THE FOLLOWING ARE TIPS AND STRATEGIES THAT’LL HELP you kill more enemies, survive longer during matches, and with practice, earn the title “Champion” at the end of a match.
To invite specific online friends to become part of your squad for an upcoming match, from the Lobby screen, click on one of the two Add Friends (+) buttons that are displayed near the center of the screen.
From your list of online friends that’s displayed, choose which friend(s) you want to invite to your squad.
While still aboard the Jump Ship, if you turn around, you can see the enemy squads as they leap off the aircraft and get a good idea of where they’re planning to land.
During freefall, a counter that shows how many Legends remain in the Jump Ship is displayed near the top-center of the screen. As Legends leap from the aircraft, this counter decreases. Use this information to determine when and where enemy squads are leaving the Jump Ship. This will help you determine whether or not you’re likely to encounter enemies immediately upon landing.
Keep in mind that you can’t always see where other squads are landing. As soon as you land, look for a weapon, seek out cover, and listen carefully for enemy activity. You’ll often hear enemies before you see them.
If you hear enemy activity before you’ve armed your Legend, you’ll know where you need to avoid—go the opposite direction until you’ve grabbed a weapon (and ammo) and you’re prepared to fight. Also look for signs of activity, such as open doorways or already looted Supply Bins. You’ll stay in the match longer if you avoid conflict until you’re ready for it.
For help quickly locating the whereabouts of hidden enemies, take advantage of Bloodhound’s Tracker, Eye of the Allfather, and/or Beast of the Hunt abilities. Of course, Bloodhound needs to be part of your squad and the gamer controlling him needs to know how and when to use these special abilities.
Each time you kill an enemy, a crate appears with their corpse that contains everything he or she was carrying. To open the crate, face it and wait for the “Hold [button/key] Access [Gamer’s Name] Items” message to appear, then press the appropriate button/key on your controller or keyboard.
Assuming it’s safe, open the crate and from the menu that lists its contents, and take what you want or need to enhance your own arsenal. You’re also able to Ping the crate, allowing your squad mates to loot it as well.
Remember, there’s no fall damage in Apex Legends. You can have your Legend jump from any height toward the ground and they will sustain zero damage. This is different from most battle royale games, so it’s an ability you may need to get accustomed to using. Check your landing location to make sure there are no enemies below, and then take a leap.
Use the Red Balloons to transport you great distances across the island, or to high-up locations you can’t otherwise reach. From a high-up location, use a Sniper Rifle equipped with a powerful scope to knock your enemies. Using Pathfinder’s zipline, it’s also possible to reach otherwise inaccessible areas on the map.
Some of the more powerful scope weapon attachments have a built-in range finder that displays the distance you are from a target. Use this information to your advantage when shooting, but also when communicating enemy locations with your squad.
When riding along a zipline, to switch traveling directions, jump up, turn around, and then quickly grab the zipline again.
On the Map screen, small blue circles that pulsate are supply drops that are falling from the sky. These typically contain awesome loot. These crates are different from the ones that Lifeline is able to summon. They drop randomly during a match, have red colored markings, and all Legends can see them on their respective maps. The crates that Lifeline summons have blue colored markings. If the crate has brown markings, this means it’s already been opened and looted.
When climbing up a cliff or ledge, you can grab the top edge and peek over the side to see if the coast is clear before pulling your Legend all of the way up and fully exposing him.
An Extended Heavy Mag or Extended Light Mag weapon attachment increases the number of bullets per round that a compatible weapon can carry. These items are color coded. The items with a gold hue can hold the most additional ammo per round. Shown here, an Extended Heavy Mag is being lifted from the crate of a dead enemy.
Setting off an explosion within a structure will typically cause doors to automatically open. Just make sure your Legend does not get caught in the blast.
You can also shoot the door handle to open a door from a distance. If you suspect there’s an enemy hiding in a structure, stand away from the door, shoot it open, and then toss in a grenade before making your grand entrance with your Legend’s weapon drawn.
When in very close range with an enemy, using Melee (launching a punch) will disorient your adversary and send them flying backward. This works as part of a combo attack that includes a gun, but as a stand-alone weapon is not too effective, especially if the enemy is armed and can launch a more powerful counterattack.
Need to make a quick escape from a room or building? It’s possible to kick a door open. Multiple kicks will smash the door into pieces. Use the Alternate Interact button/key to kick.
Anytime you want to shoot a weapon, you can hip fire (which means shoot without aiming) or aim the weapon and then shoot. Hip firing is less accurate, but it works well in close-range firefights. Wasting time aiming when you’re at very close range will actually slow down your response time and give your enemy more time to target and shoot your Legend first. Notice the size of the targeting crosshair (displayed in white). It changes sizes based on what your Legend is doing. If he’s standing still and crouching, it’ll be much smaller than if he’s running with his gun drawn, for example. Here, the Legend is standing still and targeting a rock (so the cross hair is clearly seen near the center of the screen).
