Apex Legends is one of the most challenging multiplayer shooters out there, featuring fast-paced combat and crisp movement. It's also one of the most popular multiplayer games, with over a hundred million players worldwide. The game is constantly growing, with new playable Legends joining the roster every three months. The game sets a hallmark for smooth, satisfying gunplay and complex movement techniques with a high skill ceiling.
The game shares its DNA with the revered Titanfall series of shooters by Respawn Entertainment and is set in the same universe. Every new season, new players join the game and find themselves lost in a world full of unique guns, tools, and characters to play. Players can carry a primary weapon and a secondary weapon in their loadout. Some of these weapons can be easier to use than others, making for some interesting beginner-friendly weapon combinations for players that are looking to get into the game.
Updated on March 22, 2023, by Raviprakash Nanduri: The Season 16 update changed up the Weapon and Legend meta in Apex Legends drastically, with some weapons that were previously considered consistent receiving balance updates and a new Assault Rifle being added to the game. The weapon meta is now much more balanced in Apex Legends with several weapons matching up t each other in terms of pure stats. Season 16 of Apex Legends also introduced one of the game's most comprehensive changes since its launch. The Legend Class Rework, which completely revamped the categories of playable legend, had each Legend Class getting its own unique perk in addition to the Legend's abilities. This inadvertently affects the weapon meta too because some Legend classes are better with specific weapon loadouts than others.
11 R-301/EVA 8
The R-301 Carbine is quite simply one of the most reliable weapons in Apex Legends. It's got a consistent recoil pattern that makes it very easy to control and a great rate of fire. It also uses light ammo, which is one of the most common types of ammunition in the game.
The EVA-8 makes a great pairing for the R-301. The EVA 8 is a fully Automatic Shotgun with decent spread and 8 shots. The combo makes for an excellent beginner-friendly weapon loadout that allows players to engage in mid to short-range combat with relative ease.
10 Rampage/R99
There is a section of veteran First-Person Shooter players that love LMGs and their ability to mow down their opponents with a quick spray-n-pray. For Apex Legends Players, that gun is the Rampage. The Rampage is a slow-firing LMG but hits like an absolute truck with each bullet that connects. It's an excellent mid to long-range automatic weapon that can knock down enemies in the right hands.
Pairing a Rampage with an R99 can be a lethal combination. The R99 is one of the fastest-firing guns in the game and is a dangerous SMG that can quickly knock opponents in a single, well-aimed clip.
9 Flatline/30-30 Repeater
The Flatline, like the R-301, is one of the most sought-after assault rifles in Apex Legends. It's got a slower rate of fire and a slightly worse recoil pattern than the R-301, but it makes up for that by hitting harder. The Flatline makes use of heavy ammo, which slows down players more than light-ammo does. That makes it easier to track moving targets with the Flatline, and it also takes fewer hits to knock an opponent.
The 30-30 Repeater has set itself apart as the best marksman rifle in Apex Legends. It doesn't quite have the same rate of fire as the G7 Scout, but it fires fast enough for consistent damage. Additionally, it can also mount the Skullpiercer hop-up which enables some big headshots that can really bring down an opponent's health. It's much better at long-range poking than the Triple Take, which feels more like a sniper at this point. It can also come in clutch at short range if the player can hit their shots effectively.
8 Nemesis/Prowler
For players that prefer a burst mode loadout, this is the perfect solution. The Nemesis AR which was added to the game in Season 16 is an energy AR with a four-bullet burst that gets faster with each burst fired. It's also an automatic-burst AR which means leaving the trigger pressed keeps the gun firing continuously. Considering its capability to mount a Barrel Stabilizer and with energy ammo having very low bullet-drop-down range, the Nemesis becomes a dangerous AR down range.
Pairing the Nemesis AR with a Prowler provides a continuous supply of accurate burst-fire. The Prowler has climbed the ranks over the last few seasons as a capable and consistent SMG. With deadly hip-fire accuracy and the ability to mount laser sites, the Prowler is one of the deadliest close-range weapons in the game.
7 Flatline/Charge Rifle
With the R-301 finally receiving a nerf to its bullet damage in Season 16, the Flatline is now the king of automatic ARs in Apex Legends. The Flatline has a great recoil pattern, paired with a comfortable rate of fire to gel in the hands of a beginner. It's capable of reliably knocking down opponents in a single clip comfortably.
