Chaos is one of the most enjoyable parts of a battle royale like Apex Legends, especially when very open areas become sites of extremely fast-paced encounters. This very chaos is where Mirage thrives, especially since his decoys can become the saving grace his team needs and the very nightmare his enemies fear and despise.

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Given the extremely-tailored nature of his toolkit, Mirage mains need to focus on how February 2023’s Season 16: Revelry rework will affect Apex Legends characters. This is especially important for Mirage, who’s essentially a one-trick pony and depends on luring his enemies to traps and ambushes using his decoys. Fans who want to maximize Mirage to his full potential need to remember that sometimes a single decoy can send an entire area into utter pandemonium.

Mirage: Living For The Party

Elliott Witt is the kind of guy who loves to grab the attention of others. Even after his brothers went MIA after the Outlands’ Civil War, Elliott loved becoming the life of the party, with the only thing he took seriously being the holographic technology he and his mother tirelessly worked on. Despite the revolutionary nature of their Holo-Pilot tech, Elliott still had to make ends meet as a bartender.

When he discovered the Apex Games, part of him wanted to go for the glory. However, he hesitated to leave his mother alone. Thankfully, his mother realized his desires and gave him a special set of holographic devices, telling him to follow his dreams. Now going as Mirage, Elliott uses the hilarity of his decoys and his charming personality to both amuse viewers and annoy his fellow Legends.

Why Use Mirage: Distractions Rule The Battlefield

Compared to other Legends in the game, Mirage’s gameplay style boasts the wildness of powers in Apex Legends. After all, he’s by far the only Legend in the game who deploys clones as a special ability - something that can change the tide of battle on battlefields that are extremely vast and visually overwhelming. Players who want to bring in a little chaos to their battle royale gameplay will have a hilarious time using Mirage. However, those still wondering whether Mirage fits their style should consider the following:

• Chaos is deadly for the unprepared: As a Skirmisher, Mirage’s toolkit is built to allow him to get the upper hand through dirty tactics. Opposing Wraith’s teleportation mechanic are Mirage’s decoys, essentially allowing him to flank and ambush opponents with a number of clones with enemies being none the wiser.
• Fight with distractions: Players who prefer getting the upper hand in fights through distractions would appreciate the silliness Mirage offers with his toolkit. Just having a decoy deployed can have at least two (2) Mirages dashing in the battlefield - making aim such a confusing affair for enemies. Players who love this kind of playstyle should consider giving Mirage a shot.
• Get four (4) characters in a trio: Considering how battle royales in Apex Legends are often played as trios, Mirage and his clones allow teams to have four (4) characters at a time. This can give players a tremendous advantage in combat, especially since a well-controlled decoy can force enemies to waste precious bullets and time engaging with something they can’t kill anyway.

The Basics Of Mirage: Can’t Touch This

Mirage isn’t just playful courtesy of his personality. Rather, his jolly and sometimes arrogant personality is reflected in his toolkit, which is heavily reliant on clones - making him ideal for solo Apex Legends gameplay. His sheer dependence on clones can make Mirage a one-trick pony, but this one trick can kill entire squads when used right. Here are his abilities:

• Now You See Me… (Passive): When Mirage uses Respawn Beacons to revive allies, he and his allies remain invisible throughout the revival process and a few seconds afterward.
• Psyche Out (Tactical): Mirage can release a holographic clone that can confuse the enemy. Players can even remotely control the clone by mirroring Mirage’s movements or leave them in an area to leave a decoy for enemies to reveal their positions.
• Life of the Party (Ultimate): When activated, Mirage uses the full-blown might of his tech to release five (5) decoys that can distract enemies. Players can control all of these clones to do whatever their Mirage is currently doing.

Passive: Now You See Me…

One of the most vital abilities of Mirage in Apex Legends gameplay, Now You See Me… (Passive) transforms him into an ideal support unit in the direst of situations. This is especially useful if Mirage is wielding an Apex Legends Assault Rifle, as he can spring back into the action as soon as he helps his allies. At its core, this Passive will turn Mirage invisible when using Respawn Beacons or when reviving opponents, and even spawns a decoy when Mirage is downed.

