It’s tough when Apex Legends players get put between the Ring and a rather angry enemy team, especially when they only have the choice of a small indoor space or the vast openness of the battlefield to meet their death. Thankfully, Rampart offers an alternative option, especially for her toolkit that transforms any defensive position into a deadly turret. A couple of walls and Rampart’s Shiela minigun can give opposing teams a run for their money, especially if she’s paired with other aggressive Legends.
Compared to other characters in Apex Legends, Rampart’s pseudo-defensive role allows her to fortify most positions into long-distance shooting stations that can discourage enemies from ever trying to get inside their zones. This makes Rampart especially convenient for squads that focus on transforming indoor spaces into formidable deathtraps. However, just how else can Apex Legends players tap into her skillset?
Rampart: Technician Extraordinaire
Tech specialist Ramya Parekh takes pride in her work, especially when she earned respect from niche technicians in the underground scene. Earning more than enough to start her own business, Ramya - also called Rampart - opened her own modding shop on Gaea, earning popularity to the point that even ne’er-do-wells want to get Rampart’s gear. Rampart and her pride in her gear gave her enough street cred to praise her work and even insult others’, which perhaps was the reason why unknown assailants burned her shop.
However, hope isn’t lost for Rampart. While she lost her place of business, she never lost any of the grit and the expertise that built it. Being left with nothing but an Apex Card, Rampart decided to join the competition to reclaim her glory in a new way. Nowadays, various Apex Legends are seen asking Rampart to tinker their gear, because it’s only good equipment when “Rampart” is written on it.
Why Play Rampart: Never Say No To A Minigun
It’s always an incredible sight to see Rampart just whip out her mini-gun Shiela and rain down bullets on everything in front of her. And players who just love to use extremely noisy Apex Legends LMGs may very well consider adding Rampart to their arsenal of favorite Legends. However, compared to other gun-toting characters, Rampart’s wall and mini-gun kit allows her to fortify various spaces in extremely unique ways. Players interested in her toolkit should consider the following reasons for using her:
- LMGs: One of the best aspects of Rampart’s character is her Modded Loader (Passive), which gives extra ammo and faster reload to LMGs in the game. With LMGs arguably being the hardest to control weapons that pack the highest number of bullets, having even more bullets to unleash towards opponents makes Rampart the most ideal character for extremely aggressive playstyles with the game’s LMGs.
- Set up active defensive perimeters: Thanks to Amped Cover (Tactical), Rampart is able to set up walls that can block bullets on one side and boosts outgoing damage on the other. This allows Rampart and her teams to deal more damage to foes, which encourages transforming ordinary locations into defensive points.
- Transform the game into tower defense: Players who love tower defense games will appreciate Rampart’s Ultimate, Mobile Minigun “Shiela.” This deployable LMG can be laid down as a turret or touted as a regular weapon, and also benefits from her Modded Loader. Players who love just raining bullet hell down on enemies can use Shiela for a decisive offensive advantage.
The Basics Of Rampart: Capitalize On Turret Defenses
Players who got used to using Apex Legends Machine Guns to force their way through enemy forces would feel right at home with Rampart, especially since her kit precisely caters to the LMG crowd. However, those who want an alternative take on defense may also grab Rampart to reinforce positions more easily, giving players various offensive and defensive options when using this nifty engineer across any Apex Legends map. Players interested in her offerings should refer to her toolkit below:
- Modded Loader (Passive): When handling LMGs, Rampart enjoys faster reloads and more ammo.
- Amped Cover (Tactical): With this ability, Rampart deploys a crouch-cover wall that protects her and her team from damage while enhancing the damage that goes out from inside it.
- Mobile Minigun “Shiela” (Ultimate): Rampart unleashes hell on opponents with a minigun she can deploy as a stationary machine gun or as another LMG.
Passive: Modded Loader
Rampart loves an intense battle, which is why she loves modifying LMGs to become much deadlier in combat. This is reflected in Modded Loader (Passive), where LMGs perform more efficiently at the hands of a Rampart compared to any other Apex Legends weapon combo. Compared to other weapon-enhancing Passives, Modded Loader can transform Rampart into a ridiculously-powerful Legend with its perks:
- Properties: At its core, Modded Loader gives a 15-percent boost to LMG magazine size and 25-percent reduction to its reload time.
