Apex Legends is already shaping up to be a bit of a phenomenon, a battle royale that takes large chunks from other games, adds in some of its own seasoning, and adds in the Respawn special ingredient. If that food-based metaphor wasn’t clear enough, it’s quite the fun game. It does, however, take a little bit of adjustment if you’re used to other battle royales thanks to its varied Legends and what they can and can’t do.
Think of the Apex Legends, erm, Legends (they should have thought that through for the sake of copywriters) as Overwatch’s heroes, except everyone is on a level playing field in terms of health and that there are no payloads to push. There are, however, some beefier hitboxes on some of the Legends, so keep that in mind.
You really ought to play with each one at least once to really find the Legend that suits you, as well as the versatility to swap things out if your favourite has been dibsed. I, for instance, prefer Lifeline, but will happily adjust to Mirage or Bangalore if needs be.
Here’s everything to do with the Apex Legends characters, including what they’re capable of and which situations they suit best.
Apex Legends Character Guides
Bangalore Character Guide
Probably the most no-frills Legend the game has to offer, Bangalore is a straight-up badass who looks like she should be chomping on a cigar throughout the entire match. More or less the perfect introductory Legend for Apex Legends, those who main Soldier 76 should be able to transition well with Bangalore.
Bangalore Bio
“Born into a military family where she, her parents, and her four older brothers all served in the IMC Armed Forces, Bangalore has been an exceptional soldier since she was young. She was top of her class at the IMC Military Academy and the only cadet who could take apart a Peacekeeper, equip it with a Precision Choke hop-up, and put it back together in under twenty seconds – blindfolded.
“Three years ago, Anita and her brother Jackson were ordered to retrieve a mercenary fleet from the Outlands to aid in the IMC’s fight against the Militia. However, their unit lost contact with IMC HQ and were ambushed on arrival. The squad scattered, but Jackson stayed behind to give his sister time to escape. Alone and with no way home, Anita put her training, extensive weapon knowledge, and competitive spirit to work by joining the Apex Games. Now, she fights to raise money for passage back to the IMC home base, where she hopes to reunite with what remains of her family.”
Bangalore Abilities
Tactical Ability: Smoke Launcher – an okay ability that cloaks the area in smoke, Smoke Launcher is fairly easy to penetrate for the other team so it’s not quite as helpful as Gibraltar’s shield.
Passive Ability: Double Time – helps you to get the heck out of dodge by making you faster when you’re shot. Handy if you need to reset or just run the heck away.
Ultimate Ability: Rolling Thunder – A hail Mary that bombs the selected area, useful for repelling enemies or if you need to go for the revive.
Bangalore Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths:
– Solid all-rounder
– Tactical and Ultimate abilities can get you out of a corner in a hurry
Weaknesses:
– Smoke Launcher’s radius isn’t that great so other players can find you if they look properly
– not that flashy
– smoke can be negated by Bloodhound, Digital Threat attachments
READ OUR APEX LEGENDS BANGALORE GUIDE
Bloodhound Character Guide
Questionably rather overpowered, Bloodhound is the nightmare of squads that have lost one or two members. Their (nobody knows their gender) abilities allow them to pretty efficiently track down other players, so if you’re the last one alive, just run off the edge of the map and be done with it. Has one of the best Apex Legends ultimates of the bunch. A Legend who is picked with regularity.
Bloodhound Bio
“Bloodhound is known across the Outlands as one of the greatest game hunters the Frontier has ever seen – and that’s about all anyone knows. Their identity is a mystery wrapped in layers of rumors: they are fabulously wealthy, a bloodthirsty murderer, a Goliath whisperer, a former slave, half bat, and a dozen other things depending on who’s doing the whispering.
“All anyone truly knows is that Bloodhound is a force to be reckoned with in the Apex Games. Bloodhound’s unparalleled tracking skills are a boon to any team they join, helping them root out hidden opponents and tracking the enemy’s movements. Calling on Earth’s Old Norse Gods to guide them, Bloodhound believes that destiny is a path that has already been laid out, eventually carrying all to their death. But with that knowledge comes strength, because until that day comes, Bloodhound knows they can’t be stopped.”
Bloodhound Abilities
Tactical Ability: Eye of the Allfather – allows the player to scan a small area in front of them for enemies and more; situational and better indoors than out.
Passive Ability: Tracker – lets you see tracks left behind by other players; I told you they were a bit overpowered.
Ultimate Ability: Beast of the Hunt – maybe the best Ultimate there is, this allows you to see tracks far clearer while also making you far quicker.