For shooting accuracy, you want the targeting crosshairs to be as small as possible. Crouching down and being skilled at shooting a weapon will help you achieve this. Meanwhile, the faster you’re moving, the larger the targeting crosshairs will become.
Shown here, the same weapon is being used, but the Aim button is being pressed so the weapon’s targeting scope is being used. It takes longer to aim, but your shots will be more accurate.
Always use your terrain to your advantage during firefights. Jump on items to quickly gain a height advantage and crouch between solid objects to protect your Legend during incoming fire or when reloading their weapon.
Respawn beacons are displayed on the map as tiny green icons. If a Legend gets killed, one of their allies can collect their Banner and bring it to a Respawn beacon to bring that Legend back to life and re-insert them into the match. As long as there are available Respawn beacons, this is always an option for keeping your squad together once one or more members gets killed in battle.
A basic Backpack (with no upgrade) can hold eight items. A purple Backpack has 14 item slots, so upgrade when you can. One way to upgrade your Legend’s Backpack is to collect one from a dead enemy’s crate.
If you want to increase your XP, expand your in-game experience, practice engaging in firefights, and be aggressive during your matches. However, if you prefer to stay alive longer and increase your chances of making it into the End Game, consider avoiding firefights and enemy confrontations during the early stages of matches.
Which approach you take is a matter of personal preference, based on what your ultimate goals are. Remember, killing enemies gives you more chances to enhance your own arsenal by collecting the loot your victims were carrying.
When you collect a premium weapon from an airdrop, such as a Mastiff Shotgun or a Kraber .50-Cal Sniper Rifle (shown here), they come with ammo. However, you can’t restock the ammo once it’s used up, so use those weapons sparingly and don’t waste ammo. Likewise, many Legendary (gold) weapons that you discover already come pre-equipped with all possible weapon attachments. It’s not currently possible to swap out these attachments like you can with other guns.
Keep in mind, the special abilities of different Legends can be used in conjunction with one another when launching attacks. This is referred to as using “team synergy.” For example, have Bangalore create a smoke cloud using Smoke Launcher, and then use Bloodhound’s Beast of the Hunt ability to see enemies through the smoke.
Before each match, in addition to seeing a screen that shows your own squad’s lineup, you’ll see a lineup screen for the Champion squad. This is based on the highest ranked and most successful players from their previous match. If you’re a newb, these are the enemies you want to avoid. For more advanced players, killing a member of the Champion squad will earn you some bonus XP and help you level up faster. As you can see here, the gamer displayed in the center is the most accomplished, with 3,366 kills.
Anytime you’re viewing your Legend’s Inventory screen, if there is a weapon attachment or specific type of ammo that you desperately need, point to its empty icon on your Inventory screen and Ping it. This will alert your squad mates about what you want or need. Someone else might already have what you’re looking for and be willing to share, or they might discover a location where you can pick up that item.
The Supply Ship that randomly hovers over the island contains a collection of powerful weapons and items. Use ziplines to reach it, if necessary. The location of the Supply Ship is displayed on the map, and you’re virtually guaranteed to encounter a bunch of enemies trying to be the first to arrive at the Supply Ship to loot it.
Only approach the Supply Ship if you’re ready for a firefight and you think you’ll be among the first to arrive at its location. Otherwise the ship will likely be picked clean of anything useful.
Keep in mind, it is possible, during freefall, to actually land on the Supply Ship before the Supply Ship finds its hovering spot over the island. Doing this can give you an advantage in terms of collecting loot. Also, more than one Supply Ship can arrive during a match. You may discover one at the beginning of a match and another could appear closer to the End Game, for example. Shown here is the inside the Supply Ship (its bridge).
When viewing your Legend’s inventory, if certain items display a red icon in the top-left corner, this means that you have no use for that item. If you anticipate needing it in the future, consider keeping it. Otherwise drop it or share it with a squad mate who will benefit from having it.
The Ultimate Accelerant is a one-time use item that increases the refresh time of your Legend’s unique ultimate ability. Once you’ve collected it and it’s stored within your Legend’s inventory, you must manually activate it when you want to use it. This item is very useful for Lifeline, because it allows her to call in more Care Packages per match. The contents of these Care Packages can benefit all of her squad mates, so if you have an Ultimate Accelerant that you don’t need, be sure to share it with Lifeline if she’s one of your squad mates.
Each time you pick up an item, a small grid icons appears near the bottom-center of the screen (on most gaming systems). The total number of boxes on the grid correspond to the number of slots in your Legend’s inventory (based on your Backpack’s capacity). Clear boxes are empty slots. Boxes with a red frame represent slots that are already full. When all of the boxes are filled, you need to drop items if you want or need to make room for others.
