Apex Legends is quickly becoming the go-to battle royale game for many players. The more in-depth team-based gameplay and the unique features make it shine in the sea of battle royale clones, but as with any battle royale game it’s only really fun if you have at least a chance of winning and, luckily for you, I’ve compiled a list of our best tips for new players to help you win more games. Please be aware, though, that these tips won’t help you aim better, so if you can’t hit a turnip with a sweetcorn then you should also undertake some FPS training (please take Glen with you too, he’s awful). By the way, you can thank me later, as I’ve also written a guide on how to be better at FPS games.
Anyway, that’s enough blabbering, let’s get on with the tips:
Always drop as a squad (until just before landing)
Apex Legends is unique in the fact that when you start the game, one person is assigned to be the “Flight Master” which makes them responsible for navigating the entire team to the drop point. This is great because it means incompetent squad mates (Glen again) can’t screw up their landing and land miles away from where the rest of the squad lands, leaving you at an instant disadvantage. You can break away from the team if you so wish, but that’s a sure fire avenue to defeat; always let the Flight Master take you to the drop point, never break away at the start of the drop, as working as a team is more important in Apex Legends than it is in other battle royale games like Blackout. With that being said, you should break away from the squad shortly before hitting the drop point – by doing this you still land in the same area/same set of buildings as your team mates, but it means that you can loot another nearby building instead of you all piling into the same building and trying to find loot, which will most certainly leave at least one player without a gun.
You also drop slightly quicker when you break away, so not only will you get more loot but you’ll also have a small advantage over players that don’t break away, as you’ll reach the ground first.
Stick with your teammates
As mentioned above, teamwork is super important in Apex Legends, which is where it’s Overwatch comparisons come from. Each character has unique abilities which, when used correctly, benefit the whole squad, such as Bangalore’s smoke screen or Pathfinder’s zip wire. As well as sharing abilities, you’re almost guaranteed to die if you run away from your squad, as most other people will be sticking together and a 3 versus 1 situation in Apex Legends just doesn’t go in your favour, no matter how good you are. In Fortnite or Blackout you might stand a chance if you were good enough, but that isn’t the case in Apex Legends.
Learn everyone’s abilities
You’re most likely going to prefer one character or, as most people would say, you’re going to “main” a character. That’s all well and good, but you should still learn all of the abilities of every character and get at least competent with them just in case you don’t get your first pick. Even if you are lucky enough to play your main in every game, you must still learn each and every ability that all the other characters have; by knowing these off the top of your head you’re going to know what the enemy can bring to the table in a battle, and you will also know what your teammates are capable of. For example, Pathfinder (the robot) can deploy a zip line which can be really useful for getting to high up areas, especially towards the end of the game.
PING, always ping, and love to ping
The ping ability is probably the best new feature we’ve seen in a battle royale game, and it’s a feature that should be adopted by all of the other battle royale games. The sad truth is that people are rarely on the mic these days, they might be in a party chat with friends or they might just be shy, either way they can’t hear you (or maybe you’re the one without a mic). This makes working as a team very difficult, but the pings make it a lot more manageable – you can ping anything from enemy locations to lootable items, the latter of which makes the name and location of the item pop up on your teammates screen, which makes sharing loot a breeze.
You can also request items from your squad mates by going into your inventory and hovering over the attachment or armor slot that you want to fill and selecting ‘request’. This will send out an audible alert to the rest of your squad, letting them know what you need.
Always pick a character that helps the team
Of course, three DPS characters can win games, but you’ll probably have more luck having a variety of characters with different abilities. This is where Overwatch’s influence over the game can be found; you wouldn’t pick 5 DPS heroes in Overwatch (well, some people might) so you shouldn’t in Apex legends either. Instead, try and have a mix; 2 DPS characters can be fine if paired with a tank (Gibraltar) or a healer (Lifeline). My personal favourite setup is Lifeline (my main), Bangalore and either Wraith or Gibraltar. Team composition isn’t quite as important as it is in Overwatch, but if you want to have the best chance of winning then pick a character that will benefit the squad as a whole, even if it’s not a character that you would usually choose.
Never rage quit after dying, always wait
Rage quitting after you die is the norm when you’re joining a random squad in Fortnite, PUBG, Blackout, or any other battle royale game, however, in Apex Legends as long as a surviving team mate picks up your tags you are able to be respawned if your squad manage to get your tags to a respawn beacon. You should also keep this in mind if one of your teammates die – don’t just run off and leave them, go and get their tags and try to bring them back to the land of the living. You have a much better chance of winning when you have a full squad.
Master your movement
Maneuverability is key to staying alive in Apex Legends, which is why Respawn have put so much work into creating different ways to get around the map, such as the zip lines, no fall damage, unlimited sliding when going downhill, balloons and, of course, the ability to stow your weapon. You need to master each of these ways to move and remember them; I see so many people running from one location in the open to another without stowing their weapon, which is easy enough to forget but do so at your own peril. I also see people fumbling around for the zip wires – practice getting on them quickly.
The balloons attached to a rope are also a quick way to get around. At first you might not know what they’re for (big red balloons) but you can ascend the rope to the top and glide back down as your jet pack is reactivated for your descent, which is a much faster way of moving around. Use them whenever you need to move quickly (unless you’re being shot at, you’re vulnerable while you’re ascending the rope).
Always listen to squad voice lines
Some might mistake the voice lines from squad mates as irrelevant chatter, but there’s some extremely useful information in these lines. For example, the voice lines will alert you when you need to leave to reach the circle, and if you’re playing as Wraith (or another squad member is) you’ll get voice cues when an enemy is targeting you or if there’s enemies behind the door you’re approaching. Make sure you pay attention, they could well mean the difference between life and death.
Don’t just open doors, kick them
Opening doors in Apex can be slow and it leaves you vulnerable if there are enemies on the other side of them, but you don’t need to put yourself in that position as it’s possible to kick the doors in. Simply approach the door and push the melee button when close. Another benefit of doing this is that if there are enemies on the other side of the door (and they’re close enough) they will be stunned for a short period of time. Also, it’s extremely satisfying, so enjoy yourself.
As well as kicking the doors in it is also possible to blow them off with a grenade, so if you’re sure enemies are in a building then this might be the tactic to opt for.
Check the perks on legendary loot
Legendary items are no more powerful than epic items in terms of raw numbers but they do come loaded with perks, so be sure to read which perks your legendary loot has. Luckily for you, I’ve listed the perks you get on each item below:
- Helmet – Tactical and Ultimate abilities regenerate faster
- Armour – Replenishes shields when you use a finisher
- Backpack – Health and shield consumables take half as long to use
- Knockout Shield – Offers one self revive when you’re knocked down
- Digital Threat scope – Highlights enemies in red when you’re aiming at them
Try to memorize these perks, as entering your inventory to check takes valuable time. You must also remember that you have the perks in the first place, you forgetful person, you.
So, that’s it so far for my top beginner tips for Apex Legends. If I find anymore useful tips I’ll be sure to add them to the list. We’ve got a lot more Apex Legends guides on the way too, so be sure to check back regularly if you’re struggling to win.
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