Apex Legends Guide#
Apex Legends is a free-to-play hero battle royale shooter developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by EA. It launched on February 4, 2019 and continues the world of the Titanfall series. Three-player squads pick from 28 Legends and fight across six rotating maps for the last seats standing.
The biggest difference between this game and most battle royales is movement: sliding, climbing, ziplines, and skydive steering form one coherent movement language — the second skill curve beyond gunplay lives entirely here. Legend abilities then layer role-playing on top of the battle royale rules: in a single match, Bloodhound supplies the information, Gibraltar supplies the cover, and Loba supplies the gear — a squad simply fills whichever piece it is missing.
Game Overview#
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Respawn Entertainment |
| Publisher | Electronic Arts |
| Launch | February 4, 2019 |
| Business model | Free to play, with monetized cosmetics and battle passes |
| Genre | Hero battle royale shooter |
| Match size | 60 players / 20 three-player squads |
| Legends | 28, spread across five classes |
| Maps | 6 |
| Current season | Season 30 “Marked” (opened August 4, 2026) |
| Platforms | PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch |
The Five Classes and Their Universal Passives#
Legends are grouped into five classes by role, and each class earns an extra universal passive in battle royale modes. That passive often sets the pace of a match earlier than any individual legend’s kit — especially on the recon and assault lines.
| Class | Universal passive | Most direct squad value |
|---|---|---|
| Assault | Can open the hidden compartments of red weapon supply bins (attachments guaranteed) and carries more ammo per inventory slot | Faster early-game loadouts |
| Skirmisher | Can see where incoming airdrops will land and calls the highest-value item inside to the whole team | Judges the next battleground early |
| Recon | Can scan survey beacons to briefly expose enemy positions | The team’s source of ring and enemy-distribution intel |
| Support | Can open blue supply bin hidden compartments (healing and survival items) and craft teammate banners at the replicator | A fallen teammate is not a permanent elimination |
| Control | Can use ring consoles to see the location of the next safe zone | Takes positions early and cuts pointless rotations |
Legend Roster#
The table below groups all 28 legends by class; each character’s join date and playstyle are covered in the character sub-guide on the Chinese site.
| Class | Members |
|---|---|
| Assault | Bangalore, Revenant, Forge, Mad Maggie, Ballistic |
| Skirmisher | Pathfinder, Wraith, Octane, Horizon, Ash, Alter, Axle |
| Recon | Bloodhound, Crypto, Valkyrie, Seer, Vantage, Sparrow |
| Support | Gibraltar, Lifeline, Mirage, Loba, Newcastle, Conduit |
| Control | Caustic, Wattson, Rampart, Catalyst |
Battle Royale Maps#
Six maps rotate through public matches and the ranked pool. The same map gets reworked in different seasons, so your read of the terrain has to follow the patch cycle.
| Map | Size | Style | Debut |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings Canyon | Medium | Close-quarters fighting with dense cover | Launch |
| World’s Edge | Medium-large | Industrial zones and high-rises, mid-range engagements | Season 3 |
| Olympus | Large | Open ground where vehicles carry real value | Season 7 |
| Storm Point | Extra large | Island terrain, long-range fights and wildlife | Season 11 |
| Broken Moon | Large | Vertical movement on ziplines | Season 15 |
| E-District | Medium-large | Dense city blocks and indoor combat | Season 22 |
Weapon and Ammo System#
Guns run on five ammo types. Starting in Season 30, energy weapons switch to built-in regenerating magazines — no more picking energy ammo up off the ground.
| Ammo | Representative weapons | Traits |
|---|---|---|
| Light | R-99, R-301, P2020, RE-45 | Low per-shot damage, high rate of fire |
| Heavy | VK-47, M600, CAR, Wingman | Medium per-shot damage, moderate recoil-control demands |
| Energy | Havoc, Volt, Nemesis, L-STAR | Switched to built-in magazines in Season 30 |
| Sniper | Sentinel, Charge Rifle, Longbow | High per-shot damage, low rate of fire |
| Shotgun | Peacekeeper, EVA-8, Mozambique | Point-blank burst damage |
Game Modes#
| Mode | Description | Has ranked? |
|---|---|---|
| Battle Royale | Public matches, three-player squads, 60 players per lobby | Yes |
| Ranked League | Same rules, but matchmaking and RP payouts by tier | That is ranked |
| Mixtape | Rotating small-team modes such as Team Deathmatch, Control, and Gun Run | No |
| Wildcard | Limited-time modes and special rules, with maps rotated weekly | No |
What Season 30 Is Changing#
Season 30, “Marked,” went live on August 4, 2026: Bloodhound was reworked (the ultimate is now a stealth device that can cloak teammates), World’s Edge flipped to a night setting with three new landmarks, corrupted attachments with side effects were introduced, energy weapons moved to built-in magazines, and gold attachments plus the gold backpack were pulled out of the loot pool. Split 2 started on September 15, buffing Conduit, Forge, Catalyst, and Sparrow while nerfing Axle.
Recommended Learning Order#
The most common new-player mistake is filling in knowledge in whatever random order things happen to appear. The sequence below keeps the learning cost to a minimum: get your controls right first, then fix your characters, and only then study the meta.
| Order | What to do | Why it sits here |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Set your keybinds and sensitivity | It caps every technique that comes after |
| 2 | Drill the four fundamentals in the Firing Range | Lowest cost, fastest payoff |
| 3 | Lock in two or three legends | Fewer variables, progress you can measure |
| 4 | Memorize two drop routes | Stable openings are what create mid-game room |
| 5 | Learn shield and healing tempo | It directly decides team fights |
| 6 | Start playing ranked | Only match pressure builds decision habits |
| 7 | Only then study the current meta | The meta shifts fast; chasing it too early destabilizes your fundamentals |
Related Games#
- Overwatch 2 — a 5v5 team hero shooter where ability kits decide the fight
- Valorant — tactical shooting that blends gunplay with agent abilities
- PUBG — the realistic-leaning battle royale
- Marvel Rivals — a superhero-themed team shooter
- Team Fortress 2 — the classic class-based shooter built on role-driven teamfights
Related Rankings#
Best Shooters · Best Co-Op Games
Full Guides#
In-depth sub-guides — beginner basics, controls and settings, all 28 legends, the skill system, the weapon encyclopedia, combat mechanics, map walkthroughs, the ranked system, multiplayer and matchmaking, endgame tactics, loot and resources, stats reading, advanced tips, the season update lineage, achievements and challenges, and the FAQ — are available in Chinese on NTGame’s Apex Legends section.
If you read Chinese, the season-update sub-guide there carries the full Season 1 through Season 30 lineage behind the notes above.