster switch speed, reduced aim drift.
– Level 3: 35% faster switch speed, reduced aim drift.
Optics :
– 1x HCOG: Close Range, All Guns
– 1x Holo: Close Range, All Guns
– 1x Digital Threat: Close Range, Shotguns/SMGs/Pistols, Threat highlighting
– 1x-2x Variable: Close Range, All Guns, Variable Zoom
– 2x Bruiser: Close Range, All Guns
– 2x-4x Variable: Mid Range, Snipers/LMGs/ARs, Variable Zoom
– 3x Ranger: Mid Ranger, Snipers/LMGs/ARs,
– 4x-8x Variable: Snipers, Variable Zoom
– 4x-10x Digital Threat: Snipers, Variable Zoom, Threat highlighting
– 6x Sniper: Snipers
Hop Ups :
– Double Tap Trigger: Fire 2 quick shots with one trigger pull. Compatible w/Eva 8 and G7
– Hammerpoint: Increases unshielded damage. Compatible w/Mozambique and P2020
– Quickdraw: Reduces weapon’s swap time, ADS time and hip fire spread. Compatible w/Wingman and RE 45
– Skullpiercer: Increases headshot damage. Compatible w/Wingman and Longbow
– Turbocharger: Removes weapon charge up time. Compatible w/Devotion and Havoc
Gamemodes
There are 3 full time game modes; Trios, Duos and Ranked. There is also the firing range and Limited Time modes (LTMs).
Firing Range :
Small area where you and 1-2 squad mates can try out every weapon and item. There are multiple targets, dummies that can be activated to attack, a charge tower and you can toggle friendly fire.
* USE THIS * The firing range is a place that you can go at anytime to warm up, practice or just try new things. This is the best spot to call a friend to 1v1 or just practice recoil control for that pesky flatline. Jumping straight into a game is NOT the best tactic. Practice, practice, practice. Even if its for 15min at the start of a session. Do it. (there is an easter egg to get into 3rd person mode and another to activate the dummies in here, check youtube for how to do these)
Trios :
Basic game mode. 20 squads of 3 compete to be the last one standing.
Duos :
Same as trios but with 30 squads of 2.
Ranked :
Ranked is trios but with a cost. There is an entry fee after the initial rank of Bronze. Ranked is broken into two splits every season. Only one map is played per split. Rewards are at the end of the season for the highest rank achieved in either split. Same rank twice gives you animated rewards.
Past LTMs :
– Solos
– Armed and Dangerous (Shotguns and Snipers)
– Shadowfall (killed players return as shadows, final 10 living in lobby become a team and have to escape)
– Gold Rush (all weapons are fully kitted or care package tier)
– Third Person Mode
and so on and so on…
Some LTMs return, although they usually have a few tweaks to change it up, and some have never come back. We usually get a couple LTMs during every season.
Storm and Map Knowledge
You will either have 19 or 29 (depending on if you are in Duos or Trios) teams to deal with off for the match. Last team standing wins.
The first round will begin about 60 seconds after the match has begun.
Storm Damage :
Round 1 – 3min to start closing and 3min 45sec to close. The storm will do 2 damage per tick.
Round 2 – 2min 30 sec to start closing and 45 sec to close. The storm will do 3 damage per tick.
*up to this point* if you are revived in the storm, you will have enough time to get a syringe off and then a med kit. Any zone after this will be too much damage to heal before going down again.
Round 3 – 2min 15 sec to start closing and 45 sec to close. The storm will do 10 damage per tick.
Round 4 – 2min to start closing and 35 sec to close. The storm will do 20 damage per tick.
Round 5 – 1min 30 sec to start closing and 30 sec to close. The storm will do 20 damage per tick.
Round 6 – 1min 30 sec to start closing and 10 sec to close. The storm will do 25 damage per tick.
Round 7 – 2min to start closing and 10 sec to close. The storm will do 25 damage per tick.
Round 8 – 20 sec to start closing and 5 sec to close. The storm will do 25 damage per tick.
When Round 8 closes, there is no space of the map not in storm. The game will end within seconds.
It takes roughly 24 min for this to occur.
Jump Tower :
– These high altitude red balloons are connected to the ground via a vertical zip line. You can interact these and fly to a new zone.
– These take 10 seconds to scale and you will have a trail behind you again like the drop ship drop.
– Geysers can be found on WE that work the same way, just walk into it.
