Apex Legends Tier List: All legends ranked and best offensive, defensive, support and recon legends explained

Our Apex Legends' Tier List is here, ranking every character in the frantic battle royale from developer Respawn.

Ever since its release back in February, 2019, over a dozen different legends have joined the roster as DLC, adding to the already charismatic and powerful original cast.

If you have been away from the game for a while and need a refresher or just want to give it a go for the first time, our Apex Legends Tier List provides everything you need to know, including details on how good the DLC characters are and the best offensive, defensive, support and recon characters divided per category.

Note: This page is yet to be updated with the recent meta changes introduced by Apex Legends Season 11 Escape. Still, it may serve as a general reference as the balance tweaks haven't been too drastic for the time being.

Battle Royale:

• Apex Legends Battle Royale Tier List
• How we settled on our Apex Legends Battle Royale Tier List

Arena:

• Apex Legends Arena Tier List
• How we settled on our Apex Legends Arenas Tier List

Character deep dives:

• How good are DLC characters, including the latest, Seer, in our Apex Legends Tier List?
• Best Offensive characters in Apex Legends
• Best Defensive characters in Apex Legends
• Best Support characters in Apex Legends
• Best Recon characters in Apex Legends

Apex Legends Battle Royale Tier List: The best Legends for Battle Royale ranked

After many battle royale matches in Apex Legends, we've ranked every current legend into a single list - based on their strengths, passive and active abilities, and how they fare against others in terms of advantages and disadvantages.

There have been many changes and balance updates through the years, but this up-to-date rank should provide a solid foundation of what's occurring in the game with the arrival of Seer during the Emergence season and beyond.

Apex Legends Tier List (Characters ranked by Tier, last updated August 24th, 2021)

Apex Legends Battle Royale Tier List (Characters listed alphabetically)

How we settled on our Apex Legends Battle Royale Tier List

Ranking all characters in Apex Legends from 'best' to 'worst' is not an easy task. Each legend, regardless of the nerfs or buffs they have gained throughout multiple balance updates, brings something unique to the table.

Abilities such as Seer's micro-drones or Valkyrie's jetpack can be incredibly powerful in the right hands, and the same can be said about pretty much any other character.

Since this isn't a single-player game, balancing all these abilities as well as how they interact with each other is always tricky, as we have seen in games such as Overwatch. Apex Legends leans more on the competitive side of things, so weapons are also important, and go hand-in-hand with each legend's perks.

Sure, you can use Wraith's ability to travel through a void and basically become invincible for a couple seconds while traversing the map. But if you haven't practised enough with the game's weaponry to find the right gun for you, it may be tough to land that final shot or successfully confront an enemy squad.

Are there any 'bad' choices to make when it comes to characters? Well, it depends. Advantages and disadvantages depend not on the skill set, but rather on the overall efficiency of said qualities.

Some legends will sometime receive so many drastic nerfs that their initial appeal is affected, and end up becoming a second or third option instead. If their abilities aren't as powerful or as useful as they once were, it's best to just opt for a different one and hold on until future balance patches.

But as we said, choosing the right weapons and strategizing around enemy squads is the key aspect of the game. Abilities, regardless of how flashy they are, exist to support and enhance that core gameplay, but never replace it.

It's likely that you'll be able to survive in matches even if your legend's powers aren't ground-breaking, but when there are so many options available, putting yourself at a disadvantage doesn't make much sense.

With all of this in mind, we looked into each character's strengths and disadvantages based on the latest balance updates against others to decide our definitive Tier List.

Apex Legends Arena Tier List: The best Legends for Arena ranked

Arenas, a 3v3 competitive mode where players have a minimum of three rounds to conquer against the opposite team, which takes part in smaller maps and shifts the need for loot for a equipment store in between rounds instead, first debuted in the ninth Apex Legends' Season called 'Legacy'.

After the initial release, weekly challenges were added. Now, the tenth Season called 'Emergence' has added Ranked matches for Arenas as well. Surely we can expect more updates and variations in the future as this mode continues to evolve.

In the meantime, after examining how the smaller scale maps and more upfront nature of this mode differs from battle royale, this up-to-date rank will let you know which legends are best, and which ones you should probably avoid.

Apex Legends Arenas Tier List (Characters ranked by Tier, last updated August 24th, 2021)

Apex Legends Arenas Tier List (Characters listed alphabetically)

How we settled on our Apex Legends Arenas Tier List

Right off the bat, Arenas proposes a new dynamic in Apex Legends: only two squads are present in rather small maps, and the single objective is to be the one standing when the round is over. Win three rounds and it's game over, or continue battling it out until the ninth round for sudden death.

The closing ring continues to be present, mind you, but now instead of spending time looting around the map for weapons and equipment, you can purchase most of it in a store in between rounds, encouraging to come up with your own loadout.

This dynamic sets a few ground rules to consider, which inevitably affects character choice. The resource management aspect is interesting when it comes to weapons as your loadout refreshes after each round, so it always leaves you with options.