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• Properties: When downed, Mirage spawns a dramatic decoy while being invisible for five (5) seconds. Players can use this opportunity to escape. Mirage and his teammates also become invisible when doing revives or using Respawn Beacons, with the invisibility of the latter lasting for five (5) seconds or until a weapon is drawn.
• Take note of scan interactions: Mirage’s Passive affects him in different ways. Aside from this ability being affected by Silence, he can’t be scanned by Beast of the Hunt (Bloodhound), detected by Motherlode (Fuse), and is barely visible in Dome of Protection (Gibraltar). Likewise, turning invisible during Eye of the Allfather (Bloodhound) removes the scan, while invisibility during Focus of Attention (Seer) reveals his position but removes his bars.
• Use chaos to one’s advantage: When downed, Mirage isn’t advised to use his Knockdown Shield as this gives him away. Instead, try to go off a cliff or hide somewhere nearby - this is especially effective in chaotic environments where enemies can barely notice him.

Tactical: Psyche Out

The bread and butter of Mirage’s kit, Psyche Out (Tactical) releases a decoy that Mirage can control by his actions. The decoy can either copy Mirage outright, or be left alone in its destination. Depending on how Mirage manipulates the decoy, it can become extremely “realistic” and fool opponents in the battle royale. When used properly, Mirage with Apex Legends LMGs can lie in waiting as his decoy fools opponents, leaving them open for a rather devastating finish.

• Properties: This ability lasts for 60 seconds and has a 15-second cooldown. The decoy cannot be damaged by the player team but is destroyed by anything that can cause damage. Moreover, it can’t go through teleporters but can activate Gravity Cannons. They don’t leave tracks and block doors.
• Take note of unique animations: The decoy will react differently based on Mirage’s actions. For instance, the decoy will become much faster when deployed while slide-jumping. Likewise, holding a grenade during deployment creates a unique animation, perfect in open areas to lure snipers.
• Send decoys to defensible areas to fool attackers: Decoys are recommended to be sent in areas where players are expected to appear - such as near doors and sniping positions, as well as Packages. Enemies who attack them immediately reveal themselves.
• Pretend to be a decoy: An interesting strategy players can try with Mirage is to pretend to be the decoy - either by running in a line separate from the decoy’s direction or directly following behind them. When going straight into combat, this strategy is best paired with Apex Legends SMGs.

Ultimate: Life Of The Party

In dire situations in an Apex Legends match, Mirage can activate Life of the Party (Ultimate) and release a team of decoys he can fully control. These decoys can copy his movements, becoming the perfect distraction in a firefight, even if Mirage has no choice but to use Apex Legends Pistols.

• Properties: This ability has a cooldown of 1 minute. When activated, Mirage deploys five (5) decoys that copy his movement. Each decoy has 45HP. During activation, Mirage will blink in and out of view for a second.
• Distract while healing: When reviving a teammate as Mirage, this ability is the perfect distraction. The decoys can confuse enemies long enough for an invisible Mirage and his ally to retreat to safety.
• Act unexpectedly to avoid predictability: The invisibility part of this ability’s activation can help Mirage quickly escape to a vantage point to ensure enemies don’t get to spot the real deal. Likewise, moving back and forth into the point of activation causes all decoys to converge, confusing enemies who may have figured out Mirage’s position.

Mirage Gameplay: Distractions Rule The Game

Given how Mirage specializes in deploying his decoys in combat, his position as a Skirmisher relies on how well he can distract his enemies with his clones. In the right hands, Mirage can become the perfect ambusher as his decoys can lure enemies into a false sense of security, or even bring opponents into positions where his allies can ambush them. Mirage users who want to dominate gameplay with their Apex Legends teammates may want to consider these things:

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• Become the dedicated respawner: Mirage players who see their team in a tough spot should immediately consider retreating instead of trying to defeat the other team. Once a player is down and hasn’t been revived, Mirage players should mark the nearest Respawn Beacon and have the other teammate grab the tag of the downed ally. That way, Mirage is already on his way to revive the teammate while the remaining ally has only themselves to worry about for survival.
• Revive in the thick of battle: Mirage’s nature as a Skirmisher doesn’t just mean he relies on surprise tactics, but rather utilizes even the worst of situations to the team’s advantage. Since Now You See Me… (Passive) allows Mirage and a downed ally to become temporarily invisible during revives, it’s perfectly possible to move in an obstructed area in the middle of an intense firefight and do the revive there. Not only does this give the team immediate room to counter, but it also gives the team time to gear up and take down various teams. This is more efficient when used in firefights with multiple teams.
• Decoys serve as an extra life: Instead of just having a Psyche Out (Tactical) decoy follow Mirage around, players should treat their clone as indispensable bait in various situations. For instance, players can send the decoy ahead of the team, near a sniping vantage point, or even inside open doors to see if enemies are in the area. Players should be mindful that their decoys are more effective if the actions they mirror from their originals seem realistic in order to fool opponents.
• Capitalize on chaos with clones: One of the best uses of Mirage’s Life of the Party (Ultimate) is to confuse enemy teams with his numerous decoys. Having five (5) Mirages moving about during a firefight can give players more than enough room to have the real Mirage either retreat to a safer vantage point or take down nearby enemies.

Skirmisher Class: Eye For The Prize

Getting out of sticky situations and getting into advantageous scenarios are all a part of Mirage’s strategy in Apex Legends gameplay, and this becomes all the more apparent with his toolkit that revolves around invisibility and clones. However, now that he’s a part of Season 16: Revelry’s Skirmisher Class, Mirage pulls off a Loba and gets nifty visual perks that can enhance his ability to get the jump on foes:

• Care Package Detection: Unlike other Legends, Mirage can easily spot a Care Package if he sees them as they fall out of the air or within a specific range on the ground. Simply rotating to get a line of sight allows Mirage to get this information quickly. These can be pinged for the team.
• Care Package Valuation: Aside from detecting Care Packages, Mirage also gets the ability to see the highest-value items inside them - a limited version of Loba’s toolkit. Not only that, the names of items turn gray if they’re already taken by enemies. Again, these items can be pinged for the team.

Loadout Recommendations

When players get to use Mirage and his decoy-reliant toolkit, they get to see the various possibilities of fully utilizing him for offense. Since Mirage can rush a room with his clones or even have a hologram as a decoy while he preps for an ambush, players should keep their weapon choices versatile in order to accommodate various situations quickly. Here are some ideal loadouts for Mirage mains who want to dominate Apex Legends gameplay with guns:

• Wingman (Sniper): Perhaps the best thematic weapon for Mirage, the Wingman is one of the best Snipers players could use in conjunction with his kit. At its core, players can position decoys within the relative area of the original Mirage and then shoot enemies who try to hit the clone. With the relative firepower of the Wingman, chances are players can fire a killing shot or have enough room to run after their decoy is destroyed.
• CAR (SMG): Compared to other weapons in the game, the CAR SMG is perhaps unique in its dual-ammo nature. Aside from boasting a decent RPM and DPS ratio, the fact that players can alternate between Light Ammo and Heavy Ammo can give Mirage players the most versatility when hunting for other weapons. Not to mention, the CAR is a decent mid-to-long-ranged option, allowing players to adjust to most combat situations.
• Mastiff (Shotgun): Of all Shotguns in the game, the Mastiff is unique in how it fires its shots. While all Shotguns deal a bit of area damage depending on how close enemies are, the Mastiff spreads its shots horizontally. Mirage can capitalize on this in closed spaces, especially when he rushes an indoor area with his clones and then eliminates players in the confusion.

Apex Legends is currently playable on the PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and the Nintendo Switch.

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