Apex Legends Season 14 is here, and with it comes quite a few nerfs and buffs to both weapons and the Legends already in the game. So, with a new season, new balance changes, and a new (kinda broken) Legend, it’s time for a revamped Apex Legends Tier List.
Tier lists for games like Apex Legends are necessary with just how quickly the meta changes and never has there been a meta shift bigger than the one that the Season 14 update brought about. The update affected almost every Legend in the game, and Vantage’s presence has definitely impacted who’s viable to play and who isn’t.
Picking the right Legends, especially as a team (we’re still waiting for Respawn to bless us with Solos) can make all the difference between being the champion or constantly getting screamed at by your teammates when you choke the last dogfight.
Let’s get straight into it. But before we do, it’s important to remember that this Apex Legends tier list is only if you’re trying to grind out in ranked and make it to Diamond or Predator rank.
For the casual player, while choosing Legends who are on top of the meta will definitely make getting wins easier, it’s always important to have fun and play who you’re most comfortable with. (Personally, I still main Mirage, but that’s only because I’m a horrible squadmate)
Tier lists always beg the question of just what criteria are being used to rank and judge characters. So, to clarify we’ll be completely transparent about how we’re judging all of the Apex Legends.
It comes as no surprise that to be considered a “good” Legend, you have to be able to mesh well with any time.
No matter whether you’re playing with friends, or some random who refuses to pick anybody but Mirage (cough), you should be able to provide either decent support, or great offensive capabilities, and ideally a mix of both.
At the end of the day, no matter how good a Legend’s kit is, it very obviously has to be relevant to the current meta.
Legends like Lifeline, who do have viable kits, are just outperformed by newer characters like Newcastle who do most of what she does, just better. Generally, this means an Apex Legend has to be usable outside of a specific niche situation.
We’re also breaking down just what each Legend does (or doesn’t) do to earn them their place in the Season 14 meta, so keep on reading to find out how to take full advantage of your pick’s abilities.
(this totally isn’t a way for me to justify playing Mirage when he’s a D Tier Legend.)
Passive: “Spacewalk” is a powerful tool in the arsenal of any Horizon. The ability to maneuver yourself more than other legends while in the air and the ability to retain your momentum after falling makes it one of the better passive abilities in the game, especially with how well it pairs with her Tactical.
Tactical: “Gravity Lift” is singlehandedly one of the most useful tactical abilities in the game. Any useful Horizon will know when and where to place it to let her team instantly reposition to higher ground, and just when she needs to use it for herself to escape a tight spot.
Ultimate: “Black Hole” is the ultimate distraction. Horizon throws out NEWT and creates a miniature singularity that pulls in everything and everyone in the affected radius. Non-movement-based Legends will struggle to escape gravity’s pull.
Horizon finds herself only barely edging out Bloodhound and Valkyrie for the top spot in our Apex Legends tier list. In a movement and positioning-based meta, being able to basically generate her own high-ground is an invaluable asset.
Her abilities Spacewalk and Gravity Lift tie in seamlessly with themselves, allowing Horizon to propel herself instantly into the air, and then make herself extremely hard to hit. Paired with how Gravity Lift can be used to almost instantly scale buildings, and how disruptive a well-placed Black Hole can be, Horizon is cemented in her place as the best legend of Season 14.
She performs best when paired with a recon category legend such as Bloodhound or Seer, and a defensive category legend such as Newcastle or Gibraltar.
Passive: “Tracker” might not be the best passive in the game, but it still has its uses. It allows Bloodhound to see tracks up to 90 seconds old, and if you’re trying to be aggressive, it definitely helps you pick out fights.
Tactical: “Eye of The Allfather” is better known by the Apex Legends community as wall hacks, and not without reason. At the click of a button, you can scan the entire area ahead of you, and instantly know what lies ahead, whether that be enemy traps, players, or even Mirage’s annoying clones.
Ultimate: “Beast of The Hunt” allows Bloodhound to track enemies in a way that any normal predator would. His vision turns grey and highlights players in red, along with showing Bloodhound their footsteps for the past 5 seconds.
Bloodhound, alternatively known as Blódhundr, is the highest ranking recon category legend on our tier list, and ties for second with Valkyrie in overall rankings. Bloodhound’s scanning abilities are crucial to any team that wants to be smart while being aggressive.
While definitely being one of the easier legends to pick up and start playing with, Bloodhound is quite complex to master. Learning how to effectively communicate with your team, as well as when to use Eye of The Allfather to reveal information about the area ahead of you is crucial as a Bloodhound.
The difference between a good and a great Bloodhound can make all the difference between losing and winning a fight, especially when Bloodhound’s scan reveals where you are as well, and Beast of The Hunt has one of the loudest voice cues in the game.
A good Bloodhound, paired alongside a legend like Horizon or Valkyrie to help with repositioning, and a legend like Gibraltar or Wraith to help you escape from an engagement gone sideways, is the kind of team that wins matches consistently.
Passive: “Heart Seeker” as a passive is insanely powerful. It allows Seer to track the heartbeats of any opposing Legends in his line of sight while aiming down the sights of whatever weapon you have. Somehow, that applies to your fists as well, that too with a cool animation.
Tactical: “Focus of Attention” might have received a significant nerf only a season after Seer came out, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good. It shows and marks players within the tunnel Seer throws out, along with showing their health bars.
Ultimate: “Exhibit” is the perfect name for Seer’s ultimate. Given the artist he is, Seer puts his foes on display using a net made of drones that track enemies at all times while they are inside it. Enemies can also destroy the ultimate, although it might be a bit difficult with Seer constantly tracking them.
Seer saw a significant nerf the season after he was released when players complained about how annoying his tactical was. Yet, he still competes with Bloodhound for the best recon legend in the game.
His passive ability, Heart Seeker, is the sneakiest way in the game to check for enemies in the area. It gives no hints, triggers no voice cues, and requires nothing other than aiming down sights with whatever weapon you have. Pair that with Focus of Attention and you can suddenly reveal where your previously scouted enemies are, along with interrupting any heals or revives that may have been taking place.
To top it all off, Seer also boasts one of the most useful ultimate abilities in the game. Exhibit instantly reveals all players inside the net of drones that Seer casts, which forces them to either reposition or leave the area entirely. Both options leave enemies exposed and easy to target.
Seer is a viable substitute for Bloodhound at any time, and might even be the preferred option depending on your playstyle. And if they’re both on the same team, hiding will never be an option.
Passive: “VTOL Jets” make Valkyrie the second legend to have insane air movement capabilities. These twin jets strapped to her back are used both in her ultimate and her passive, and allow her to boost herself off the ground and instantly take the high ground. Her second passive also allows her to track enemies while she is skydiving either from her ultimate, or a jump tower.
Tactical: “Missile Swarm” lets Valkyrie target a certain area and deploy a set of missiles that will explode on impact and damage any players caught in the attack. The missiles, along with dealing damage, disorient enemies and make their screen hazy.
Ultimate: “Skyward Dive” is the ultimate repositioning tool. Valkyrie powers up the powerful thrusters attached to her suit and takes to the skies, functioning as what is basically a “whenever you want it” jump tower. She also lets her teammates latch onto her as she flies.
Valkyrie was considered unbalanced and overpowered when she came out. But now, having found her sweet spot after a variety of nerfs, buffs, and adjustments, she confidently competes with the best out there for her spot on the Apex Legends tier list.
With the likes of Pathfinder and Horizon already in the game, fans were unsure about Valkyrie and whether she would seem repetitive or not. Alas, her passive, VTOL Jets brought fresh new meaning to what tactical positioning meant. Her passive paired well with her Missile Swarm, which could be activated while she was in the air, allowing her to make enemies think twice before engaging with her.
Valkyrie is also the perfect mix of offensive capabilities and escape options. Skyward Dive is undoubtedly the best escape tool in the game. The ability to run away when a fight isn’t going your way means that Valkyrie is almost a necessity on any competitive team.
Her ideal pairing is with a recon legend like Bloodhound or Seer, and a competitive defensive legend that can provide cover as she plans to escape, such as Newcastle or Gibraltar.
Passive: “Spotter’s Lens” is one of the more subtle passive abilities in the game, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its uses. It allows you to gauge and accurately account for any bullet drop in the shot you are about to take. It also lets you identify key details about the enemies in your line of sight.
Tactical: “Echo Relocation” is a repositioning tool in Vantage’s kit that allows her to quickly move between spots to gain better lines of sight on her targets. The ability is conditional to being able to see Echo but can be useful for quickly taking out enemies or marking them with her ultimate.
Ultimate: “Sniper’s Mark” brings out a powerful heavy-duty sniper rifle as Vantage’s ultimate. The ultimate can be used at increments of 20%, with every increment being a shot in her rifle. These shots mark enemies for your teammates and also increase damage dealt to those enemies while they are marked.