Whether you will spend everything on upgrading a weapon, or just go for a more balanced purchase by upgrading the secondary weapon and purchasing equipment, is up to you.

But this shopping segment also includes your legend's abilities, and this is where it gets interesting. Your passive ability is ever-present as always, but tactical charges vary - you begin with a fixed number of free charges and additional ones have to be purchased.

If you don't get to use them, however, they'll carry over to the next round. As for ultimates, depending on the legend you'll have to wait one or two rounds for them to become available to buy, but you then start the round with that ability ready to go.

Taking this into consideration, alongside the more aggressive nature of Arenas, our best category has two returning favourites from battle royale, but also the addition of Seer and Octane - pushing for a daunting set of recon skills and great mobility as well as air control, respectively.

Moving one step down the rank, Valkyrie stands her ground, and is joined by four legends that differ from each other by a large margin. Wraith can be great to sneak around enemies or safely escape from trouble, but needs to be backed up properly by the rest of the team and coordinate with them beforehand.

Pathfinder is great for mobility thanks to the Grappling Hook as well as the Zipline.

Rampart is a great choice for Arenas, as both her deployable shield and the frightening fire rate of her ultimate ability makes for an interesting case, along with a passive buff to LMGs too, which you can now purchase pretty much right off the bat.

Characters like Horizon and Bangalore are not quite ground-breaking, but can offer an advantage when paired up with specific legends. The first grants upward mobility but also a vantage point for snipers to quickly scan and take down anyone in the vicinity.

As for Bangalore, the smoke can be useful, but her passive ability is the shining star, increasing her movement speed upon being hit.

Then, Mirage's decoys can be great in these smaller scale maps if used properly, while Loba loses part of her appeal without the need for looting, but continues to provide mobility thanks to her teleport.

Rampart continues to be a decent choice for Arenas, as both her deployable shield and the frightening fire rate of her ultimate ability makes for an interesting case, along with a passive buff to LMGs too, but it's been getting harder to prioritize picking her with so many other viable options.

Legends such as Revenant have been getting popular in recent time, sneaking towards enemies with his crouch passive and disabling their abilities, but most importantly, having the ability for both him and his squadmates to use the teleporter can grant a decisive advantage.

Lifeline goes down one rank - she's still a viable option for Arenas and a face you'll be seeing often, but sometimes the offensiveness of some characters like Fuse and Octane paired with the recon abilities of Seer and Bloodhound are best suited for this mode.

The same goes for Crypto, who might be useful in the right hands during battle royale matches, but doesn't prove to be a worthy replacement for Bloodhound in Arenas considering how exposed he is while using the drone.

Caustic and Wattson remain on the lower end of our rankings, as the nerfs have affected them greatly. While Caustic is in a better position now, he doesn't fare well in the rapid-fire encounters of Arenas.

But as always, this is all subject to change, so we only have to wait until the next update to see how Apex Legends continues to evolve.

How good are DLC characters, including the latest, Seer, in our Apex Legends Tier List?

This is an interesting question when it comes to Apex Legends. The core group of characters (Bloodhound, Gibraltar, Lifeline, Pathfinder, Wraith and Bangalore) present quite difference choices from the get-go. But ever since the initial release date, a total of 12 new characters have been added as DLC.

By comparison, the original cast might seem rather rudimentary. Mirage can create illusionary copies of himself, while Crypto can deploy a drone that has many options available, making it a great choice for players who like to play recon.

Each of them has a unique appeal, but it's worth keeping in mind that some have been fairly nerfed. Caustic and Horizon are some of the most severe cases to date, for example, but Respawn has been working to remedy this in Season 10.

Caustic's gas now deals a base damage of five, and increases by one every other second until the ability comes to an end. His cooldowns have been reduced as well, but as a result, his ultimate's duration is now 15 seconds long instead of the former 20.

As for Horizon, the slow she gets after the initial Black Hole pull has been reduced. All the while, the gravity lift-up speed has seen an increase to a target between 9.1 and Legacy update launch values.

Fuse has also received multiple tweaks. Enemies caught inside the ring of fire from his ultimate are now revealed to teammates, while the Knuckle Cluster Tactical explosion duration has been increased by 100% and his passive can be toggled on and off to throw ordnance normally.

As for nerfs, Revenant will now receive a brief slow after being recalled to Death Totem, and there's a new visual and audio cue when the totem's protection is about to end in order to alert other players.

Seer has not been extent from nerfs either. A balance patch on August 24th made multiple small tweaks to his abilities, with highlights such as his ultimate's cooldown jumping from 90 to 120 seconds, and his tactical getting both a delay and its damage removed.

Lastly, while it's true that the original six may not be as flashy as they were before, almost all of them have stood the test of time with welcome updates from Respawn.

It's likely that you will still see the likes of Bloodhound, Pathfinder or Wraith in the hands of skilled players, even in ranked matches, and that's because of how viable they continue to be.

