The video game world is abuzz about Apex Legends, and it isn’t difficult to see why. Its unique combination of gameplay elements – hero shooter mechanics, an ingenious ping system, and entertaining combat derived from Titanfall – have shaken up the battle royal scene.
Fans of the genre are diving into the Outlands in droves, and newcomers are joining in as well. The game is that appealing, and, in an effort to help out both groups, we’ve decided to share some tips that have led us to being the last squad standing on several occasions.
Sharing is Caring
Apex Legends is a squad-based battle royale shooter, meaning that, in order to be successful, you must work as a team. Reviving allies, laying down cover fire, and using the ping system (more on that later) are the types of things good teammates do to help their squad become champions of the arena.
What they don’t do is take every single item found in loot boxes for themselves. While the benefits of sharing items with teammates might seem a tad obvious, many players online struggle with this concept, especially during the first moments of a match.
After diving from the ship and landing on the ground, players will quickly race around the area in hopes of finding a weapon; the idea is to arm oneself in order to fend off other players landing nearby. If one person on a team snatches up every gun, bomb, and ammo box in sight, then their teammates are going to be at a disadvantage.
They won’t be able to return fire if they’re attacked, or do much of anything besides run away, and if that greedy person also took all of the health packs well…yeah. Instead, it would be better to leave a few items where they are.
Hold off on grabbing a secondary firearm until the entire squad is armed. Leave attachments that aren’t needed for your immediate weapon. And don’t take all of the health/shield regenerating items.
The only time you’ll want to snatch everything up all at once is if you’re alone with a rival. Then go to town so they don’t grab something to use against you. Other than that, share.
Learn to Ping
Apex Legends’ ping system is the bee’s knees. Seriously. It’s easily one of the best communication tools found in a modern shooter, and learning the ins and outs of the system is important.
The good news is that the tutorial gets you most of the way. It’ll walk you through pinging items of interest, signaling the desire to trek to a given location, and alerting teammates to spotted enemies. Basically, the tutorial shows how context-sensitive the ping system is.
The tutorial doesn’t go into some of the finer details though, like being able to agree or disagree with a decision, an option that comes up when you ping (click) on someone else’s ping. It also doesn’t tell you that if you open your inventory and ping the slots associated with a needed item, your character will let everyone know you’re looking for it.
Furthermore, it doesn’t let on about the ping wheel options, which can be very helpful at times. These options are accessed by holding the ping button, and they include the aforementioned basic markings as well as some situational callouts that aren’t readily apparent.
These callouts let you get very specific with your pings. For instance, you can do things like tell your squad that an enemy has recently been at a location, as opposed to saying that you have spotted one outright, or you can indicate your plans to loot, defend, or watch an area of interest.
Again, the ping system is priceless. Not only does it allow players to express a desire or warn of a threat, but it also encourages those who are averse to talking to participate.
With so many people using private chats – or just refusing to speak at all – this system helps in getting them to communicate. This will, in turn, make them better players.
Don’t Always Engage
For some reason, as soon as I ping/warn about an enemy, one of my teammates will start firing. It doesn’t matter how far away they are, or if we’re actually ready to take on another group, that person is out for blood, and no amount of “WTF” through the mic is going to stop them from shooting.
It’s easy to get trigger happy while playing Apex Legends. However, the problem with playing that way all the time, is that you risk walking into a difficult situation.
For example, there have been times where my group decided to charge an opposing squad, only to realize upon entering the fray that we had put ourselves in the middle of a war. Before we knew it, both sides were shooting in our direction, which eventually meant a long trek back to a revive station. If we have waited, we’d have seen that a third group was actually involved and may have steered clear.
Of course, shootouts are part of the game, and you’re going to have to engage another team sooner or later. That said, sometimes it’s better to let enemies walk by. At the very least, consider the situation carefully.
Would it be better to sneak up on an opponent as they go about their looting? It’s certainly much easier to ambush a squad when their shuffling through menus and swapping out gear.
Or are there any other teams in the area? If there are, and they are in close proximity, they might end up doing most of the work for you. Then all you’ll have to do is go mop up the weakened survivors.
The point here is think before you act. Don’t take a shot if you don’t have a sniper rifle and a clear target, make sure your teammates are ready for what comes next, and don’t alert enemies to your presence without having the means of finishing a fight.
Hunt for Attachments
Having the right weapon for the right situation is key to winning shootouts in any game. The same thing goes for in Apex Legends. That said, making sure to hunt down your weapon’s attachments is just as important.
Take the R-99 SMG as an example. Its high fire rate and decent damage make it a good choice for close quarters combat, but, due to its small magazine, it can take a couple of reloads to down an armor wearing player. The gun’s recoil doesn’t help things either, and you really won’t eliminate anyone if you’re missing shots.
However, all of these issues can be addressed by equipping an extended mag and barrel stabilizer. Now, all of a sudden, you’re landing your shots and have more ammo to spare.
Each of the basic gun attachments come in different rarities (Common, Rare, and Epic), with the rarer ones being more beneficial in a fight. There are also special attachments for select weapons that significantly alter their performance.
Again, gun attachments are important. They’ll make an ok weapon better and take a good one to great. And don’t even get me started on how much they improve the game’s rarest guns.
Don’t Forget to Ult
Most battle royale games boil down to shooting rival players, but Apex Legends is a little different. Yes, it too is about eliminating opponents, but its emphasis on character-based abilities makes it something unique in the genre.
Since this type of mechanic is not something typically found in a battle royale title, it can be easy to forget that you have these abilities in Apex Legends. This is especially true for the Ultimate abilities.
Don’t believe me? Ask yourself this: Have you ever been put at a disadvantage – an ally goes down, you’ve lost a ton of health, etc. – and you died with a ready-to-use Ult? Then ask yourself if it would have saved the day if you had used it.
There’s nothing worse than being in the heat of the moment, with the perfect opportunity to call forth an artillery strike or deploy room filling Nox gas, and you fail to use your strongest tool. Just try to remember that Apex Legends is not a typical battle royale when going up against your rivals online, and you’ll do fine.
Have Fun
Being the last squad standing is a tricky thing to accomplish. Even if you make all of the best decisions, and have the best weapons, you can still lose.
This is because Apex Legends is a battle royale game, and sometimes winning comes down to just being lucky. For example, all the skill in the world isn’t going to save you if you’re blindsided by a sniper’s bullet when exiting a building.
That said, these tips will certainly help you along the way. Make sure to have some fun while you are using them.
Published: Feb 9, 2019 12:18 am