- Works with attachments: Modded Loader also further enhances attachments given to LMGs, such as reload time benefits from Standard Stocks, magazine size boosts from Extended Mags, and even the similar effects of Splatter Rounds.
- Consider the L-Star: An interesting weapon suggestion for Rampart experts would be the L-Star, especially once she masters its recoil pattern and its relationship with Modded Loader. At its core, the Modded Loader also affects the inherent cooldown of the L-Star’s overheat feature. Rampart can two (2) L-Stars with Purple Stocks and fire a continuous burst before switching to the next L-Star right before reaching critical. This should theoretically bypass the overheat feature immediately.
Tactical: Amped Cover
Perhaps the bread and butter of Rampart’s kit, the technician is always capable of making sure the gear of her teammates perform better than usual - and Amped Cover (Tactical) is the perfect representation of this specialty. With this ability, Rampart is able to deploy crouch-cover walls that become full-cover amped walls to give the team cover. What’s more interesting about this ability is how it can block shots from outside but boost the damage of those from within, even from an Apex Legends pistol. Here are things to take note:
- Properties: This ability has a 20-second cooldown per charge, with Rampart being able to have up to three (3) charges of this ability. Each Amped Cover takes 3.6-seconds to deploy, with only the bottom part available. The Cover has 120 Health while being deployed, which then transitions to 400 Health for the base and 175 health for the amped barrier (orange side). Meanwhile, attacking from the interior (blue side) gives attacks 20-percent damage boosts. If Rampart picks up a non-damaged cover, she recovers a charge.
- Consider Amped Cover fragility: Due to the nature of Amped Cover as a protective wall for a non-defense Legend, it does have its weaknesses. Aside from being susceptible to friendly fire, the barrier takes two (2) melee hits or a Drone EMP (Crypto) to be destroyed immediately. Arc Stars deal 1.5x more damage, while it can also be damaged (but not destroyed) by Nox Gas Traps and Gas Grenades (Caustic). Meanwhile, Thermite Grenades only damage the base.
- Secure protection through angles: Since Amped Cover is more or less a lengthwise front-facing wall, it doesn’t offer complete protection. For instance, it’s not advisable to use Amped Cover against opponents from above as it offers little vertical protection. Likewise, when defending from two (2) perpendicular directions, it’s best to deploy the Amped Cover at an angle to maximize defense. In the case of a limited defensive area, deploy two (2) Amped Covers in front of each other so there’s always a place to retreat to should enemies start rushing the player’s location.
Ultimate: Mobile Minigun “Shiela”
Let’s face it - one of the best things that make Rampart so attractive would be Mobile Minigun “Shiela” (Ultimate). After all, not all Legends get an actual third (3) weapon as an Ultimate ability to benefit the Apex Legends team. With Shiela, Rampart is able to wield a power LMG-esque gun - be it as something she carries on her person or deploy in an area. While the idea of having a Shiela is extremely powerful, here are some elements players still need to consider:
- Properties: This ability has a 2-minute cooldown, with the ability lasting until cooldown is engaged manually, or if the Emplaced Shiela (350 Health) is destroyed. Activating Shiela gives it 173 rounds that deals 14 damage per round at 20 rounds-per-second. It has a 2x headshot multiplier with no leg multiplier. It also needs a 1.25-second spin-up before firing any bullets. It enjoys up to 1.8x zoom when mobile, and up to 3x zoom when Emplaced.
- Check special interactions with Shiela: Being a deployable ability, Shiela has some perks unique to itself and not present in other weapons. For instance, it can destroy doors and be mounted on the Trident, and becomes an interactive marker on the map when Emplaced. However, an Emplaced Shiela is vulnerable to two (2) melee attacks and friendly fire, while its mobile form is weak to Silence (Revenant). Having a mobile Shiela interactions with loot and death boxes, and removal of items from the inventory screen and Amped Cover takedowns. Shiela on ADS will also make movement slower when using Gravity Cannons.
- Take note of environment all the time: When deploying Shiela, players need to be extra attentive how they want to engage with their environment. For instance, an Emplaced Shiela offers limited field of view to wielders, making them vulnerable on the flank. Meanwhile, mobile Shiela still needs a spin-up time to work, making it more usable on offense instead of defense. Due to Shiela’s firepower, it’s better off used to finish off opponents with powerful shields. Ideally, an Emplaced Shiela should not just be stationed behind an Amped Cover, but an Amped Cover must be behind Shiela’s wielder so they stay protected. Lastly, take note never to leave a Shiela with ammo behind, as the enemy can also use it.