Being the newest addition to the Apex Legends roster, we’re surprised that Vantage is as balanced as she is in terms of the current meta. That being said, her addition is what sparked the defensive playstyle, so maybe she’ll see a few nerfs next season.
For now, Vantage is extremely useful. Her passive ability, Spotter’s Lens allows newer players to familiarize themselves with bullet drop, and older players (like myself) to hit Kraber shots more consistently. While her kit does seem to be a bit all over the place, Echo Relocation is a useful tool when it comes to finding new angles to take sniper shots from, especially with just how much height versatility King’s Canyon and Stormpoint have.
Her ultimate, Sniper’s Mark, is perhaps the highlight of the kit. Vantage uses a pretty heavy-duty sniper rifle to scout out enemies. Should her team choose to engage, the sniper has next to no bullet drop and travel time, and tagging an enemy will let your teammates deal higher damage to them as well.
Vantage is the long-range player’s best friend and does well when paired with a defensive Legend like Gibraltar, and a movement legend like Valkyrie or Pathfinder.
Passive: “Voices From The Void” is a powerful ability that ties directly into Wraith’s character lore. Whenever Wraith is close to enemies or is within a certain distance of an enemy trap, a voice will warn her about it. She can also choose to trigger a voice line so as to inform her team about what she has heard.
Tactical: “Into The Void” is more commonly known as Wraith’s phase ability. Her tactical ability allows her to slip into another dimension called “The Void” and avoid damage for a while. But while she cannot be hit, a trail of her path inside the void is still visible to enemies and teammates.
Ultimate: “Dimensional Rift” used to be a necessity for almost every squad in the game. Wraith is able to create a portal that utilizes The Void and lets her breach through time and space. This creates a two-way portal for her and her teammates to use when they want to reposition or escape.
Wraith has had her fair share of time in the spotlight, both in terms of being on top of the Apex Legends tier list and as being the face of the game itself. Fortunately, her kit isn’t as overpowered as it once was, and she has fallen from the top leagues quite a bit.
Voices from The Void has remained pretty much the same as it was when Apex Legends launched and players first met Wraith. Sadly, the same cannot be said for her tactical and ultimate abilities.
Into The Void, as powerful as it still is, used to be the best escape tool in the game. Since then, however, Wraith decided to start waving her hand around before she entered the void and provided a significant window where she could take damage but deal none in return. Much in the same way, Dimensional Rift had its distance reduced and now can span significantly shorter areas than before.
Despite these, Wraith is still a fearsome fighter and fits into almost any squad extremely well. The same albeit, cannot be said for the majority of players who main her.
Passive: “Retrieve The Wounded” lets Newcastle revive downed teammates while dragging them into cover simultaneously. This makes him the only Legend capable of reviving on the go, moving while doing so, and also being able to have a knockdown shield up at the same time.
Tactical: “Mobile Shield” is a more tactical variation of Gibraltar’s Dome Shield. Newcastle throws out a drone that deploys a shield wall facing towards the direction it is deployed in. Newcastle can also command the shield to reposition and move to a certain location.
Ultimate: “Castle Wall” is what cements Newcastle’s location in the Apex Legend Tier List. Newcastle launches up into the sky and plummets back down for a powerful slam attack that pushes enemies backward while also constructing a powerful armored shield wall.
Newcastle isn’t just the newest defensive legend in the game, he’s also a Gibraltar and Lifeline replacement rolled into one, with a few extra perks on top. He’s earned his place in the Apex Legends tier list and seems like he will stay here for a while.
Retrieve The Wounded and Mobile Shield are both extremely powerful abilities. His passive basically overshadows Lifeline’s entire kit, given that he can have a shield up while healing, and move his downed teammates as he does so. And just to rub it in, he also revives just as fast as her.
Mobile Shield is, at the very least, on par with Gibraltar’s dome shield. Newcastle’s tactical provides instant cover from any enemies in front of you, with the added advantage that the shield can be repositioned after it has been deployed. To further accentuate how Newcastle is the superior defensive legend, Castle Wall is able to lock onto teammates and provide them with instant cover, along with letting Newcastle jump to their position.
Newcastle is a must-have for any team that plans on mixing between being aggressive and playing slowly while picking their battles.
Passive: “Swift Mend” makes Octane the only Legend who doesn’t technically need health healing items in the game. Swift Mend passively heals Octane over time as long as he hasn’t taken damage for more than 5 seconds.
Tactical: “Stim” is Octane’s drug-induced speed boost. By hitting the tactical button, players inject Octane with a dosage of a greenish fuel (drug) that gives him a significant speed boost while also taking away almost 15% of his health at the same time.
