Apex Legends: How To Play And Get Good

How to play and get good
Updated:
14 Nov 2023

1. Get used to all of the weapons

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Lifeline and Cyrpto teaming together to get some kills.

Being a battle royale, Apex can give you anything from a pistol to a long range sniper and you need to know what to grab. Playing unknowing what gun you are good with or want to use can lead to consistently dying due to the wrong weapon choice.

In order to fix this problem it's recommended you spend some time in the firing range just to get familiar with the weapons and know whatwhich gun you will want to use in game.

Try out new weapons, in game you can always carry 2 so don’t be afraid to try a new gun out in game to see whether you like it or won’t ever pick it up again.

  How this tip will help you

  • Learning all of the guns will make you an overall better player for when you have no choice on your gun off the drop. 
  • Practicing the recoil and how to control the weapons will make your aim much better than other people that don't practice this.

 

2. Get used to all the different legends

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Different legends getting together before they drop down into the Outlands.

When playing Apex Legends you will encounter all the different legends being used in combat. Going into a fight not knowing whatknowing unknowingly of what ability they may have can lead to defeat.

Go into the firing range and try out each class so you can get familiarized with what abilities may be used against you and how you can use those abilities..

Trying out different legends can improve your overall gameplay by learning what fits yourself and what you can expect from others.

  How this tip will help you

  • Knowing what your opponent is capable of is one of the most important aspects of Apex.
  • With the knowledge of what you and your teammates capabilities are you can know what to expect from the legends.

3. Get Used to all the Abilities

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Bloodhound's raven coming back to him after tracking an enemy.

Getting used to all of the abilities is much like the last tip but slightly more advanced. Knowing what the abilities do is one thing but knowing what the limits to them are and how to properly use them is another.

Like the other tips so far, the firing range is your best friend. Going into the range and practicing how long Wraith's cue lasts or the distance of Bloodhounds scan can help you win more fights in game. 

Practice using the characters abilities like you're in a game. For example use Wraith's cue and run to the nearest building and time the end of the cue with you arriving at the door.

  How this tip will help you

  •  With knowledge of all of the abilities and different tricks you can use them with you can effectively get caught off guard much less leading to an easier knock on opponents.
  •   Knowing how long certain abilities last or how many traps a defensive legend can place can make it much easier to wipe enemy squads.

 

4. Learn all of the maps

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Catalyst looking off at the POI waiting to find her next kill.

Map knowledge is super important if you want to find good loot and get into good positioned battles. Not knowing whether you can get to certain spots or if there's a back entry to a building can easily lead to your loss.

How to learn the seemingly endless maps? Most of the maps buildings have similar layouts or entry points. Learning the different buildings may seem pointless but it can save your life when you're in need of an escape or pushing an enemy team.

Some advice to learn the maps easier is to land certain POI’s repeatedly and try and fight there most games. For example the POI above, learning all of the entry points and where you can climb up to the top of buildings and structures can drastically change the flow of your game.

  How this tip will help you

  •  In Worlds Edge the famous “streamer building” has many different spots you can climb up or hide in. Knowing that you can climb to the top from the bottom from multiple different locations can change how you play in that building knowing that you can easily escape.
  • Unknowingly having a back door way can lead to squads sneaking up on you and wiping your squad before you notice. Knowing where to check and how to position yourself based on the entry points can lead to easier games.

 

5. Learn how to use the heals

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Lifeline reviving her injured teamate in the heat of battle.

Apex Legends has two different health systems, hp and shields. Not knowing how much of each heal to carry or when to use them can lead to you not fighting on maximum health leading to a much harder victory in fights.

To solve this you can head to the firing range to test all of the different heals out. After seeing how much they all vary health and shield wise you can learn what to carry and what not to carry a lot of. not to carry 3 stacks of bandages and just 2 medkits.

A standard for heals is to carry a maximum 1 stack of medkits/bandages, 2-3 stacks of shield cells and however many batteries you can hold. Substitute the batteries for cells if you don’t have enough inventory space, so if you have 2 stacks of cells and no room for batteries drop a stack of cells and pick up the batteries.

  How this tip will help you

  • Carrying too many bandages can lead to less ammo being held or even no shields being picked up. 
  •   Knowing how many heals of each to carry is essential to be able to quickly move from POI to POI without having to constantly search for heals.
 

6. Learn how all of the grenades work

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An arc star, thermite grenade and hand grenade being displayed.

An issue many new players have is they don't pick up grenades or don’t pick up the correct grenades. Having grenades in your inventory can make fighting teams in buildings much easier, limiting their space to move and dealing damage.

To understand what grenades to pick up you need to understand what they do. Like always head to the firing range and try them out. 

As a quick explanation, the arc star has the longest distance and can ‘stick’ to opponents dealing a stun and following their location. The standard grenade is just a grenade dealing up to 100 damage, and the thermite grenade deploys a fire wall almost that burns anything in its path whether its abilities, enemies or doors.

How this tip will help you

  •   Knowing which grenades to use and when to use them can make your fights go much smoother.
  •   Using the grenades to your advantage can make enemies much more distressed in a fight focusing on avoiding the grenades.

 

7. Slide jumping 

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Octane sliding into battle with Gibraltar following behind.

Slide jumping is the most essential movement technique that every player needs to know to move around the map quickly. Not knowing how to slide jump makes you look like what some players call a ‘bot.’

To slide jump its as it sounds, slide then jump soon after you get the momentum from the slide. Doing this makes you increase your overall speed by loads and makes it much harder for enemies to hit you.

 If you're unable to time it correctly, slow it down and work your way up rather than trying to jump immediately after the slide.

  How this tip will help you

  •   Slide jumping is an essential movement technique every player must master to be good at the game.
  •   Knowing how to slide jump makes it much easier to catch your opponent off guard by moving to them faster than usual.

 

 

8. Learn when to heal

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Legends mid fight trying to acheive a victory royale. 

So we learned how to heal, now let's learn when to heal. Healing mid fight can sometimes be bad for you and your team, when you could have free shots into someone's back while instead you’re standing there using a battery. instead.

Healing is a very important part of the game and knowing when to heal can change fights entirely. If you have someone in line of sight and they aren’t shooting your gun, shoot them! They can't shoot you if you kill them first. A lot of players instantly heal after getting cracked but that's one of the best times to catch your opponent off guard.   

Although I'm telling you to shoot more and heal less, I'm not advising you to never heal. If you are very low hp you should always heal unless the opponent is standing in front of you waiting to be shot.

  How this tip will help you

  •     Knowing not to heal when you can easily shoot an opponent in the back can change your perspective on fights.
  •   Shooting your gun more leads to better aim which will ultimately lead to you becoming a better player overall

 

9. Learn to loot fast

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An Apex Legends mobile exclusive legend, Fade menacing on a POI.

Slow looting can slow your rotation down and lead to less fights overall. Looting slowlyslow gives enemies more time to get to your position and less time for you to get fully equipped for each fight.

To loot faster don't pick up everything you see. If you never use a sniper then don’t pick up the 3 different 100x scopes you see.

You can run while your inventory is open so you should constantly clean your inventory when looting. Carrying the correct amount of heals, grenades and ammo can be a gamechanger for how you'reyour currently playing.

  How this tip will help you

  •     Quicker looting lets you be prepared for fights faster ultimately leading to winning more fights overall.
  •   Looting fast makes it much easier to constantly fight and not have to worry about going back to POI’s because you didn’t pick up enough shields.

 

10. Learn the specific uses for different abilities

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Wraith showing off her heirloom 'Hopes Dusk.'

Although we learned how different abilities work and how to use them to our advantage every ability has its own specific uses. Not knowing how certain abilities have specific distinct features can lead to you getting caught off guard.

The only real way to learn the ins and outs of legends is to play them or play against them. For example, did you know Horizon’s cue can be placed on a doorway hence blocking all entry from it, or did you know that when placed on a door Caustics barrel blocks the doorway?
  

Learning the ins and outs of legends can lead to much easier games and can trick your opponents in ways they wouldn't even imagine.

 Why this tip will help you

  •   Knowing what your opponents legends are capable of and what they aren’t can allow you to be more focused and calm during gunfights.
  •   Being able to trick your opponents by using an ability the way the opponent hasn't thought of can make fights much easier.