Ziplines :
– There are permanent ziplines around each of the maps to help you traverse. They are faster than running but leave you exposed.
Trident :
– A feature unique to Olympus. This car lets you and your squad traverse the map significantly faster than running.
– You can attach lifeline’s healing drone, gibraltar’s dome shield, caustic’s gas traps and rampart’s shiela turret to the car.
– Trident’s can be disabled by a charged sentinel shot or an arc star.
– Passengers can heal while on the vehicle.
Phase Runner :
– Feature unique to Olympus.
– Connects Hydroponics, Hammond Labs and Rift with a portal similar to Wraith’s Rift. However, you are not immune to damage while in this phase runner.
– There will be an alarm and lights at the end you are about to come out of that will warn others around.
Hot Zone :
At the start of each match there will be a random location that is designated by a pulsing blue circle. Inside this circle will be higher quality loot and possible legendary weapons.
Currency, Cosmetics, Etc.
There are 3 main types of currency in Apex;
– Apex Coins, can only be obtained through real world currency.
– Crafting Metals, obtained through apex packs as a replacement for duplicate items.
– Legend Tokens, you will obtain 600 every time you rank up.
Apex Coin pricing:
– Apex Packs: 100 coins
– Legendary featured/event skins: 1,800 coins
– Epic event skins: 1,000 coins
– Rare event skins: 500 coins
– Legends: 750 coins
– Charms: 500 coins
Crafting Metal pricing:
Common Tier Item: 30 Metals
Rare Tier Item: 60 Metals
Epic Tier Item: 400 Metals
Legendary Tier Item: 1,200 Metals
Legend Tokens pricing:
Legendary Skin Recolors: 6,500 Tokens or 10,500 Tokens
Legends: 12,000 Tokens
First Daily Challenge Reroll: 200 Tokens
Second Daily Challenge Reroll: 500 Tokens
Subsequent Daily Challenge Rerolls: 1,000 Tokens
Apex Packs:
Level 2-20: One pack every level
Level 22-300: One pack every 2 levels
Level 305-500: One pack every 5 levels
* Ranking from Level 1 to Level 500 will give you approx 300,000 Legend Tokens and 199 Apex Packs.
Apex Pack Rarity:
Rare or better: 100%
Epic or better: 24.8%
Legendary: 7.4%
* Apex Packs have bad luck protection, meaning you can not open more than 30 packs without receiving a legendary item.
Heirloom and Heirloom Shards :
– Each Apex Pack has a <1% chance of dropping heirloom shards. Heirlooms cannot be crafted.
– Apex Packs have Heirloom protection as well. A player cannot open more than 500 packs without receiving heirloom shards.
– Once a player has collected all available heirlooms, they are not eligible to get heirloom shards until another set has been added to the game.
Cosmetics :
Legend Skins
Weapon Skins
Heirlooms (also referred to as melee weapons)
Weapon Charms
Skydive Emotes
Skydive Trails (only obtained through ranked rewards)
Finishers
Banner Frames
Banner Poses
Badges
Stat Trackers
Intro Quips
Kill Quips
Loading Screens
Music Packs
Holo-Sprays
Seasons and Events
Season Launches :
– Season Launches are the largest events/updates.
– New seasons bring a new legend
– Potentially new loot items (weapons, ordnance, etc.)
– Major map updates
– Significant balance changes
– Seasons typically run for 11-14 weeks
Themed Events :
– Comes with a Limited Time Mode
– Event challenges that rewards cosmetics
– Mix of event limited and base game cosmetics available in event store
– Sometimes include a small map change such as a town take over.
(town takeovers are small parts of the map changed to model after a specific legend)
Collection Events :
– Come with Limited Time Mode
– Event challenges that rewards cosmetics
– A collection of 24 event limited cosmetic items for direct purchase or through event specific apex packs.
– Collecting all 24 event items will award the featured heirloom.
– Sometimes this includes a small map change or town take over.
Minor Events :
– Minor events usually include a sale for limited time cosmetics and sometimes an LTM.
– They do not include prize tracks for challenges
– Usually shorter in duration than a main event.
* Most seasons have one collection event and one themed event.
Battle Pass :
Battle Pass – unlocks the full season BP for 950 Apex Coins
Battle Pass Bundle – unlocks the full season BP and unlocks 25 levels for 2,800 Apex Coins. (this will carry over, if you are level 10 and purchase then you will be level 35.)
* Battle pass rewards are exclusive to that season and will not return.