Bloodhound Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths:
– great for teams going for high-kill games
– works wonders with a sniper rifle
– can quite nastily surprise enemies
– Allfather can let you track pretty much anything going on around you
Weaknesses:
– usage of abilities is clearly audible by other teams
– very easy to get pulled out of position
READ OUR IN-DEPTH BLOODHOUND GUIDE
Caustic Character Guide
One of the DLC characters, Caustic is a mean bastard who unleashes toxic gas to wheedle down his enemies. Perhaps a pick that’s more a luxury than a necessity, most players haven’t yet figured out how to make the most of Caustic as he doesn’t have flashy abilities and can be a hard sell for the early game. Will probably be the focus of some balance changes. Siege Smoke mains, here’s your guy.
Caustic Bio
“Before there was Caustic, a scientist named Alexander Nox worked at Humbert Labs, the Frontier’s leading manufacturer of pesticide gases. With a glut of pesticides needed to protect the growing Frontier colonies’ crops, Humbert Labs was constantly on the hunt for better and stronger formulas. Nox was one of their brightest scientists and worked day and night developing new gases. But to make sure they worked, he needed to test them on more than just inert tissue: he needed something living.
“As he toiled in secret, Nox began to see the beauty in his creations and their ability to destroy anything they touched. But the head of Humbert Labs soon discovered his gruesome experiments, and their confrontation ended with the lab in flames and its chief dead. Today, Nox is missing and presumed deceased. Caustic, meanwhile, now finds new test subjects in the Apex Games, where he puts his gaseous creations to work and observes their effects with great interest.”
Caustic Abilities
Tactical Ability: Nox Gas Trap – you get a big wedge of toxic canisters than can be shot or triggered by enemies to emit gas.
Passive Ability: Nox Vision – once your gas has been deployed, you can see enemies throughout. Absolutely lethal if you have a sniper rifle/one on your team.
Ultimate Ability: Nox Gas Grenade – the Tactical ability, just with bells on. Very good at repelling enemies or those in chokepoints.
Caustic Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths:
– can cause a tonne of damage in enclosed spaces
– can lure the quicker enemies into traps to pick them off.
Weaknesses:
– Ultimate is not great in open space
– big lad
– not particularly useful in the early game
– two rather similar abilities feel like a waste
– does not say “my toxic babes are in position”
Read our Apex Legends Caustic guide
Gibraltar Character Guide
An absolute unit who is far too joyful to be a murderer, Gibraltar is the dad of Apex Legends and someone who can come up utterly clutch in the endgame. His shield(s) can soak up a lot of pressure and give his team a chance to heal up with his Ultimate also perfect for suppressing enemies. One of the best go-to characters in Apex Legends for new players or those looking to transition from Reinhardt.
Gibraltar Bio
“Gibraltar is a gentle giant with a wild side. The son of two SARAS (Search and Rescue Association of Solace) volunteers, he has always been skilled at getting others out of dangerous situations that are common in the Outlands. However, he only began to understand the value of protecting others when he and his boyfriend stole his father’s motorcycle, took it on a joyride, and got trapped by a deadly mudslide. His parents saved them, and his father lost an arm in the process. Gibraltar has never forgotten that sacrifice and has devoted his life to helping those in need.
“The Apex Games didn’t change that, but they changed what it meant. Many of Gibraltar’s friends and colleagues have competed in the Games for extra money, fame, and glory over the years, and some never came home. Gibraltar joined to keep them safe and, for the first time, his skills as a rescuer and his rebellious nature worked together. He’s now become an icon in the Apex Games, putting himself in the line of fire to protect his squad and send his opponents running for cover.”
Gibraltar Abilities
Tactical Ability: Dome of Protection – a vital ability if there ever was one, this allows the player to throw down a shield that protects against all damage for fifteen seconds, but the enemy can walk right on in.
Passive Ability: Gun Shield – Gibraltar has a shield on his gun while aiming down sights that can soak up pressure. Makes him great to attract the attention of another team while the rest of your squad flanks.
Ultimate Ability: Defensive Bombardment – if everything is going to heck, this calls in a mortar strike to give yourself some breathing space. Better for defending than attacking.
Gibraltar Strengths & Weakness
Strengths:
– really versatile
– can soak up extra damage thanks to arm shield
– works wonders in tandem with Lifeline
– shield can allow teammates to heal up
Weaknesses:
– slow with his arm shield
– his size can actually give away your location and leave you open to an attack
– massive hitboxes
– shield does not soak up as much damage as you may think
Read our Apex Legends Gibraltar guide
Lifeline Character Guide
The perfect pick for beginners, Lifeline’s healing abilities make sure you get in good with your teammates by supplying a drone that can heal them over time. Her stature and pace make her a surprisingly effective Legend for aggressive play, though she does not have much to change the tide of battle if you’re caught out. If your looting hasn’t reaped many rewards, her Ultimate could bring you exactly what you need. A dream team when combined with Gibraltar.
