Apex Legends is a free-to-play game on Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo Switch, and Steam. Apex is a battle royale-style game with similar concepts to games like Fortnite, PUBG, and Realm Royale. It is a first-person shooter based on teamwork and skill. 

Players jump off the dropship into either Olympus or King’s Canyon depending on the map’s cycle. They have either one or two teammates depending on the game mode they chose pre-game. There are 17 playable legends, each with different abilities. Wraith is the most used legend because she has the smallest hitbox of all the legends, making her difficult to shoot. Since she is so small, the bullets she takes do 5% more damage due to the “low profile” passive skill.

Once into the round, every player starts with 100 hit points (HP) and an Evo Shield that starts with only 50 HP but can be leveled up to 125 HP. No other items are on the body or in the inventory of the player. They will loot buildings and supply crates for weapons, better armor, attachments, and medical supplies. 

The game forces people to fight. There is an obstacle called the ring, built by one of the legends named Watson. The ring moves in on random spots identifiable on the map given to each legend, so they know where to go because as the game goes on, the ring gets more and more lethal, as well as smaller and smaller. 

The relatively undisputed best weapon in the game is the R-99 SMG. The R-99 is high firepower, high recoil, and high damage weapon for its subcategory. It does up to 17 damage per shot unless the bullet hits the enemy in the head, making it worth 34 hit points. The R-99 also holds more ammo than most weapons, holding anywhere from 21 to 30 rounds, making it capable of dealing up to 1020 damage per magazine (depending on magazine size). That’s enough to kill 5 enemies, even if they all have a maximum level, Evo Shield.   

The only non-legendary weapon that challenges the R-99 is the Peacekeeper. The Peacekeeper is a shotgun that shoots nine pellets per shot. Each pellet does 11 damage meaning that for body shots if all 11 pellets hit the opponent, the enemy loses 99 of their anywhere from 1 to 200 total HP. If any one of those pellets strikes the enemy in the head, it is worth 11 damage meaning if one pellet hits the head and all the others hit the body, in two shots, an enemy player could be toast. The Peacekeeper holds five shells at one point, making it capable of doing 605 damage in one sitting. 

Not only are there different weapons there are a variety of characters, each with a wide selection of abilities too. Each legend has three different abilities that give them an advantage. The first is a passive ability that is always active and never stops. Wraith’s is “Voices from the Void.” This passive ability immediately informs her when an enemy is aiming at her before they shoot. 

The second ability every legend has is a tactical ability. This ability has a down period after usage and the length is different from legend to legend. Wraith’s tactical ability is “Into the Void,” which after its use, sends her into a parallel dimension for 3 seconds. This allows her to move 30% faster while being invulnerable. Also, it makes it easier for her to escape to heal or move to an advantageous position over her opponents. Every ability is different for every legend. There are things such as a grappling hook, or the ability to create decoys of yourself to bamboozle your foes.

Last and most certainly not least is the ultimate ability. The ultimate ability also takes time to recharge after usage, but it takes much longer to recharge than the tactical. It takes anywhere from 90 seconds to three minutes. Some ultimates are better than others, some are worse. Using a different legend like Caustic as an example. His ultimate is one of the best. He can throw a toxic capsule of gas that explodes on impact, slowing enemies and doing 4 hit points per second. Each legend has up to 100 hit points and an extra max of 100 shield points. Since the gas directly attacks the health, it doesn’t have to kill the shield to damage the player, making the ability very effective on legends without abilities to make them more mobile.

60 players with a wide variety of abilities and weapons battle to be the last team alive. Fight or flight, kill or be killed. There is fame, money, and glory on the line. Above all else, every legend is fighting for the title of Apex Champion.