Extra Tips and Tricks
In order to stretch out your flight path from the drop ship;
– Drop down and achieve a speed of 145 (on the left side)
– Glide until slowing to 130-135
– Rinse and repeat
Looking up and repeating the above pattern while flying will let you go further off a jump tower.
Spinning while going up a jump tower makes you much harder to hit.
Use your pings if you don’t want to use your mic. There are TONS of pings in this game. You can ping loot, doors, jump towers, lava, death totems, locations to go or attack, enemies etc.
Response Pings can also be used to agree, disagree or dibs pings. RESPECT THE DIBS.
Request Pings can be used to request missing gear or attachments, ammo or health.
Survey Beacons take 7 seconds to use and you are very vulnerable while using.
Every season seems to add more and more legend voice lines that are automatically triggered by teammates, locations and actions. These are tied to the lore and direct relationships of the legends.
Bangalore :
– While you can use your smokes to cover yourself for looting, reviving etc. One of the best uses is to use your smoke grenade on the enemies that are shooting at you. This will cause them to relocate or wait out the smoke while you get away or cross the street.
– Bang’s Ult will explode in the order that it landed, pay attention to this so you can dodge them as they explode if you don’t have enough time to fully escape.
Bloodhound –
– use your tactical scan just before using your ultimate, the ultimate will lower the cool down giving you “an extra” scan.
– while in Beast of the Hunt, slow effects are reduced. You can use this to run through caustic gas and eliminate enemies trying to hide inside.
– BH while in Ultimate is very loud, everyone will hear you coming. Use your speed and slides to get the best momentum on your side.
Caustic :
– Traps can be shot by an enemy player prior to fully inflating and destroyed without popping. The bottom can also have the same effect if the trap is fully inflated.
– Caustic can crouch, look at his feet and drop a trap on himself. This will mostly hide and protect caustic although its most effective while backed into a corner.
Crypto :
– Can use the drone to look at banners and see how many squads are within the range of the drone.
– You can also ping the banner to warn your teammates of how many squads are near.
– Crypto takes coordination. Your EMP is a very powerful tool to push teams but you should coordinate the activation with the moment your team is reaching the enemy.
– If you have a wraith or pathfinder teammate they can put you a zipline or portal so you can stay back to activate the EMP before coming to help.
Gibraltar :
– if a frag or arc lands next to you, crouch and ADS at the grenade to allow your gun shield to absorb all the damage.
– Gibby will turn his back to the direction you were looking when you start a revive in the dome shield.
– Second choice for gold backpack.
Horizon :
– Horizon’s Ult does not deal damage but sucks enemies into it. You can use this to pull enemies from behind cover and into a grenade or your weapons fire.
– Horizon’s soft landing all but removes the sound of her landing or walking up on enemies.
Lifeline :
– Can open the second compartment on blue loot bins.
– Doc will revive a teammate and point the shield in the direction that Lifeline is looking when she taps to revive.
– Absolute FIRST choice for Gold Backpack.
Loba :
– Can steal one item from the loot vault on WE using her black market.
– Can use black market to steal a care package weapon if the care package is opened.
Mirage :
– Decoys automatically ping the location they were shot from
– the circle parts on mirage’s arms will lightly glow blue whenever he is cloaked making him easier to spot.
– Should never pick up a gold helmet unless the rest of the team has one due to the incredibly short time of their abilities already.
Octane :
– Octane’s stim can reduce slow effects. Similar to BH in beast of the hunt trying to penetrate a caustic trap, you can stim once you hit the gas to speed through and get inside.
– Sliding into the jump pad without jumping or double jumping will give you 100% accuracy in the air.
– Should never pick up a gold helmet unless the rest of the team has one due to the incredibly short time of their abilities already.
Pathfinder :
– Your cross hair will turn blue when your grapple is in range of connecting to something. If you want a boost forwards, stare at the ground as far as it will let you and jump as your grapple connects to the ground.
– For THE best pathfinder grapple guide, I highly recommend looking into MokeySniper’s guide on YouTube.
– First for gold helmet tied between Path and Wraith.
Rampart :
– I gotta be honest here. I don’t know squat about Rampart. She is probably the worst legend in the game right now and beyond her usual abilities there isn’t any special tricks or anything to her. As time goes on, if this changes then I will update this section.
Revenant :
– Place a portal from your death totem to where you are attacking so that you can join the fight that much quicker after being reset.