Lifeline Bio
“Ajay Che, aka Lifeline, isn’t someone you would expect to find in the Apex Games. Once the child of wealthy war profiteers, she left home when she learned of the damage her family had caused and enlisted in the Frontier Corps, a humanitarian organization that aids Frontier communities in need. She’s since devoted her life to helping others and joined the Apex Games to fund the Frontier Corps with her winnings.
“Since no one in the Games is innocent — they all know what they signed up for — and every one of her victories means help for those in need, Lifeline has no problem engaging in the popular bloodsport. Or so she tells herself. She may seem sarcastic and callous, but deep down she wants to help people and make the world a better place. If that means taking a few people down in the process, so be it.”
Lifeline Abilities
Tactical Ability: D.O.C Heal Drone – the rather wince-worthily named Drone of Compassion can heal players in its radius for about 70% health, but it tends to take its sweet ass time.
Passive Ability: Combat Medic – here’s where her teaming with Gibraltar becomes vital as Lifeline is able to revive and heal much faster than the other Legends; will also throw up a shield wall on the revive. Healing items will also be quicker to use.
Ultimate Ability: Care Package – brings in a drop pod full of decent armour and heals, but beware that this may also bring some unwanted attention.
Lifeline Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths:
– can turn everything around thanks to her healing prowess
– nimble, can be hard to hit
– surprisingly good at flanking
– Care Package can bring Epic defensive gear
Weaknesses:
– Care Package can attract the wrong kind of attention
– no real attacking abilities to speak of
– needs to be near teammates at all times
– will be constantly fed Ultimate Accelerants by teammates
READ OUR APEX LEGENDS LIFELINE GUIDE
Mirage Character Guide
One of the DLC characters who you can buy with Apex Coins or Legend Tokens, Mirage is a cocky idiot who you have to not be an idiot to get the most out of. His abilities allow him to reposition and bamboozle often, including a “bonus” skill that lets him use decoys for distracting enemies while landing to make an area seem more popular. There’s a lot of tactical play to wrap your head around with Mirage.
Think of him as Tracer but with a terrible sense of style and you’re on the right track. Is voiced by Roger Craig Smith, who you may know as Sonic the Hedgehog and Ezio.
Mirage Bio
“Mirage is the kind of guy who likes to stand out. The youngest of four brothers, he perfected the art of fooling around to get attention. The one thing he took seriously was Holo-Pilot technology: introduced to the illusion-creating tech by his engineer mother, he poured over the mechanisms and learned all he could about them. Even when his brothers went MIA during the Frontier War, Mirage and his mother continued to develop holo devices, and the work brought them closer.
“While working as a bartender to make ends meet, Mirage heard amazing stories from his patrons about the Apex Games and the wealth and glory that came with victory. As good as both of those sounded, he knew he couldn’t risk leaving his mother childless – until she gave him a set of customized holo devices and told him to follow his dream. Mirage is now the life of the Apex Games, outwitting opponents and charming audiences across the Outlands.”
Mirage Abilities
Tactical Ability: Psyche Out – send out a decoy to help you reposition or push. Really useful after taking fire and recuperating behind cover to make it seem like you’re going out in the open again.
Passive Ability: Encore! – cloaks you while sending out a decoy after being knocked; could buy you just enough time for a teammate to come in for the save.
Ultimate Ability: Vanishing Act – sends out a small squad of decoys and cloaks you. Vital for repositioning or giving a distraction that the squad can use to make a break for it.
Mirage Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths:
– can cause a huge amount of confusion
– flanking after sending out a decoy is a very powerful strat
– has a fourth ability to send out decoys when landing
Weaknesses:
– can pull you out of position and away from your squad
– experienced players may see through the façade
– does not really have much to help out the squad
READ OUR IN-DEPTH APEX LEGENDS MIRAGE GUIDE
Octane Character Guide
The first post-launch Legend added to Apex Legends, Octane comes with some very unique abilities and a wiry frame that allows him to be one of the more aggressive characters.
Players are still trying to figure out the new Legend, but he is shaping up to one of the more interesting picks out of the bunch. His Passive ability seems a tad overpowered at first, but is actually quite balanced, though it’s a shame his Ultimate isn’t really that hot.
Octane Bio
“One day, Octavio Silva was bored. In fact, he was bored most days. Heir to the preoccupied CEOs of Silva Pharmaceuticals and wanting for nothing in life, he entertained himself by performing death-defying stunts and posting holovids of them for his fans to gawk over. So, this day, he decided to set the course record for a nearby Gauntlet by launching himself across the finish line – using a grenade.
“As he lay in triage hours later, the doctors informed him that the damage done to his legs meant his daredevil days were over. That didn’t sit well with Octavio, who turned to an old friend for help: Ajay Che, who he guilted into forging an order to replace his legs with bionic ones. Suddenly able to repair his limbs at a moment’s notice, Octavio decided petty online stunts weren’t enough: the ultimate adrenaline rush, the Apex Games, was calling. Now, he’s going to become an Apex Champion doing the most incredible, death-defying moves anyone’s ever seen. Maybe in the arena, he won’t be so bored.”
