Apex Legends guide: 8 things to know before diving into the free-to-play shooter

By now, you've likely heard of Apex Legends, the fast-paced battle royale from developer Respawn Entertainment and publisher EA. Released back in February 2019, the shooter has evolved a lot over the last five years and over 20 seasons (and counting).

Today Apex Legends launches on the Epic Games Store alongside Shockwave, the 22nd and latest season.

Whether you're brand new to Apex Legends or just haven't played for a while, there's quite a lot to master if you want to be competitive, let alone win. Jumping into Apex Legends without some prior knowledge may feel overwhelming, especially when facing seasoned players.

We've put together an Apex Legends guide with advice for newcomers and a few habits that you should incorporate as soon as possible. (And after reading this Apex Legends guide, you might also want to check out our deep dive into the game’s birth, evolution and future).

Grab the Conduit Free Unlock Bundle

To celebrate the game's launch on the Epic Games Store, you can grab the Apex Legends: Conduit Free Unlock Bundle. Available on August 8, this care package gives you access to Conduit, the support Legend introduced in Season 19. In addition, you'll get your hands on the "Aqua Flow" Epic Skin for Flatline.

Building out your Legends collection will take some time, so this is a great little shortcut. If you haven't played or heard of Conduit before, here are her abilities:

• Savior's Speed (Passive): Conduit sprints faster toward squadmates that are outside of the range of the Legend's tactical ability.

• Radiant Transfer (Tactical): Conduit sends a surge of energy to a teammate as well as herself, temporarily regenerating shields when in danger.

• Energy Barricade (Ultimate): Conduit deploys an array of shield-jamming devices, slowing down and damaging enemies caught in the area of effect.

Experiment with different classes

Seeing a squadmate pick your go-to Legend can be discouraging and panic-inducing. For this reason, it's always best to be acquainted with a few different characters—not to mention, you might find one that you really love in the process.

When in doubt, stick to the classics. Legends such as Bangalore, Wraith, Pathfinder, and Bloodhound are great options to get started. Their abilities aren't too complex to learn and put to use, both for yourself and your teammates. Once you've acclimated to the basics of an Apex Legends match, you can go ahead and start experimenting with some of the characters introduced in later seasons until you find the ones that best suit your playstyle.

Keep in mind that each season brings new balance changes. Not all Legends are affected, but it varies. If you decide to stick with a character in the long run, it's always worth double-checking any relevant patch notes.

Use Apex Coins to purchase new Battle Passes

As you make progress on a season's Battle Pass, you'll earn Apex Coins, an in-game currency that can otherwise only be obtained with real-world money. You can use Apex Coins to unlock Apex Packs, items in the store, new Legends, and (most importantly) future Battle Passes.

While it might be tempting to use Apex Coins on cosmetic items, it's always worth remembering that Battle Passes have an array of cosmetic goodies to unlock. If you're not too fussed about what's in the store and don't want to try your luck with Apex Packs, it's best to just save up Apex Coins to get future Battle Passes.

Remember that in Season 22, the first split of the battle pass will be free, so make sure to make the most of it and complete its challenges before the second split on September 17.

 

Consider making a new account

It's possible you already played Apex Legends briefly in the past, but eventually dropped off and switched to another game. If you haven't unlocked many Legends or purchased any major cosmetics, you're better off creating a new account, thanks to the new onboarding process.

Any new accounts made after the launch of Shockwave are eligible for the Welcome Pass. In essence, you'll get access to a series of in-game challenges that will teach you the basics of Apex Legends and help get you up to speed with the latest additions to the game.

Better yet, making progress will net you cosmetic rewards, plus enough currency to unlock a Legend of your choice upon completion. Combined with the Conduit Free Unlock Bundle,  you should have quite a few Legends to play with right from the start.

 

Pay attention to your weapon type

 
It might sound like a small detail, but it's important to memorize the ammo type for each weapon. The information is available to you at all times—you just need to look at the bottom-left corner of your screen to see which ammo color matches your weapon. But it's easy to lose track, especially during your first few matches when you're trying to quickly loot what you can before anyone sneaks up on you.

Try and memorize the color of each weapon, and then keep an eye for ammo that matches, whether on the ground or in chests. After a while, you'll know which ammo type fits each weapon out of habit—but at least in the beginning, it's best to keep info like this top-of-mind.

You don't need to loot everything

During the first few rounds of a match, you're likely to run out of inventory space, and fast. You'll need to know what to pick up and what to leave for others, at least until you find a backpack that can hold more loot.

What you need depends on your current situation, your playstyle, and the Legend you're using. As a rule of thumb, try to balance ammo types if you're carrying two weapons, leave room for items that heal you and restore your shield, and try to have at least one projectile-type tool. A grenade always comes in handy, but you don't need to have multiple variations of the same item.

Learning to be more selective will help in the long run. You never want to get caught making inventory space for new loot while enemies are nearby.

 

The ping functionality is extremely useful

Pinging in Apex Legends continues to be a standout feature. Tap a button and you can notify teammates about nearby enemies, powerful weapons, and more. Regardless of whether or not you use voice chat, leaving pings as you traverse the map is extremely useful.

As we said, you don't need to loot everything—so remember that you can ping items to notify your squadmates. Something might not be useful to you but perfect for somebody else on your team. Likewise, if you're on the lookout for something specific, remember that the ping functionality also allows you to signal teammates so they can help you look.

 

Remember to use your movement capabilities

You're very agile in Apex Legends, able to both slide on the floor and mantle walls and other obstacles. Both mechanics are useful, but it's easy to forget that you have access to them.

Try and make use of this mobility as often as possible, both during and outside combat, until you're accustomed to how it feels. That muscle memory will be vital during tough combat encounters. Crouching and jumping are useful too, but there's more than that in Apex Legends, and seasoned players know when to choose one maneuver over another.

Apex Legends is now available to play for free on the Epic Games Store.