Apex Legends may have burst onto the scene as a polished showstopper with all sorts of tricks up its sleeve, but it’s only grown more layered, balanced, and accessible over time. What’s more, the playerbase has grown and developed right along with the game – and after many hundreds of hours played, I’m happy to say I’m in a pretty great position to impart a number of practical Apex Legends tips and tricks for all players who are joining us for Season 7.
These tips will take you through every aspect of Apex Legends, from team compositions to consistently winning fights, and much more. Let’s get stuck in!
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Apex Legends is a team-based hero-based battle royale, where 60 players drop down onto the same map, loot up, and fight until just one team is left standing. Here are some practical tips and tidbits of advice for players who are having trouble consistently winning fights and matches.
- Apex rewards aggressive players. Practice quickly switching between weapons and continuing to pressure and damaging enemies, rather than getting stuck in a loop of popping out of cover, spraying, and hiding again to reload and heal.
- Most players will push if they score a good hit on an enemy. If you’re hit hard, do whatever you can to maintain a presence and keep the enemy from pushing you. Sometimes it’s best to continue fighting and risk getting knocked.
- Loot as quickly as you can, and don’t stay still while looting. Trust your initial scan of the items in a death box, rather than spending ages dawdling. Be disciplined with your loot time, and don’t go back for a second look.
- Wide flanks are risky, but powerful as long as you have enough distance and cover that the enemy can’t pounce on one of you while you’re split. Make sure you maintain line of sight with allies if you do choose to flank.
- The key to winning matches in Apex is snowballing from a good early start. Play aggressively after your initial looting, earn some kills to boost your confidence, and quickly move on. Olympus in particular is a great map for roaming and hunting.
- Good positioning means three things: an unexpected vantage point on your enemy; multiple options for solid cover; and a “fall back and heal” route if things go wrong. If any one of these is absent, you don’t have a great position from which to engage an enemy team. Legends with team-repositioning abilities (Horizon, Octane, Pathfinder, and Wraith) should take responsibility for this analysis.
The various Apex Legends characters each bring their own unique skillset to the team, and there are a huge number of opportunities for synergising abilities and great team plays. Take a look at the below character tips for everything you need on this important aspect of Respawn’s battle royale.
- I’d strongly urge every time to have at least one good mobility-focused ability, preferably one which the entire team can use. Quick repositioning is a huge part of staying alive.
- The second thing I look for in a good team composition is scouting potential. Bloodhound and Crypto are both indispensable team players thanks to their ability to highlight threats in advance.
- Despite attempts to balance hitboxes, the fact remains that those with small or irregular hitboxes (especially Wraith and Pathfinder) have a huge advantage in fights, particularly when combined with fast strafing and hipfiring with a pistol, shotgun, or SMG.
- When aiming down sights at an ally, their name tag disappears, making it harder to tell friend from foe. At the start of each match, make a point of committing to memory not only your teammates’ Legends, but their Legend skins as well, so you can quickly tell them apart from enemies in hectic close-quarters situations.
Loot is a cornerstone of almost every battle royale, and Apex Legends is no exception. There’s so much to learn about the various weapons and equipment you can find throughout each match, but the below tips will highlight the essentials.
- To maximise your chances of consistent victories in battle, you should have at least one automatic weapon, and preferably two – unless you are adept at landing shots very quickly with a Wingman or a Scout.
- Attachments should be prioritised for some weapons more than others. For example, the Volt is fairly accurate to begin with, so you should prioritise placing a Barrel Stabiliser on your Carbine instead.
- In close quarters, the R-99, Prowler, and Peacekeeper reign supreme. For mid-range, the R-301 Carbine, Flatline, Hemlok, and Scout are best. At long range, Charge Rifles, Krabers, and Sentinels are ideal.
- All Body Shields in Apex Legends can be levelled up by scoring enough damage, up to a maximum of Red Shields which provide 125 extra HP. This means while looting you should also look to swap to an equivalent-colour Body Shield if it requires less damage before levelling up.
- The levelling up of Body Shields means there is some merit to taking long-range sniper shots at a distance, even if you don’t intend to follow up your shots by closing that distance.
- There is merit to picking either a Gold Shield or a Red Shield. Red gives you more hit points for a spray-down encounter, while Gold Shields allow you to heal much more efficiently given the chance. Both have their favourable situations.
- Knockdown Shields aren’t just for protecting the wearer: you can also take cover behind the Knockdown Shield of your own knocked teammate in dire situations. I’ve seen many a fight won with this tactic.
- It’s well worth accruing crafting materials and spending them at a Replicator for Shield Batteries and other powerful items you won’t find elsewhere. Let the placement of Crafting Materials influence your choice of landing spot for each match.
The best teams in Apex Legends can quickly analyse their situation and figure out whether to fight or reposition in a moment’s notice. With these practical tips, you too can learn this vital skill.
- With three teams remaining, you should be very careful deciding whether or not to engage. The advantage will always go to the last team to enter a three-way fight. Look to escape instead of fight if you’re not the final team of the three to start firing.
- If you’re about to third-party a fight that isn’t yet finished, analyse the situation and target the team with the highest chances of victory. Targeting the wrong team first is the most common downfall of the third-partying tactic.
- If one player is in bad shape and needs to escape a fight, the entire team’s goal should switch to accommodate this. Other healthier teammates should either look to escape with them, or find safe ways to stall and push back against the enemy team using abilities or a well-timed burst of gunfire.
- This was mentioned earlier, but: if you lack nearby cover (or you have to share cover with a teammate), it’s a sign that you’re not in a great position to engage in a fight. Don’t let yourself get caught in an easily punishable space.
Let’s finish up with a couple of useful tips to bear in mind about communicating and working with your team over the course of an Apex Legends match.
- You can Ping so many different things in Apex Legends. You can ping loot, enemies, supply bins, Bloodhound tracks, Wraith portals… But you can also use pings inside your inventory to request ammo, a gun, or a specific attachment. Don’t let a lack of voice comms hinder your team’s chances of victory.
- If you are using voice chat, and you’re serious about trying to win the match, you should keep up a steady stream of information both in and out of combat. Your teammates should know where you are in relation to them without them having to take their eyes off their goal to look for you.
You’ve reached the end of our Apex Legends tips and tricks! Hopefully you’ve learnt one or two new things that you can take into battle next time you drop down onto Olympus. But that’s not the extent of our knowledge; we have dozens of focused guides on everything from guns and attachments to characters and abilities. Take a look below for our full list of Apex Legends guides!