Where the Flatline adds reliability and ease of use at short and medium ranges, the Charge Rifle is a sniper-class weapon with hitscan ammo. In essence, hitscan weapons have no bullet drop and instantly hit the location where the player fires the gun. The Charge Rifle fires a laser beam of sorts that instantly hits targets when the trigger is pulled. This laser beam materializes into a single thick beam that deals heavy damage.
6 R99/Wingman
This is considered to be more of a "Tryhard" loadout. This is because it's a challenging combination of weapons to use, requiring good aim and skilled gunplay. It's a great loadout for veteran shooter players that are trying out Apex Legends for the first time. The R99 has low damage per bullet, but a high rate of fire and the ability to knock an opponent in a single clip so long as the bullets connect.
Pair this with the Wingman, a high-damage revolver that hits like an absolute truck, and the result is a weapon combination that is perfectly suited to someone with good aim. The Wingman also serves as the mid to long-range poking weapon in this loadout. It has excellent bullet-drop and headshots can nearly crack a full purple armor set. The Wingman recently underwent a change where its ammo type got replaced with Sniper ammo.
5 Nemesis/R99
Another great SMG pairing with the Nemesis AR is the R99. The Nemesis has quickly risen through the ranks as one of the most competent ARs in the game with its deadly burst fire mode with energy ammo. It's capable of knocking down enemies quite quickly as long as players are able to control it.
Pairing the Nemesis AR with an R99 can be one of the deadliest load-outs in the game, The R99 received a damage buff in Season 16 and is already the SMG with the fastest rate of fire in the game. Laser sights make extremely accurate with hip-fire at close range. Alternating between the Nemesis as the primary weapon down range and the R99 as the primary weapon in brawls makes for a versatile, yet capable loadout.
4 Alternator/Peacekeeper
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The Alternator is a weapon that many players don't carry into their late game. As an SMG, it is completely outclassed by the R99, CAR SMG, and Volt because it has a much slower rate of fire and theoretically takes longer to kill. What they miss out on noticing, however, is this small gun's ease of use. The Alternator is the most forgiving automatic weapon in the game. It's got the best recoil pattern in Apex Legends by far, and the bullets hit harder than a CAR SMG or R99. That makes for reliable close-range gunplay and that is something beginners will appreciate.
The Peacekeeper, meanwhile, is one of the hardest-hitting shotguns in Apex Legends. It is the perfect weapon for close-range duels and with some patience on the trigger, beginners will find themselves enjoying it simply because of how hard it hits opponents. This combination is great for players that like to get in close.
3 CAR SMG/Flatline /R301
This option might confuse readers at first, but the CAR SMG is the perfect gun for players that get confused about ammo types in the game. It's the only weapon in the game that takes two different ammo types offering the flexibility to upgrade to a specific gun of the player's choice later in the game. This will also prevent players from running out of ammunition for their SMG. Pairing this with either an R-301 or a Flatline will allow players to manage their inventory better.
A reliable full-auto assault rifle along with a flexible SMG that takes multiple ammunition types are perfect for players that like to experiment with their loadouts more often. This is also great for helping beginners understand different ammunition and weapon types in Apex Legends.
2 Devotion/Longbow
The Devotion is a more challenging LMG to use than the Spitfire, but it absolutely demolishes opponents at close range. The gun essentially has a wind-up time of sorts. The player needs to hold the trigger and the gun will start firing bullets at a slow pace but once it winds up, it becomes the fastest-firing gun in the game. Being an LMG, it also has a large magazine and can shred through opponents like they're paper so long as the player is hitting their shots. A great LMG for close-range engagements.
In order to compensate for the Devotion's difficulty at long range, the Longbow serves as the best sniper rifle in the game for beginners. It's the perfect sniper for practicing long-range gunplay in Apex Legends, functioning as a traditional DMR with decent bullet drop and a consistent rate of fire to keep the pressure up.
1 Nemesis/Wingman
An alternative loadout to the Devotion/Longbow combination is the Nemesis/Wingman duo. The Nemesis is easier to control than the Devotion with its burst-fire mode and it brings the same advantage the Devotion does to the table. Its ability to fire more rapidly over time. It's also got much better recoil down range, allowing it to pair up excellently with the Wingman.
The Wingman and Nemesis are both weapons that excel as mid-range as well as long-range solutions. With its improved hip-fire aim assist, the Wingman can come in clutch in close-range battles while the Nemesis with its 4-bullet energy ammo burst is capable of damaging enemies down range quite effectively.
Apex Legends is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS.