Apex Legends Season 17 has arrived and brought players a selection of fresh content. From new character, Ballistic, to weapon mastery and an improved competitive system, Apex Legends: Arsenal has been the result of huge changes to the game and that normally means one thing - a new meta.
With so many tweaks being made, players will quickly evolve to all the weapon changes, map redesigns and most importantly, figure out which character works best in-line with the current state of the game. Given that over the last few seasons there has been countless buffs and nerfs to both individual characters and their classes alike, this can prove a difficult task but one surefire way to see what currently works best is looking into the pick rates of a character. So, which legends are the most popular in season 17?
10 Valkyrie
With a pick rate of 3.9%, Valkyrie is, according to data, the 10th most popular character in Apex Legends right now. This winged avenger was previously the 7th most picked legend in Season 16 with a respectable pick rate of 4.9% but has since dropped the list; something most likely caused by both the addition of Evac Towers, a survival item which essentially makes Valkyrie's ultimate a lot less valuable and, of course, the introduction of new legend, Ballistic.
Valkyrie, however, still remains one of the game's best characters with her incredibly high mobility that fits a multitude of playstyles and her unique set of abilities that not only allow her to flush out, stun and damage enemies but also enable the player to escape especially sticky situations.
9 Horizon
Horizon has a pick rate of 5.3%, making her the 9th most popular legend in Season 17. Previously, this gravitational manipulator has been one of the game's most played legends but as of Season 16, has only plummeted in popularity - perhaps, this is a result of the high skill required to utilize each of Horizon's abilities to the character's full potential.
It's worth noting that Horizon players have the highest average rank of any other players, with the legend being most popular in both Master and Apex Predator, once again suggesting the decay in her pick rate is most likely caused by the sheer difficulty of mastering the character.
8 Lifeline
Slightly ahead of Horizon, Lifeline has a pick rate of 5.4% which makes her the game's 7th most popular character. Lifeline is one of Apex Legend's original 8 playable characters, introduced beside the release of the game in 2019 and has made her way to a top 10 spot on each and every seasonal list of most played legends ever since.
Contrary to Horizon, this combat medic is most popular among those in lower ranks, which is perhaps a result of her being one of eight characters available to new players and, of course, the fact she's one of the easiest legends to both use and learn.
7 Loba
Loba has become much more popular over the last few seasons, thanks to the highly necessary buffs the support class received. The translocating thief currently has a pick rate of 5.6%, as opposed to her 4.5% in season 16 and 4% the season prior to that.
This character now proves a highly valuable member of any team composition with her unmatched selection of abilities that allow her to loot efficiently, escape danger and generally be a useful asset to her squadmates. Those, combined with her new ability (shared across the support class) that allows both Loba and her teammates to craft banners, makes it clear that she is arguably one of the best picks right now.
6 Bloodhound
Like Lifeline, Bloodhound has been one of the game's most popular characters since their introduction upon the release of the game. In fact, this legend is so popular that despite their high pick rate of 6.3%, making them the 6th most played character this season, it is actually the lowest their pick rate has been in a very long time. Last season, the technological tracker had a pick rate of 7.1% and in season 15, 8.2%.
Clearly, despite the decay, this character is one of Apex Legend's most popular characters to date, not just this season. Their kit is incredibly easy to learn and utilize, even in lower ranks, yet extremely effective in granting the player and their squad an advantage over enemy teams, knowing their every move and exact location.
5 Bangalore
Yet another of the original eight, Bangalore shares her high pick rate of 6.3% with Bloodhound. This is, of course, a huge drop from her pick rate of 7.9% last season but with an introduction of a new character, pick rates of every legend are sure to dip.
Like Horizon, a huge percentage of Bangalore players are Apex Predator - although, this professional soldier is arguably a lot easier to master.
4 Wraith
In terms of Wraith, this spot is pretty low. Wraith has been the character to watch out for seasons upon seasons now, with there likely being a Wraith player in every other team. Her pick rate is still one of the highest at a huge 8.6% but is the lowest it's been since early Season 15. For comparison, last season, her average pick rate finished at 10.2%, with her peak reaching 12.8%.
She has, however, an extremely high competitive pick rate across every subrank - her highest being 10% in Master, which is most likely a result of her small frame, high mobility and simple, yet incredibly useful, set of abilities that are easy for players of any skill to utilize.
3 Octane
Octane, like Wraith, has seen a huge plummet in his pick rate since the beginning of the season, but it remains one of the highest of any other legend. His pick rate currently stands at a whopping 9%, making him the third most popular character in season 17 - last season, however, this number stood at 10.4%, and in the season before that, he was actually the most played character in the game with a pick rate of 11.4%.
This high-speed daredevil seems to be favored within the lower ranks, with not all too many diamond and higher players choosing to play him. Despite that though, Octane remains easily one of the most fun legends to play thanks to his extremely fast-paced playstyle.
2 Ballistic
Surprisingly enough, Ballistic isn't actually this season's most popular character despite him being new to the game, although this, of course, could be a result of him costing red credits players would need to earn by leveling up to unlock him. He does, however, earn second place in popularity with a pick rate of 9.6%.
Hopefully Ballistic can escape the same fate Catalyst met, that being an incredibly strong start upon her introduction before ultimately finishing the season at a very low pick rate of 2.8%, although it's looking like a lot of players adore him already.
1 Pathfinder
Over the last few seasons, Pathfinder has seen a surge in popularity and the current season is no exception to that - in fact, he is season 17's most played character, with a pick rate of 11.6%, much higher than any other legend on its roster. This lovable robot has been favored by fans from the very beginning and has always been reasonably popular - however, more recently his pick rate has skyrocketed, from 9.3% (and third place) in season 15, escalating to 12% in season 16 where, once again, he took the crown.
He has the highest competitive pick rate across every subrank and is especially popular among the highest ranks, with a huge pick rate of 16% in Master and 15% in Apex Predator.
Apex Legends is available to play on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC.