The very first quandary that most Apex Legends players will be confronted with is choosing which character they should master. And the easy answer would be all of them! After all, you're probably not going to be able to play the same Legend every match, so being familiar with a healthy variety of character skills and playstyles is crucial. However, some Legends seem to fit better into the squad dynamics of Apex, with the skills they possess simply being more useful than all the rest.
If you're curious as to how each of them stacks up in terms of competitive edge, then you've definitely found yourself in the right place. Keep scrolling to join Game ZXC as we examine each Legend and rank their capabilities from the bottom of the barrel to the cream of the Apex Legends crop!
10 Caustic
It's not that Caustic is just an absolutely terrible pick, but his skill set is incredibly situational, if not outright restrictive when it comes to actually being useful. His focus is on defense and area denial, with his toxic gas traps and grenades being his tactical and ultimate abilities, respectively.
These can be great tools for working in enclosed areas or locking down a defensive stronghold. But outside of specific areas, like Bunker, or the very late game where defensible territory becomes a hot commodity, finding effective applications for them is going to be a tall order.
9 Mirage
Poor Mirage has been pinned as possessing some of the least useful skills in the game since launch, and sadly, little has changed since then. His abilities revolve around the use of holographic decoys, with his tactical simply producing one that runs in a straight line, his ultimate producing a half-dozen static decoys while rendering him invisible for a short amount of time, and his passive throwing up a decoy while cloaking him for a few seconds when downed.
The problem is that these decoys are, quite usually, obviously decoys. On occasion someone will fall for it and reveal their position by firing a few rounds into it, but even novice players will be wise to their unrealistic behavior. The cloaking provided by his ultimate can be advantageous, but not enough so to tip the balance.
8 Gibraltar
Big man Gibraltar possesses a set of abilities that occasionally shine, but practically everything about him is so big and noticeable that actually using these abilities paints a large, inviting target just begging to be taken advantage of by third party attackers.
Most of his skills are defensive in nature, with his tactical Dome Shield being able to provide cover where there isn't any, his passive Gun Shield giving enemies and extra layer of shields to chew through when engaging him, and his ultimate bombardment dislodging dug-in players or chasing them out of his vicinity. They've all certainly got their uses, but every squad within a mile radius is going to know about them.
7 Wraith
Although Wraith is often touted as among the best characters, she's actually insanely overrated, and a recent nerf has had a pretty notable impact on her survivability. Her void-running tactical ability might temporarily shield her from damage, but it's easy to spot and track, and a player with a sharp eye for leading targets will pop her as soon as she comes out of it.
The two-way portal that she can open up with her ultimate is useful for rapidly repositioning herself or the squad, but Pathfinder's grapple is more versatile in that regard. Her passive provides vague auditory warnings of enemy actions, but is really only useful if an enemy has targeted you without your being aware of it.
6 Wattson
Wattson is a defensive powerhouse, but suffers from some of the same drawbacks as both Caustic and Gibraltar. Her abilities shine in a static defensive setting, and the defensive barriers she can erect with her tactical are very, very noticeable from a distance.
In addition to her electric fences, her ultimate is definitely no joke. It sets up an "Interception Pylon," which, as the name suggests, intercepts projectiles and grenades thrown into its vicinity. It also doubles as a shield recharging station. Though the rate is a little sluggish, it beats taking time out to put away your weapon and use a shield battery.
5 Octane
Though his inclination towards running ahead and snagging all the loot might annoy teammates, Octane's tactical ability is amazing, boosting his movement speed by a full thirty percent at the expense of a little bit of health. But even that small price is made up for by his passive health regeneration.
His ultimate, while useful, is a little underwhelming as far as ultimate abilities go. It deploys a jump pad that will propel both him and his squadmates into the air upon use, lending them quite a bit of vertical mobility. However, it isn't exactly a game changer, and falls a little short of feeling truly "ultimate."
4 Pathfinder
Pathfinder's notoriously misleading hitbox was recently brought to heel with a nerf that magnifies the damage he receives, but nonetheless, this unreasonably chipper robot is still the king of mobility. His grappling hook tactical ability can get him into hard to reach places or boost his forward momentum, and his zipline ultimate allows him to offer the same benefit to his squadmates.
His passive ability is neither outstanding nor entirely undesirable, as it simply allows him to predict the location of the next ring. That's definitely not the worst thing to know, but given that the next ring location is usually fairly predictable, it hardly feels crucial in practice.
3 Bangalore
The almost indispensable Bangalore is where the ability selection starts to feel a bit overpowered. Although she doesn't offer much in the way of squad support, her mix abilities allow her to control the pace of the battle and increase her likelihood to survive a bad situation.
Her passive, double time, provides a significant movement increase when she takes fire while sprinting, ensuring that she'll get into cover. Her tactical smoke grenades provide cover from snipers and allow her to reposition safely in close quarters fights, and her ultimate artillery barrage can dislodge enemies from favorable positions.
2 Bloodhound
Bloodhound arguably has the most useful passive in the game, causing enemies to leave behind footprints and clues as to precisely what they were doing for up to a full minute, meaning an attentive Bloodhound will keep you from entering any fight unprepared.
Their ultimate increases Bloodhound's FOV, increases movement speed, and highlights enemies in red out to any distance, making it an excellent and underrated spotting tool. The tactical ability reveals enemies behind walls and inside structures within a 110° cone, preventing camper ambushes. Bloodhound is an all in all underrated legend that provides the squad with a wealth of crucial information.
1 Lifeline
No one should be shocked to see the leading support character of Apex Legends here, but it's definitely a spot that she occupies with thorough comfort. Lifeline can absolutely turn a bad situation onto its head with practically any of her abilities on their lonesome.
She can restore the squad's health with her drone, and she puts up a protective shield when reviving fallen comrades while doing it twenty-five percent faster than anyone else. Last, but certainly not least, she can intermittently call down care packages to keep the squad's loot game on point. She's practically invaluable, and is never an unwelcome sight.