 

11.  Switch guns before you reload

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Wraith aiming at an enemy combatant with her Genisis.

Many players will instantly reload their weapons upon use but switching your gun can be much faster and make it much easier to knock an opponent that chooses to reload before switching. Reloading your gun leaves you vulnerable and free to shoot, something you don't want.

As simple as the tip sounds, just switch your gun when it's empty. There's a reason you have two guns, use them!

When choosing your weapons you should try and use two weapons that pair well, such as an AR for mid range and shotgun for close range or sniper for mid-long range and SMGsmg for close range.

  How this tip will help you

  •   Switching guns before reloading lets your dish out more damage and helps you and your squad to win more fights.
  •   Using multiple weapons in fights helps you master more weapons and become a better player.

 

12. Holster your weapon

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Octane celebrating his victory. 

Running with an upholstered weapon makes you run much faster. Many users run with their guns out all the time which makes it harder for them to move around the map and makes them a much easier target in fights.

 To fix this simply holster your weapon and you will instantly see a speed boost. Slide jumping while doing this gives you an even bigger increase in speed.

 Although it may seem wrong to run without your gun out it can prevent a lot of damage you receive that you’d otherwise not be able to dodge without the increased speed.

  How this tip will help you

  •   Every good player is constantly holstering their weapons and unholstering them to move much faster.
  •   Moving faster makes it much harder to be hit and lets you get to where you want to go faster.

 

13. Armor Swapping

 

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A red body sheild that protects the user from 125 damage. 

Armor swapping is a technique where you exchange your broken armor for either ground loot armor or armor in a box. Being unable to armor swap quickly can make third parties have an easy time with you, having no shield.

To armor swap simply open a death box and equip the new armor. Doing this quickly can make it seem like you have infinite health when in reality, you're just constantly armor swapping.

Sometimes a blue shield is better than a broken red shield, don't be afraid to drop the better shield for more health mid fight. Although this may be difficult for most players you can swap your armor in a box while moving whether you'reyour on PC or controller.

  How this tip will help you

  •     Learning to armor swap makes fighting teams repeatedly much easier with the help of armor swapping mid fight.
  •   Armor swapping mid fight can catch your opponents off guard when they think they broke your shield, you really have a full shield.

 

 

14. Personalize your settings

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A picture of what the settings button displays.

Playing on low FOV or having a low sensitivity can make your opponents always spot you first. Using low FOV or low sensitivity can drastically limit your overall game potential.

Although different people use different settings one common theme is high FOV and high sensitivity. Using these settings on high levels increases a player'splayers awareness and ability to move.

Different settings you might want to change are exiting the deathbox when shot, this setting can prevent your armor swap. Another is auto-sprint, having it on can make it much easier to quickly move around and not miss certain jumps.

  How this tip will help you

  •  Having your own personalized settings makes it easier to grow as a player and not be held back by past settings.
  •   Disabling and enabling certain settings can make slight adjustments to your gameplay that otherwise would hold you back.

 

 

15. Resetting mid-fight

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Red and Blue team preparing to face off in the Control game mode. 

Resetting is a term used in Apex for disengaging in a fight and healing or reviving a knocked teammate, or even repositioning. Being unable to reset allowscan make teams to steamrollteams steamroll through you without you having much room to fight back without resetting.

To reset simply stay aware of your surroundings and know where you can retreat to if needed. You don't always need to fight every team you come across sometimes it'sits better to back away and fight later on in the game.

Using defensive characters like Catalyst or Wattson can make resetting much easier allowing for you to block paths and stop players from entering buildings. Resetting is essential if you want to win more fights and stay alive longer.

  How this tip will help you

  •    Knowing you are in a bad spot and moving back to reset and rechallenge your opponent can let you live much longer and have fewer overall deaths.
  •   Learning to reset can let you have easier heals and constantly revive knocked teammates.
 

16. Learn to strafe correctly

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Revenant finishing a defeated Mirage.

Learning to effectively strafe can drastically change your gameplay. Players unable to strafe can find themselves being one clipped often when trying to have a close range gun fight.

To strafe correctly you want to mostly hip fire rather than ADS (aiming down sights). Holding your gun and not ADS makes you move faster, hence making it harder to hit you.

A common mistake made by players is aiming while strafing. This slows you down expediently making you look like a standing book. Another mistake commonly made is constantly spamming crouches while strafing, this just makes it easier to hit your head.

  How this tip will help you

  •   Strafing effectively will make it much harder for your opponents to hit you while shooting them.
  •   Not spamming crouches while strafing makes it much easier to avoid headshots and hence take less damage.
 

17. Learn how to play cover

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Bloodhound throwing a throwing knife at an unsuspecting Ballistic.

Most players in Apex don’t understand how to effectively utilize cover to pair with their guns. If you have a shotgun why would you stand in the open rather than peak each shot minimizing the damage received?

To use cover correctly practice in the firing range peeking corners, getting a quick spray out and re-hiding. Using cover correctly can make enemies unable to even hit you ifbecause you use cover correctly.

A tip to use cover correctly is if the enemy is spraying their gun at you dont peak during that moment, wait for them to run out of ammo or stop shooting. Another way to use cover is topeak shoot some bullets and then hide again and let them unload their gun.

   How this tip will help you

  •     Minimizing damage by utilizing cover makes you harder to kill and leaves you with more HP overall
  •   Mastering the use of cover allows for some easy sprays and lets you make an enemy think twice before running towards you

 

 

18. Learn when to and not to push the enemy

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Bangalore waiting at the top of the POI for her next victim.

Not knowing when to push an enemy can make you easily get knocked without even getting shots out. To become a top player in Apex you need to learn when to push an enemy and when it's not a good time to, in order to effectively get kills easier.

Firstly, don't push an enemy squad without either cover to hide behind or a knock that you or your teammates dealt. Pushing a full squad while their shields are healthy and guns are ready makes it much more difficult to win than if you play more patiently and wait for the right time to push.

Secondly, don’t be afraid to push an enemy squad. This may sound counteractive to the previous tip but if you play afraid of the enemy team they will have their way with you, always play like you're better than them.

  How this tip will help you

  •   Learning when to push and not to will lead to less damage received and more damage dealt. 
  •   Not being a madman and pushing every squad you see will allow you to do more overall damage to a squad and potentially catch pushing in when they shouldn’t be.
 

19. Move and Loot

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A death box containing a red body shield waiting to be looted.

Moving and looting in deathboxes is a technique that prevents damage received and overall makes you look like a better player. Every player has experienced at least once being shot while looting inside a deathbox making it impossible to recover from a one-sided barrage of shots.

Although it may be easy on PC, a lot of players seem to not move while they loot just because they think they are safe. Moving and looting is not a PC only mechanic thoughtho, it is possible on controller as well. 

To move on controller, jump in the air while you're running, simultaneously opening the box and grabbing the loot. This may seem difficult but with practice it'sits not hard to master. This especially pairs well with armor swapping.

  How this tip will help you

  •     Moving while you're looting a deathbox prevents damage received, making it harder to go down.
  •   Learning to move while looting helps you not only prevent damage but always be alert as well making you ready for any third party.
 

20. Wall Bounce 

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Revenant performing a triple wall bounce with thanks to his passive.

Now that you have the basics mastered, movement is an essential part of the game that helps minimize damage and confuse your enemies like no other. A wall bounce is a technique you can implement into your gameplay to move faster and take less damage.

How to wall bounce? SImply slide jump into a wall and when your character is about to grab onto the wall hit your jump button again. This movement technique helps reach places faster and confuses your enemies to the maximum.

Any player looking to learn wall bounces should watch movement players bamboozle players with their wall bounces. Whether it'sits jumping over a player'splayers head confusing them or getting to spots you’d otherwise have to climb for 1-3 seconds, a wall bounce allows for map movement much faster.

  How this tip will help you

  •   Although it'sits not essential a wall bounce can be the difference in you winning or losing a fight.
  •   There are various locations around the maps that seem to be made for wall bounces, making it impossible to climb without a wall bounce or having to go to different parts of the area to reach.
 

21. Faide slide jumping

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Lifeline sliding into battle with her G-7.

A fast paced slide jump commonly known as ‘Faide slide jumping’ or ‘skip jumping’ negates the typical 3 steps you would have to take to slide. Usually when running with a gun it takes 3 steps to build up the speed to slide jump.

This technique is done by holstering your gun and sliding then unholstering it allowing for an instant slide jump. This movement is very complex and hard to master but when you do it makes the game change entirely.

If you are looking to master movement it is a technique you must learn to become unhittable in game. Making you seamlessly move instantly opponents will be confused how to keep up with your speed.

  How this tip will help you

  •   Moving instantly makes it harder to hit you and ultimately confuses your opponent.
  •   Sliding out of your opponents bullets can make them give up or allow for an easy clip for you with them unloading their clip in an attemptin attempt to track your movements.
 

22. Super Jumps

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How much of a boost performing a super jump gives to your character.

A super jump is a movement mechanic performed on ziplines giving you a double jump as shown in the picture above. Many players when using a vertical zipline get one clipped while taking the zipline up, this is a countermeasure to that.

To perform a super jump interact with the zipline, and then instantly spam 2 jumps as if you were double jumping. This should give you a high vertical jump on the zipline making you harder to hit while traveling up and overall faster movement.

Performing a super jump can make you much faster than any enemy chasing you in a building with a zipline. Although it is only a useful technique in a building with a zipline it can save you more times than you’d think.

  How this tip will help you

  •  Performing a super jump in a zipline building makes you much harder to hit and unpredictable.
  •   Super jumps can be performed on any zipline and can help even on normal ziplines to confuse the enemy.
 

23. Super Gliding

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Pathfinder running from a supergliding octane.

Super gliding is an advanced movement technique that propels your character forward when emerging from a ledge. This mechanic is very advanced but it can save you from enemies on your tail.

To perform a super glide first head to the firing range to practice it. Firstly you want to mantle a small ledge and the second your character goes from climbing to stepping to the top of the ledge you want to press your jump button then your slide almost a millisecond after the jump. 

Mastering super glides can make you insanely fast and can lead to some crazy plays. Superglides are very useful when trying to gain distance from an enemy, performing constant superglides can make you much faster than them.

  How this tip will help you

  •   Superglides make it easier to escape from enemies by giving you a boost that no other movement technique can perform
  •   Superglides can catch your opponent off guard making them miss a clip from the confusion.
 

24. Master all the guns recoil

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Lifeline preparing to open fire on enemy squads.

Mastering recoil takes time and lots of practice but its ultimately worth it. Loads of players are good with guns but don’t know the recoil pattern limiting how many shots they can hit per clip.

This tip goes back to the basics and is best to practice in the firing range. Heading to the range its recommended to use the guns with no attachments so that when you have attachments it will be much easier to control.

Learning the patterns and mastering to recoil makes any gun deadly. WIth Apex being a battle royale you never know what gun you will get so mastering them all is recommended for high level play.

  How this tip will help you

  •   Learning all of the different recoil patterns makes any gun deadly to enemies trying to take you down.
  •   Being able to master the recoil control allows for you to win almost every gun fight against players who haven’t put in the practice you have.
 

25. Have fun playing

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Legends mid-fight on the Party Crasher map.

Apex Legends is a game meant to have fun while played. Many players can get frustrated with the seemingly infinite ways you can die from legends or overpowered metas or even the bad audio in the game.

Try playing with friends or not playing to win but playing for fun. A great way to do this is play a defensive legend and just trap a building up and see who you can catch. Or drop hot over and over again trying to get as many kills as you can without a worry of dying.

To play your best you ought to enjoy what you'reyour doing and it'sits alot harder to constantly play the game and improve if you'reyour not having fun. Next time you log on try and not look at dying with 1 kill as a loss but rather as a way to improve.

  How this tip will help you

  •   Playing for fun can make you overall better at the game by wanting to put more time into the game and not playing with a hot head.
  •   Having fun while playing can keep you cool and help you from making irrational decisions you otherwise wouldn’t if you weren't mad.

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RPG
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