Ultimate: “Launch Pad” lets Octane throw out a jump pad that can launch Octane, his teammates, and basically anyone who touches it into the air. It’s a great tool for letting your entire team reposition to higher ground, or to confuse enemies as you fly over their heads. Be way though, figuring out the Launch Pad’s deployment angles will take a few tries.
Octane is one of two legends that fit into what is called a purely solo playstyle. The other is Mirage. Octane ranks significantly higher on the Apex Legends tier list than him due to the little amount of team viability he does have, and also because of how fun-to-play he is.
Octane’s passive and tactical abilities are the perfect example of what a kit that compliments itself looks like. Stim is Octane’s main trick as an Apex Legend. The 70% speed boost means that it is great for speeding into engagements or speeding out of them with your teammates’ respawn banners.
On the other hand, Swift Mend is the perfect counter to it. It allows Octane to recover the health that his stim takes away, and takes his survivability to a whole new level. On top of both of these, the speed demon also has a deployable Launchpad that can be used for a quick escape when alone or can be used by him and his team to cross significant gaps quickly.
Octane is one of those legends that can fit into any team pretty easily but would do well with two all-encompassing teammates like Newcastle and Valkyrie.
Passive: “Gun Shield” is Gibraltar’s tool to ensure that he takes less damage than his opponents in a gunfight, despite his significantly larger hitbox. Gibraltar activates a mini bubble shield that covers most of his torso when he aims down the sight of a gun. The shield can take up to 150 HP in terms of damage, but can also let damage bleed through if a shot exceeds that limit.
Tactical: “Dome of Protection” lets Gibby throw out a protective bubble in the heat of battle to provide a bit of cover and the opportunity to revive any downed teammates. This deployable cover protects players from all sides and has no health bar, along with the fact that it lets your team heal 15% faster while inside it.
Ultimate: “Defensive Bombardment” might be the only offensive tool in Gibraltar’s kit, but it makes up for it in just how powerful it is. Every four and a half minutes, players can throw out a flare that will call a defensive mortar strike on the position. The strike lasts for 6 seconds, deals 40 damage per hit, and can disorient damaged players as well.
Gibraltar is the original defensive Legend, and while there might be better options like Newcastle for pure defense, Gibby still has his place in every meta.
The easiest way to define Gibraltar is that he is a tank, his passive, Gun Shield, allows him to sponge up more damage than regular players, while also making him a bigger and more obvious target for enemies to hit. This also pairs extremely well with the Fortified perk, which makes him take lesser damage than other legends anyways.
Dome of Protection is significantly more useful than Newcastle’s Mobile Shield when surrounded from all sides. Skilled Gibraltars can even use it to push an enemy squad, or provide cover for their own to heal.
Despite this, Gibby’s hard counter is Mad Maggie, who burns through and destroys his shield, rendering him almost entirely defenseless and an easy target to take out. Still, he performs well with other legends such as Wraith and Octane who can get him out of situations like these.
Passive: “Insider Knowledge” lets Pathfinder use Survey Beacons to scan the map and reveal the next zone. Simultaneously, as an extra incentive to actually look for and use these beacons, for every Survey Beacon a Pathfinder scans, it also reduces the cooldown of the Zipline Gun by 10 seconds.
Tactical: “Grappling Hook” is still the original movement-based tactical ability, and no matter how old it is, it’s still a powerful tool in the hands of a skilled Pathfinder player. The grappling hook’s ability to let Pathfinder instantly reposition is why he hasn’t dropped to the bottom of the Apex Legends tier list.
Ultimate: “Zipline Gun” is Pathfinder’s ultimate ability. It allows players to create a permanent zipline from one point to another. Despite its limitations, it has advantages such as letting players make longer rotations quicker or reach otherwise unreachable high grounds. Be warned though, enemies can use your zipline too.
Pathfinder is the best example of a legend that fell off of the top of the Apex Legends tier list only because there were better options for every part of his kit. Legends like Valkyrie and Ash took on Pathfinder and left him in the dust.
Insider Knowledge used to be exclusive to Pathfinder, and now that every recon legend has it, it feels like he doesn’t have a passive of his own. On the same note, his Zipline Gun has been replaced by significantly better options like Ash’s Phase Breach and Valkyrie’s Skyward Dive.
The only part of his kit that still remains relevant is his grapple, which to this day is unrivaled in terms of the movement options it provides. His grapples, especially in the hands of a skilled player, can mean traversing multiple POIs in a single movement.
Pathfinder fits into teams the same as Wraith and Octane and compliments squads that need a movement legend.