When approaching the crate of a dead enemy, you’ll notice it has a colored hue around it. This indicates the highest level item in that crate. A level 1 (white) item is Common. A level 2 (blue) item is Rare. A level 3 (purple) item is Epic, and a level 4 (gold) item is Legendary. The higher the level, the better!
Some structures have windows you can peek through. Before opening a solid door and proceeding into a structure, try looking through a window and see if you spot any enemies lurking inside. You can also approach a closed door and listen carefully for movement inside before opening the door.
The viewfinder or targeting scope of certain weapons sometimes displays the amount of ammo remaining before a reload is required. This is useful if you’re raining bullets or shells on an enemy, because it’ll show you in advance when you need to find cover and prepare to reload. The same information is displayed in the lower-right corner of the screen.
Newbs should definitely avoid the Hot Spots that are displayed on the Map. These areas attract some of the most skilled and ambitious gamers in the match, so you’re almost always guaranteed to encounter multiple enemies in this zone.
MORE KILLER STRATEGIES
The following are a collection of additional strategies that’ll help your Legend survive longer during a match and kill more enemies in the process.
• As you start playing Apex Legends, choose one Legend and get really good controlling that soldier. It’s always a good idea, however, to practice using your second favorite Legend as well, in case one of your squad mates chooses your favorite Legend at the start of a match. Don’t try to master controlling all of the Legends at once. Doing this becomes a monumental task that gets confusing and requires a tremendous amount of practice.
• If you’re a newb, expect that you’re going to die often. Instead of exiting a match and returning to the Lobby, stick around and watch the rest of the match in spectator mode. First, there’s always a chance you will be respawned by a squad mate. Second, simply by watching other gamers play Apex Legends, you’re going to learn new strategies.
• Even if you’re not yet good at killing enemies, you can still be a huge help to your squad mates by exploring the area you’re in and using the Ping feature to alert them to weapons, ammo, and items they may want, and by warning them when you spot enemies lurking about. Only Ping things that are important. If you start Pinging everything, you’re going to annoy your squad mates and they’ll wind up muting you.
• When making long-distance shots (even when using a powerful scope), you will experience some bullet drop that’ll need to be compensated for. If you notice your bullets are landing lower than where you’ve been aiming, adjust your aim upward a bit to compensate for the distance.
• Some scopes have adjustable zoom levels. In other words, you can switch between 2x and 4x zoom, or 4x and 8x zoom by pressing the appropriate controller or keyboard/mouse key.
• For newbs, the Peacekeeper Shotgun is a versatile and easier-to-use weapon than other types of shotguns. It also holds more ammo per round than similar weapons.
• Anytime you pick up a new gun, any compatible weapon attachments you already have will automatically switch over to the new weapon.
• Using your Legend’s Finishing move to end an enemy’s life takes a little extra time. This makes you momentarily vulnerable to an attack from another enemy, so before using a fancy Finishing move, make sure the area is clear. Otherwise stick to more traditional weapons for ending an enemy’s life.
• Anytime one of your squad mates Pings a specific location to suggest where to head toward or rendezvous, if you then Ping that same location, it automatically confirms that you’re on your way to that location.
• When shooting at an enemy, your initial bullet hits will be color coded as you wear down their armor. These colors indicate the level of armor the soldier is wearing. However, once you hear the sound of breaking glass, this means the enemy’s armor is gone and they’re vulnerable. Now is the time to quickly move in and finish them off. Each time you hit an enemy, the number that’s displayed corresponds with how much damage your last bullet caused.
• On the main game screen, details related to your Legend’s Health and Shield meters are displayed in the lower-left corner. Information about your active weapon and inventory is displayed in a condensed format in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
• In addition to jumping over obstacles, it’s often possible to climb up objects, structures, and cliffs. Try climbing in order to give your Legend a height advantage for a firefight, or to get a better view of the surrounding area. When facing something you want to climb, hold down the Jump button/key to begin your ascent.
• Take advantage of a legendary Knockdown Shield to revive your own Legend after they’ve been knocked down (but before they’re actually killed). This is a useful item to collect and hold in your inventory until it’s needed, especially if you’re a newb or you tend to travel away from your squad mates during a match.
• The Precision Choke weapon attachment allows you to dramatically increase the power and aiming accuracy of a compatible weapon, but it needs to be recharged in between uses, so plan accordingly.
Some gamers prefer to stay near the outskirts of the safe zone circle. This allows them to look toward the center of the safe zone and see where enemies are positioned by looking in one main direction. An alternate strategy is to stay near the center of the safe zone. This can make your Legend more of a target and easier to spot, but it does often keep you from having to fight and move at the same time when the safe zone circle shrinks and moves.