Need some guidance on choosing a character (or legend) in Apex Legends? Wondering who the best option is based on their class and abilities? We’re here to help. The characters in Apex Legends are some of most endearing we’ve seen in a battle royale, but it might be difficult to decide who to main due to their different abilities.
Maybe you’ve gravitated toward Bangalore, the attack-oriented hero with an ultimate ability that drops the boom. Perhaps you’ve enjoyed the mystery of Wraith, who can avoid attacks with her void dash or create portals to travel through. Or maybe you chose the robot Pathfinder because he has the best one-liners.
There are currently eight heroes, with more expected to join the fight throughout the year, and our legends guide will walk you through the ins and outs of each to help you decide which one is right for you. We’ve also separated the legends into four tiers based on the legends’ overall effectiveness.
Tier 1
Wraith
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bglAJajZFx4?feature=oembed&w=100&h=100]
- Passive: Voices From the Void – Tells you when enemies mark your location
- Tactical: Into the Void – A quick juke through her void that avoids all damage
- Ultimate: Dimensional Rift – Lets you place two portals for you and your teammates to travel through for a minute
Though technically classified as an “attack” legend, Wraith is a multi-purpose legend with three useful abilities. As of now, she appears to be one of the most popular legends.
Wraith’s passive ability is one of the most useful in the game, as it informs you when enemies have marked your location or are near you. This lets you and your team brace for incoming fire or perhaps even get the upper hand. Her tactical ability can quickly turn a skirmish in your favor. The swift juke lets you take a new position while not taking any damage.
Her ultimate ability is one of the hardest to use effectively. This is because you have to place two portals which can then be traveled through. Occasionally you can use the Dimensional Rift to confuse enemies by sneaking up behind them out of nowhere, but keep in mind that her ultimate takes the most work to use efficiently.
Bangalore
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyJhFYNob30?feature=oembed&w=100&h=100]
- Passive: Double Time – Temporarily sprint faster when taking damage
- Tactical: Smoke Launcher – Smoke canister projectile that explodes
- Ultimate: Rolling Thunder – Calls an airstrike that sweeps across the targeted area
Bangalore might even be more popular than Wraith right now. She’s a more traditional attack character with the most effective ultimate ability of the lot. After it’s fully charged, you toss a canister to the area you want to bomb, and a few seconds later, you can hear the engines overhead. The airstrike covers a sizable area, so if enemies don’t flee when they hear the noise overhead, you’re likely to knock down or eliminate at least one enemy (and sometimes a whole team).
Bangalore’s passive helps both when fleeing or running towards combat. Taking damage increases her sprint speed. And her tactical ability shoots a smoke canister which clouds an area, letting you and your team get the jump on opposing squads or reposition without being seen.
Lifeline
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxXFfe5X5qo?feature=oembed&w=100&h=100]
- Passive: Combat Medic – Throws up a shield wall when reviving teammates, and quickens medical supply use by 25 percent
- Tactical: DOC Heal Drone – A small drone (looks like a Roomba) that heals teammates
- Ultimate: Care package filled with quality defensive equipment
Lifeline is a traditional healer who will help keep your team alive in variety of ways. Her passive ability automatically creates a shield when reviving teammates while also shortening the time needed to use healing items. When the team is low on health and short on medkits, her DOC Heal Drone can heal everyone’s health back to 100 percent.
Just know that enemies can also make use of this drone, so you want to be in cover before deploying. Kings Canyon has tons of loot, but if you’re not finding the defensive supplies you need, Lifeline’s ultimate sends a drop pod with good armor and medical supplies.
Tier 2
Gibraltar
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccDyztf9FjU?feature=oembed&w=100&h=100]
- Passive: Gun Shield – When aiming down sights, he holds a shield that blocks incoming fire
- Tactical: Dome of Protection – Blue dome shield spawns and blocks attacks for 15 seconds
- Ultimate: Defensive Bombardment – A concentrated mortar strike called by throwing a flare
Gibraltar is a well-rounded hero who is built to help you survive. If you’re having trouble staying alive or don’t have the greatest accuracy when shooting down the sights, you should definitely make use of his abilities.