Passive: “Marked For Death” can be considered a recon legend-level passive ability, even though Ash is an attacker legend. The ability lets Ash see enemy death boxes on her map, and if she so chooses, she can interact with the boxes to ping the remaining teammates from the squad on her map.
Tactical: “Arc Snare” lets Ash throw out an Arc Star-esque projectile that travels in a straight line until it hits something. The snare, upon hitting an enemy player, will damage them, cause an electrocuted effect on their screen, and limit their mobility with extreme slowness for a total of 3 seconds.
Ultimate: “Phase Breach” is a one-way variation of Wraith’s Dimensional Rift. Ash uses her sword to slash through space and time, and travel in a straight line for 62.5 meters in whatever direction she chooses. This also creates a one-way portal that her teammates can travel through, but it only stays active for 15 seconds.
Upon her release, Ash’s reception was mediocre at best. Sure, because of the hype surrounding the character, players used her excessively, but her kit was still quite a bit lacking.
Marked for Death seemed great theoretically, but was unable to take into account the fact that most engagements were full on 3v3s, with one of the squads being fully eliminated. This meant that any and all of the death boxes in Ash’s immediate vicinity were useless because the “remaining attackers” had already been eliminated.
Arc Snare had faults of its own. The projectile required extreme accuracy, and with absolutely no tracking mechanism to help it latch onto enemies, actually snaring someone with it proved to be quite a challenge.
The only redeeming quality of Ash’s kit was Phase Breach. Like her lore-accurate boyfriend, it was built to aggressively push teams, but without any of the drawbacks. Her breaches, despite being one way, could travel upwards as well and be able to let entire squads position to higher ground and gain tactical advantages.
Ash’s team compositions were almost the same as Pathfinder’s, with the only difference being that her movement capabilities are severely time-constrained, unlike Pathfinder’s grapple.
Passive: “Eye For Quality” is the perfect mostly-useful and somewhat annoying passive for all you loot thieves out there. Loba can see through walls and objects, including seeing into supply crates, to see whether there are any purple or gold items present. This includes shields, hop-ups, healing items, and occasionally even perfected weapon variants.
Tactical: “Burgular’s Best Friend” lets Loba teleport from one position to another after tossing the bracelet she wears around her wrist. The only catch is that Loba has to wait for the bracelet to hit the ground, and while she is waiting for it to land, she is unable to fight back or draw her weapon, which renders her almost entirely useless if you misplace the throw.
Ultimate: “Black Market Boutique” is perhaps Loba’s only redeeming feature. The ultimate allows Loba and other players to access all the loot in a certain radius. When positioned correctly the ability gives players access to all the loot and ammo in an entire POI, with the ability to pick up unlimited amounts of ammo and two other items. (Weapons, Shields, Armor)
Everyone’s favorite loot thief and resident Apex Legends simp queen was added back in Season 5 and instantly found her place in almost every team, and in the Apex Legends tier list.
Eye For Quality allowed Loba players to either run towards high-tier loot as soon as they landed, or ping it for their teammates without having to search entire POIs. The same logic held true for Black Market Boutique. Loba’s ultimate was able to encompass entire POIs and towns and gave her team access to whatever loot was available within the radius.
Even today, with maps like King’s Canyon and Stormpoint having smaller-sized POIs, Loba has a solid place on any team looking to start the game off with lots of momentum and get a few easy kills based on just having better loot than other teams.
Passive: “Modded Loader” is a bit niche specific when it’s compared to just how useful some other passive abilities can be. It lets players reload LMGs faster, and also increases the maximum number of bullets inside a magazine. But that’s all it does, and definitely leaves Rampart a bit exposed in terms of usefulness.
Tactical: “Amped Cover” is her major contribution to any squad. Rampart is able to deploy walls that come with an “Amp” shield attached to them. The shields are one-way and allow players to deal amped (increased) damage while not receiving any. Although, her walls do take a bit of time to set up and come into play.
Ultimate: “Mobile Minigun (SHIELA)” is the literal definition of bringing out the big guns. SHIELA and Rampart were a duo to be feared when they initially launched, and since then, SHIELA has received a buff where Rampart can dismount it from the tripod and carry the minigun around. Despite its 2-second spin-up time, the weapon can destroy health bars in instants.
Rampart is the perfect example of a legend whose kit is carried by a singular element. Despite this, given the current meta and dominant playstyle, it comes as no surprise that she ranks this high on the Apex Legends tier list.