– Crouch walking and climbing walls has virtually no sound for enemies, use this to sneak up behind them.
Wattson :
– Fences automatically ping they have been crossed
– Place fences not just in front of a door to block it, but zigzag the fences throughout the walk ways to help protect against enemies who make it inside.
Wraith :
– If both ends of her portal are in the storm, the portal will disappear in 4 seconds.
– use your portal to get a knocked teammate out of danger, once you and then go back through the portal throw a thermite on the portal to protect you from any enemies that may follow.
– First for gold helmet tied between Path and Wraith.
Ammo :
– Weapons inflict a 10% slow on their target for .25 seconds, every 3 seconds. Does NOT apply to fortified legends.
– Head shots increase the damage dealt (remember, helmet can lower this figure)
– Leg shots lower the damage dealt. Does NOT apply to low profile legends.
Light Ammo :
– Tend to have the fastest fire rate
Heavy Ammo :
– Tend to do more damage per bullet
– Have slower velocity and more pronounced bullet drop
Energy Ammo :
– Have very little bullet drop
– Have the highest bullet velocity in each weapon class
Shotgun Ammo :
– Found in stacks of 8 vs 20 like most ammo
– ADS will tighten the pellet spread
Sniper Ammo :
– Hitscan weapons (charge rifle) do not have bullet drop but do have damage falloff.
All weapons will slow the sprint speed of a legend. Heavier guns, LMGs, slow more than lighter guns, like a pistol.
Weapons also reduce movement further while ADS. (Snipers have the largest combined penalty at 65%)
Wingman, L Star, Longbow, Sentinel and Kraber can open doors by shooting the handle.
Frag Grenades have a 4 second timer, if you practice you can get good at “sky nades”. This is essentially throwing the grenade in such an arc that it explodes just before or as it lands on the ground. This gives enemies zero ability to react and once perfected will grant you 70-100 damage almost all the time.
Arc Stars have a disruptor mechanic. This effectively means that, if close enough, the enemy WILL lose all of their available shields. If you stick someone with this or connect with it, you should immediately push that person as they will have no shields and be stunned for 3 seconds.
Players to watch
Apex has NO shortage of streamers and “sweats”. If you want to check out some streamers to see how they play certain legends or the game then this list is for you. (Most of these people will also have a Youtube channel if you aren’t into Twitch.)
ShivFPS
– This guy is absolutely nuts. He is referred to as the solo queue warlord.
– He is the #1 Bangalore and coming up on 100k kills with her.
– Routinely makes Master in ranked mode but also plays Trios.
TSM ImperialHal
– Hal is… Hal. Widely considered to the best mind in apex. Also happens to be the leader of the best team in apex, TSM.
– Probably the best Wraith in the game, functionally, not for kills.
Apryze
– This man is the #1 wraith for kills. He has surpassed 125k kills with her last i checked.
– Also, the #2 on all platforms for kills in the game with nearly 140k.
– Apryze is very very humble and answers most questions in his chat.
Nokokopuffs
– THIS man, I can not recommend enough. I watch him almost every day.
– Noko is currently on Horizon, and is probably one of the top 3 Horizon players for movement.
– Noko has an amazing YT channel with an entire ranked guide for every ranked and he is currently working on legend specific guides.
– Noko loves to teach. He is constantly telling chat exactly WHY he is doing something or is about to. Again, one of the most articulate minds in Apex when it comes to why you do certain things or giving you tips you never would have known.
Daltoosh
– A controller player on PC that mains Lifeline.
Aceu
– if you don’t know who he is then just go watch and learn. dude is a prodigy.
Albralelie
– formerly on the TSM apex team, now a content creator for TSM
– one of the best aim in Apex, also a disgustingly good Pathfinder.
theKine and Dropped
– both top notch Gibraltar players
This list is not of “Pro’s”. These are every day streamers who I know or play with. These players are great at the game but also great people with amazing and welcoming communities. I want to give them a special shout out and I hope you check them out. You will learn a lot and make some new friends, I promise!
QuitMyDayJ0b
Megalomaniac62
CNG_Mathdude3482
IHaveTheDanks
Staycation
There are TONS of other amazing players and creators out there. IF you would like to check out some others you can leave a comment and I’ll message with you some others.
You can also go to the site “apex tracker” and look at the leaderboards. There you will see who stacks up and where in whatever category you choose. Tons of players can be found on YT and Twitch by searching their name, even if it isn’t linked directly to the tracker.