Octane Abilities
Tactical Ability: Swift Mend – seems a tad ridiculous that he just generally heals himself, but it actually regenerates slowly. You can imagine pros complaining about this regardless.
Passive Ability: Stim – If you really need to get out of somewhere fast (or maybe even get in someone’s face), the health penalty from using this is not so high that it isn’t feasible.
Ultimate Ability: Launch Pad – Pathfinder’s Zip Line, but worse. Not that great from what we’ve seen of it so far.
Octane Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths:
– Wiry, smaller hitbox.
– Decent, helpful passive.
– Stim can get you out of some really sticky spots.
Weaknesses:
– Underwhelming Ult that feels more useful for memes than anything.
– An aggro-oriented Legend, which always comes with risks.
READ OUR IN-DEPTH OCTANE GUIDE
Pathfinder Character Guide
The unofficial mascot of Apex Legends, Pathfinder is a huge amount of fun to play as thank to his ziplines and grappling hook. He’s labelled a support character, but that doesn’t really seem accurate — he deserves a classification all his own.
Pathfinder Bio
“Pathfinder is the picture of optimism, despite his circumstances. A MRVN (Mobile Robotic Versatile eNtity) modified to specialize in location scouting and surveying, he booted up decades ago in an abandoned laboratory with no idea who created him or why. With only his MRVN designation to hint at his identity, Pathfinder set off in search of his creator.
Pathfinder has learned much in his travels since then (like how to make a mean Eastern Leviathan Stew) but hasn’t come any closer to finding his creator. Still, he’s never given up hope, and has joined the Apex Games to gain a following–and hopefully draw the attention of his maker. In the meantime, he remains enthusiastic and helpful, always ready to make new friends (then shoot them).”
Pathfinder Abilities
Tactical Ability: Grappling Hook – you’ll be using this a lot to try and escape trouble, or just to get to loot ahead of your teammates. Yeah, I see you.
Passive Ability: Insider Knowledge – this lets you scan for the next circle, but the circle in Apex Legends isn’t really that big a deal in all honesty.
Ultimate Ability: Zipline Gun – a handy method for better verticality or to just allow you get to across a chasm.
Pathfinder Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths:
– the grappling hook can help you pull off insane plays
– adorable as heck
Weaknesses:
– massive hitboxes
– can hear them coming quite clearly
– Ultimate is not as game-changing as the others
Read our in-depth Apex Legends Pathfinder guide
Wraith Character Guide
The duchess of edge for Apex Legends, think of Wraith as Symmetra meets Tracer meets Reaper and you have the right idea. Wraith is always a hotly contested pick as her abilities allow her to go off marauding on her own and look cool while doing it. The fanfic and art is just a matter of time, really.
Wraith Bio
“Wraith is a whirlwind fighter, able to execute swift and deadly attacks and manipulate spacetime by opening rifts in the fabric of reality — but she has no idea how she got that way. Years ago, she woke up in an IMC Detention Facility for the Mentally Ill with no memory of her life before. She also began hearing a distant voice whispering in her mind that would keep her awake for days on end. Despite nearly driving her insane, once she started to listen and trust it, the voice helped her harness her newfound power of void manipulation and escape the facility.
Determined to uncover her true identity, Wraith began a quest to find out more about the experiments. Many of the old research facilities, however, are buried beneath heavily guarded arenas used for the Apex Games. Now Wraith has joined the competition, and with every match she gets closer to the truth.”
Wraith Abilities
Tactical Ability: Into the Void – allows the player to go invisible for a short while to reposition. Vital for getting out of sticky spots.
Passive Ability: Voices from the Void – will indicate when you are being targeted. Not that great, in truth. It usually tells you after you’ve been shot.
Ultimate Ability: Dimensional Rift – creates a portal tunnel for your teammates (and everyone else) to go through.
Wraith Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths:
– incredibly agile
– hard to hit
– Into the Void allows for easy resetting
– Dimensional Rift and Into the Void can actually be used at the same time for extra swiftness
Weaknesses:
– Dimensional Rift can do more harm than good
– some Wraith players are too obsessed with roaming
– Into the Void creates a visible line to where Wraith is going
Apex Legends is developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by EA. It is available as a free-to-play game on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
From our Apex Legends review:
“Even the most jaded of battle royale fans will find their interest rejuvenated by Apex Legends thanks to Respawn’s attention to detail, superior gunplay, and fantastic innovations, though the loot boxes and progression system certainly need addressing.”
MORE APEX LEGENDS:
– Apex Legends Beginner’s Guide
– Apex Legends Characters From Best To Worst
– Do You Need A SCUF Controller For Apex Legends?
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