Rampart Gameplay: Anywhere Can Be A Fort
The deployable nature of her shields and mini-gun give Rampart the impression of becoming a mobile turret, while the bonuses she offers towards LMGs make her a recommended reinforcer of spaces. Due to her defensive-leaning playstyle with her Apex Legends Tactical, gamers who love going Rambo on opponents might not want to use Rampart at the onset. However, there are certain intricacies about Rampart’s toolkit that can make her just as efficient in a deadly firefight, provided players know how to maximize her skills. Here are some things players should consider when using her:
- Capitalize on LMGs: Given Modded Loader (Passive), Rampart has access to more ammo and faster reloads when using LMGs. This immediately sets her up as an LMG loyal unit, and players should take note of this preference. Using Modded Loader and pairing it with LMG characteristics can enhance their usage. For instance, the “charge” mechanic of the Devotion LMG increases its fire rate the longer it’s used, something boosted by the Turbocharger Hop-Up in exchange for lesser damage. WIth more bullets at Rampart’s disposal, the longer-lasting Devotion’s damage could become.
- Position Amped Covers before combat: Given the deployable nature of Amped Cover (Tactical), it’s extremely tempting to deploy them during combat. This is a bad idea, especially since enemies can destroy the Cover before it’s even released. Instead, players should bait opponents into engaging them near Amped Cover, so players can take cover and boost their attacks.
- Create defensive turrets: While it’s fun carrying Shiela like a regular LMG and attacking from anywhere, Rampart can use her Mobile Minigun (Ultimate) to transform regular locations into defensible forts. When used in the endgame, a strategically-chosen indoor or outdoor area can become a death trap for opponents who want to pursue the player in the last stages of the match.
Controller Class: Adaptive Combat Safety
One of the best qualities of Rampart as an Apex Legends character is her penchant for mobile defense. Thanks to her capabilities to deploy defensive shields and even her ever-reliable Shiela minigun, Rampart can transform even the most mundane locations into a deadly fortified gun-turret port. And now Rampart gets a reclassification as a Controller Class in Apex Legends, she gets even more opportunities to properly position her mobile shields. With this classification, she now gets the following Perk:
- Use Ring Consoles: Introduced in Season 16, Ring Consoles give Controller Class Legends the opportunity to see the location of the next Ring. Specifically to Rampart, she can allow Rampart’s team to identify the general scope of areas where she can deploy her mobile defenses.
Loadout Recommendations
Rampart as a defensive specialist allows her to fortify even the worst positions, allowing her to protect the team even with an Apex Legends pistol. However, players who want to capitalize on Rampart’s capacity to make the most defensible of fortresses means they ought to get her equipped with the most damaging of weapons possible. Here are some weapons fit for Rampart’s gameplay style:
- Peacekeeper (Shotgun): Rampart being a defensive Legend doesn’t mean her protections are perfect, especially when Shiela needs ramping up and her walls get overwhelmed. In these instances where enemies try to zoom in on her position, Rampart can rely on a trusted shotgun like the Peacekeeper to protect her up close. The rather large “punch” from the Peacekeeper can be enough to eliminate opponents with the right number of shots.
- Nemesis Burst (Assault Rifle, Energy Ammo): While Rampart has the option to use any other Assault Rifle, the amping up nature of Shiela means it’s not an immediately-reliable weapon to deploy. In these instances, Rampart needs a weapon that has great-enough handling that still packs enough punch. Compared to other ARs, the Nemesis Burst works more of an auto-burst rifle where each burst increases firing rate, allowing Rampart to potentially outgun a foe while still controlling how much she engages in combat.
- Devotion (LMG, Energy Ammo): When it comes to Rampart’s toolkit, having an LMG is almost always a good thing thanks to her Modded Loader (Passive). In this case, the Devotion is a great early-game companion due to its firing rate acceleration mechanic which, when combined with Modded Loader boosts in magazine size and reload speed, allows Rampart to appreciate much faster firing rates from the Devotion more efficiently than other users.
Apex Legends is playable on the PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.