Rampart’s Modded Loader is one of two passive abilities, along with Mad Maggie’s Warlord’s Ire, that looks great on paper but just isn’t. The extra ammo in the magazine sounds great but also requires that you actually hit your shots. Amped Cover definitely has its uses in setting up a defensive position in anticipation of the late game but suffers in the middle of combat given how long the walls actually take to go up.
SHIELA basically carries Rampart’s entire kit. Despite the gun having the longest spin-up time in the game, the damage output is insane. Health bars get absolutely melted, and a Rampart who can actually land her shots forces players to stay indoors at all times.
Rampart is the aggressive player’s substitute for Gibraltar, and fits in well with legends like Valkyrie and Wrauth to help her escape from tricky situations.
Passive: “Warlord’s Ire” is basically Mad Maggie’s variation of Rampart’s Modded Loader. Maggie is useful in terms of the fact that she temporarily marks enemies for her teammates on their map if she damages them. As a second passive, Maggie also moves faster while wielding a shotgun.
Tactical: “Riot Drill” is one of the most meta-defining tactical abilities on paper. Mad Maggie deploys a drill that can burn through walls and shields, which makes her a direct counter to legends like Gibraltar, Rampart, and Newcastle.
Ultimate: “Wrecking Ball” might be reminiscent of the Miley Cyrus song, but it actually does so much more. The ultimate is a mix of offensive and supportive, with the wrecking ball itself actually tracking down players and stunning them, while also deploying speed pads to help you and your team hunt them down.
Mad Maggie was, at her worst, an unnecessary addition to the game. Her presence has never really affected the meta, other than the fact that she is a solid counter to defense-type legends who put up walls and covers.
Warlord’s Ire is as unexciting as Rampart’s Modded Loader and her temporary enemy highlight feels like a knockoff Seer or Bloodhound at best. The only actually useful part of Mad Maggie’s kit is the Riot Drill, which pierces through defenses like Gibraltar’s shield and Rampart’s walls.
Maggie’s Wrecking Ball is also entirely a letdown. The ball barely slows down enemies enough to cause a distraction, and the speed pads don’t provide a boost significant enough to allow players to hunt enemies down.
At the end of it, her use case scenarios are niche at best and she is picked by players who are severely annoyed by players that won’t stop camping.
Passive: “Nox Vision” is one of the simplest, yet more well-designed passive abilities in the game. The ability lets Caustic see through his Nox Gas, and gain threat vision to highlight players that are caught in the gas clouds that he has created.
Tactical: “Nox Gas Trap” is one of the major reasons that opposing players hate Caustics. Caustic is able to set down up to 6 traps at a time that have no time limit on them. These traps, when triggered, will let out a cloud of Nox gas that disorients players while damaging them and slowing them down.
Ultimate: “Nox Gas Grenade” does exactly what a Nox Gas Trap does but in a more mobile way. Caustic is able to toss a grenade that blankets the area in Nox gas, damaging all enemies inside and lasting for 15 seconds. For those 15 seconds, the area is inhabitable by Caustics only and forces players to quickly reposition.
Caustic is every camper’s dream. The ability to surround yourself in a cloud of toxic gas when players attack you is the perfect deterrent, and yet, he feels significantly underpowered compared to some other legends.
While Caustic’s kit melds in perfectly with itself, that is also its biggest drawback. His passive only activates in extremely specific scenarios and is easily made up for by having a Crypto, Bloodhound, or Seer on your team.
His Nox Traps and Nox Grenades are good tools to force teams to relocate or ward them off of locations, but given just how easy it is to maneuver around the gas cloud and deactivate the traps, Caustic has stopped posing much of a threat in the meta.
Still, his Nox gas can be lethal in the right situation, and he fits in well in teams that prefer to camp and stay in one position.
Passive: “Spark of Genius” is a passive ability that allows Wattson to heal her armor in the same way Octane heals health. The ability also lets her carry two Ultimate Accelernants in the same slot, while also allowing those accelerants to fill her Ultimate up the entire way.
Tactical: “Perimeter Security” lets Wattson deploy up to 12 total fence nodes on the map. When placed within 30 meters of each other, they create an electric fence that does 20 damage to players and slows them for 3 seconds. The tactical is perfectly suited to the defensive, almost camping-encouraging, play style that the developers had in mind when designing her.
Ultimate: “Interception Pylon” is a deployable Ultimate that functions as what is essentially a glorified trophy system. The ultimate protects against incoming ordnance, recharges player shields when they are inside the radius, and reduces Wattson’s tactical cooldown from 15 seconds to 3 seconds.
As we enter the lower sides of the Apex Legends tier list, the legends on here start either depending on their team composition, or on a single aspect of their kit.
Wattson is an example of the prior. With her kit being too interdependent on itself, and her strengths lying entirely in fortifying a certain location, it’s hard to imagine her in any of the top teams.
Wattson’s Perimeter Security received a significant nerf when the damage it dealt was reduced and the slow effect was significantly shortened. Still, her ability to ward off players and prevent squads from flanking you when you’re inside a building is beyond powerful.
The Interception Pylon by itself is okay, but given the fact that it lasts for 60 seconds and cannot be stacked like it was once capable of doing, means that its usefulness is significantly lowered. Wattson, at her best, is a more defensive substitute for Caustic in his teams.
Passive: “Neurolink” allows Crypto and his teammates to be able to see enemies that his drone picks up if they are within 30 meters of Crypto. He also shares the Insider Knowledge perk with Pathfinder and can locate future rings using survey beacons.
Tactical: “Surveillance Drone” is Crypto’s entire kit in the form of a drone. Crypto can launch the drone into the sky, pilot him to find and mark enemies, and then leave the drone there to keep on tracking them as Crypto and his teammates engage the enemy, all while knowing exactly where they are.
Ultimate: “Drone EMP” lets Crypto utilize his drone to weaken an enemy squad before rushing to fight them. The drone lets off an EMP charge that deals 50 damage to enemy shields and slows them down for 3 seconds. Crypto can also park the drone and detonate the charge mid-fight remotely.
By himself, Crypto does exactly what Bloodhound and Seer do, and while some would argue that he does it better, he also has a major drawback in terms of how his kit limits him.
While his drone does provide a more versatile approach to scouting out enemies, it is also what leaves him most exposed. Crypto is incapable of moving and defending himself while piloting the drone, and a Crypto will more often than not exit his pilot view to enemies pointing guns at his face.
On the other hand, his drone also lets him pick up his teammates’ respawn banners and bring them back, all while piloting the drone. So the drone has its advantages and drawbacks, which make Crypto viable in very specific niche scenarios.
Passive: “Grenadier” is based entirely around Fuse’s robotic arm and his love for explosives. Fuse can carry two of the same type of explosive in the same inventory slot, and can launch them further and faster than other legends, along with tracking how a grenade will bounce.
Tactical: “Knuckle Cluster” is perhaps the most annoying tactical ability in the game. For your enemies obviously. Knuckle Cluster has two charges and lets Fuse launch a Cluster Bomb that sticks to wherever it lands and does 70 damage over the course of quite a few mini-explosions.
Ultimate: “The Motherlode” is basically a thermite grenade on steroids. Fuse launches a mortar strike into the sky that eventually lands around the targeted area in a wall of flames. Enemies can take up to 90 HP in damage and are revealed to Fuse and his teammates if they are inside the ring.
Fuse brings a unique twist to the Apex Games with his unique throwable friendly mechanics His backstory ties in directly to his abilities which makes him fun to play, but doesn’t necessarily mean he fits in well with any team composition.
Fuse’s Grenadier and Knuckle Cluster abilities predict and launch explosives with extreme accuracy while also allowing him to carry more of them. At its best, Knuckle Cluster allows players to annoy the enemy and get them to move while disorienting them mildly as well.
On the other hand, The Motherlode is nothing more than a flash thermite grenade that is easily avoided. All in all, Fuse struggles to fit into any team at all, and can easily be considered a loose cannon.
Passive: “Double Time” is one of the more timeless abilities when it comes to passive abilities in Apex Legends. It allows Bangalore to run faster when she’s under fire, letting players quickly escape to cover or avoid bullets by strafing faster.
Tactical: “Smoke Launcher” is nothing more than your typical run-of-the-mill smoke screen. Bangalore gets two charges for her smoke launcher and is able to launch them at incredible distances to either cover a squadmate’s escape or to distract enemies before engaging them.
Ultimate: “Rolling Thunder” is a carpet bombing run that Bangalore can call using a flare signal. The run drops missiles in a 6×6 square, and ticks for 6 seconds before the missiles explode one row at a time. The missiles deal 40 damage to players and slow down players by stopping them from sprinting.
Despite how low she is on our Apex Legends tier list, Bangalore is the player’s go-to choice when introducing newbies to the game.
Her Smoke Launcher is easy to understand and easy to use and doesn’t require much game sense to use correctly. The same holds true for Rolling Thunder which might be a powerful tool in the hands of a skilled player, but can still do damage when used by someone who just picked her up.
In the end, Bangalore is a fun and easy-to-use Legend, that can fit into every team easily, and can provide decent support and fun gameplay if you know how to aim well.
Passive: “Now You See Me” is perhaps the only team-friendly ability that Mirage has. When reviving or respawning a teammate, Mirage and the teammate will go invisible. As an added bonus, Mirage goes invisible for 5 seconds when downed and throws out a dramatically dying clone.
Tactical: “Psyche Out” lets Mirage throw out a holographic copy of himself that is able to mimic his actions. He can let the clone keep on running in a straight line, or take control so that it does exactly what he is doing. This ability can also be used to make clones while skydiving.
Ultimate: “Life of The Party” is singlehandedly the best ultimate ability a solo player can ask for. Mirage goes invisible for a second before deploying a team of 5 clones that mimic him, have their own footsteps, and can take up to 45 damage before fading away.
Cue the solo player’s dream legend. Mirage, despite how low he is on our Apex Legends tier list, is the best legend a solo player who doesn’t rely on his squad can pick.
Mirage’s entire kit, except for Now You See Me is about there being strength in numbers without there actually being any numbers. Mirage excels at tricking and fooling people, and his tactical ability and ultimate are both testaments to that.
Life of The Party and Psyche Out excel at making enemies think that you aren’t alone and allow you to take people by surprise while they try to guess which one you are. Suffice it to say, Mirage doesn’t fit well on any team, but given how broken Life of The Party is, he doesn’t need to anyway.
Passive: “Stalker” allows Revenant to match his crouch-walking speed to his normal walking speed. In addition to this, he can also climb buildings faster and is also able to climb taller buildings than any other legend in the game.
Tactical: “Silence” is a projectile-based tactical ability of which Revenant carries two charges. The projectile, upon connecting with a player, will deal 15 damage and block both their tactical and ultimate ability, along with deactivating certain passives.
Ultimate: “Death Totem” is currently a mere shadow (pun intended) of its former self. Revenant can summon a totem that allows players to become “shadows” of themselves and rush enemies within a25 seconds. If players lose their health bar, they are returned to the totem, but if the timer runs out, they are left exposed in their normal state, with whatever little health they had left.
Being second last on our tier list, Revenant is a legend that just doesn’t feel relevant to the meta anymore.
His only redeeming quality is the Death Totem, and even that doesn’t let players push enemy teams like it once did. The timer on the totem is far too short, and players are more likely to be stranded with low health and without their teams in the middle of a fight.
Revenant struggles to fit into most meta-relevant teams, but could still potentially be used on a fully aggressive team.
Passive: “Combat Revive” is a team-supporting passive ability more than anything else. It allows Lifeline to revive a player using her heal drone, which in turn allows her to revive two players at once. The revive that is being done using the drone will not be canceled if it’s already in progress and the entire squad goes down.
Tactical: “D.O.C Heal Drone” lets Lifeline deploy her heal drone to restore health to both herself and her teammates as long as they are within range. DOC heals 8 health per second, has an infinite healing pool, and lasts a total of 20 seconds.
Ultimate: “Care Package” takes a whopping 3.5 minutes to charge and allows Lifeline to call down a Care Package for her team. The package is guaranteed to include one wearable (body shield/helmet/backpack), an assortment of healing items, and at least two weapon attachments.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Two seasons ago, Lifeline was a necessary supporting legend to have on any team, and now with the addition of Newcastle, she feels irrelevant at best.
Her DOC Heal Drone requires players to stand still, which really isn’t a smart idea when Vantage is in the game, and the Care Package isn’t worth the wait, especially when the loot is medicare.
To top it all off, her Combat Revive has been completely overtaken by Newcastle, and running Lifeline on any team feels like a waste of a good character slot, even when you’re playing casually.
Apex Legends is constantly evolving, but in season 14, the top-tier Legends are easily Bloodhound, Valkyrie, Seer, Horizon, and Vantage.
In 2022, with the launch of Season 14 and the buffs she has received, Horizon is currently the best legend in Apex Legends. Her mix of movement and offensive positioning capabilities, along with how annoying her black hole is, takes her straight to the top of the meta.
Other than Vantage, who boasts a whopping 10.7% pick rate, the most picked legend in Apex Legends is Octane. His pick rate in Season 14 is a whopping 9.8%, merely one percent under the new Legend.
Wraith was the original broken overpowered character in Apex Legends. Since her glory days, she’s received quite a few nerfs, but still manages to almost always stay in the top 3 most-picked Legends because of how viable her kit is.