His passive ability opens a shield that blocks the brunt of head on incoming fire. It’s not invulnerable, but it will give you more time to hone in on enemies yourself.
His tactical ability is great for the whole team, as it opens a dome shield that lasts 15 seconds. The dome shield is particularly useful when you hear an incoming airstrike or when you need to revive a teammate. Meanwhile, his mortar strike ultimate is similar to Bangalore’s but more precise.
Bloodhound
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euWTbVdRGv0?feature=oembed&w=100&h=100]
- Passive: Tracker – Reveals recent footprints, when doors were opened, time of death, etc.
- Tactical: Eye of the Allfather – Reveals enemy locations in the area
- Ultimate: Beast of the Hunt – Heightens senses to see cold tracks/enemies and greatly increases movement speed
While all of the legends have tactical abilities, Bloodhound is a true tactician. He helps you hunt enemies and avoid surprises with his ability set. Bloodhound’s passive shows recent footprints, door openings/closings, and times of death when you stumble across fallen players’ gear.
His tactical ability can tell you if enemies are in the surrounding area, so you know whether it’s clear to move in quickly or if you have to proceed cautiously. And his Ultimate, Beast of the Hunt, unveils cold tracks, highlights nearby enemies, and increases your movement speed. It’s perfect for late game situations when only a few teams remain.
Tier 3
Mirage
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPHlrmyM8v4?feature=oembed&w=100&h=100]
- Passive: Encore! – When knocked down, a decoy spawns and you are cloaked for five seconds
- Tactical: Psyche Out – Creates a decoy to trip up enemies
- Ultimate: Vanishing Act – Become temporarily cloaked and unleash multiple decoys
Mirage is one of two legends locked behind a paywall (or through a dozen or so hours of grinding). All of his abilities are pretty similar, relying on deceiving the enemy. When Mirage falls to the ground, a decoy comes to life and he is cloaked for five seconds. This gives you time to scramble away and avoid being finished off.
His tactical ability also deploys a decoy, but this time you can use the decoy to get the drop on your enemies. His ultimate is a combination of the two to the extreme. Unleashing Vanishing Act cloaks Mirage and creates multiple decoys. Simply put, if enemies are nearby and you have Vanishing Act available, it can lead to some very easy kills.
Caustic
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSz8Dnj1pdI?feature=oembed&w=100&h=100]
- Passive: Nox Vision – Complements his tactical ability by showing enemy locations for those who pass through the gas
- Tactical: Nox Gas Trap – Lets you place up to six gas canisters that release when stepped on or shot
- Ultimate: Nox Gas Grenade – Covers a sizable area with deadly gas
Caustic, the other unlockable legend, also has three abilities that largely feel similar. His passive and tactical abilities work together in tandem. The Nox Gas Trap lets you set up to six gas canisters on the ground. They can either be activated by shooting them or when an enemy walks over them. Once this happens, enemies who step into the gas will be revealed with Caustic’s passive ability. The gas also slowly damages those who get caught in the fumes. His ultimate is the gas trap in grenade form, and covers a much larger area.
Tier 4
Pathfinder
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBpc2EaKBcA?feature=oembed&w=100&h=100]
- Passive: Insider Knowledge – Scans nearby beacons to reveal next ring location
- Tactical: Grappling Hook – Allows for versatile, quick movement, both horizontally and vertically
- Ultimate: Zipline Gun – Creates a new zipline
Pathfinder, the charismatic robot from the Titanfall series, is an odd legend. Its passive ability, which reveals the next ring location by scanning beacons, is not very useful. Its tactical ability, on the other hand, makes Pathfinder one of the best for moving around quickly. With the grappling hook, you can latch onto walls or quickly scale buildings. Kings Canyon already has many ziplines, both horizontal and vertical, but Pathfinder’s ultimate lets you create new ziplines to get you out of tricky situations.
Overall, Pathfinder is the least useful legend, but the clever robot is quite witty.
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