Analysing DLC characters to find one of your ranking is key before making a decision, but you won't have nothing to worry about against other players with paid characters using most of the original six in the meantime!

Best Offensive characters in Apex Legends

Offense is a big part of Apex Legends, and of course, this category is currently the leading one as the most packed of the bunch. Choosing the right legend can be tricky with so many options, but these are the best offensive characters available in the game so far.

Wraith

A mix of offensiveness with the perks that a recon character could easily wield, Wraith is an elusive character that has one of the most powerful abilities in the game. Into the Void allows her literally travel through the 'void' - in this state she avoids all incoming damage, and can move freely for a couple seconds.

Since this state is outside the plane of reality, Wraith also becomes almost invisible to others (though she does leave a trail that can be spotted if you're close enough). It makes for a perfect opportunity to escape from trouble, or rather approach it directly, flanking the enemy without them noticing.

As for her other abilities, her passive summons a voice that gives alerts whenever an enemy is getting closer or someone is about to shoot you, while Dimensional Rift creates portals to travel through two locations for 60 seconds.

All in all, these are great additions to the character's already impressive tactical ability.

Octane

If you prefer a character that can run fast and also heal over time, Octane is the one for you. His passive allows him to restore health while he's not taking damage, which is already a great foundation, but there's still more to him.

His famous Stim ability increases walk speed by 30 percent and sprint speed by 40 percent for 6 seconds. It costs health to use, but the passive ability balances it out nicely, creating a unique energy that is easy enough to master after a few matches and can turn him into a rather troublesome character for enemy squads.

During the ninth season the combination of Stim and shotguns has been rather popular, in particular the Eva-8 thanks to its rapid fire.

As for his ultimate, Octane can deploys a jump pad that catapults both him and his teammates to the air. Once you're in mid-air, it's also possible to do a double jump, which is unique to this ability. If you're looking to add mobility to your team, then this is the character for you.

Best Defensive characters in Apex Legends

High speed and mobility in Apex Legends is important, but having a defensive squadmate provides a protective layer to the whole squad. While future balance updates are uncertain and buffs might come into play for other characters in this category, Gibraltar is the best choice for a defensive legend at the current time.

Gibraltar

There are several reasons why you will be stumbling upon several players using Gibraltar in Apex Legends. Right off the bat his passive ability grants him a gun shield that is activated every time he aims down sights, blocking incoming fire.

This can be torn apart with the right weaponry of course, and he's a big character so it's possible to flank the rather narrow radius of the shield, but that's not all.

His main ability, Dome of Protection, lives up to and even excels at the premise. This will block both incoming and outgoing attacks, which means that everything that happens inside the dome won't affect the outside and vice versa. It's a great way to protect yourself and your teammates, and can be used strategically when enemies move through it.

As for his ultimate, Defensive Bombardment calls in a mortar strike on a selectable area, which is signalled by smoke. It's not particularly precise when it comes to hitting enemies, but it proves useful for flushing people out of cover.

Another strategy can be activating the ultimate ability and the Dome of Protection simultaneously as you revive a squadmate or heal yourself, for example, preventing enemies from approaching the area during that time period.

As a final touch, he has the Fortified passive, which means that incoming damage is reduced by 15 percent and he's not slowed down by bullets. This compensates the big hitbox that he carries, but considering what a powerful he is in the battlefield, it's certainly worth the choice.

Best Support characters in Apex Legends

Most of the characters in Apex Legends excel at offensive or defensive abilities, but they wouldn't be able to stand for long as they do without a support character on their side. Our best picks focus on healing and revamping the way revives work, as well as obtaining helpful loot up for grabs early in matches.

Loba

While Lifeline is the one that fits the classic healer archetype, Loba has an array of useful abilities that can be of huge help to you and your squad in different ways. This begins with Burglar's Best Friend, which allows Loba to throw her bracelet and immediately teleport to the landing area, reaching higher places.

It's worth noting that for several seasons this ability didn't work as intended at times, and the character would move slower both before and after teleporting, which was annoying.

In the ninth season Respawn adressed an array of bugs that caused the bracelet tosses to fail, and Loba is now able to run and slide at full speed while aiming the bracelet, and while the bracelet is in the air. In addition, she no longer is slowed after translocating.

Her passive ability allows her to spot nearby epic and legendary loot through walls, which can save up time and filter loot, especially if the ring is closing or if enemies are approaching and you have to decide whether or not entering a house or opening up a chest is worth the effort.

Perhaps more interestingly, Loba's ultimate ability summons Black Market Boutique, which is a portable device that places an array of loot in front of you and your teammates. Other players in a certain radius will notice this from afar, but it's worth the signal.

You are able to grab up to two items from the boutique of your choice, which can turn the tide of a match in a manner of seconds. This guarantees decent gear early on in matches, as well as weapons and ammo for the later stages.

Lifeline

If you prefer a classic medic-type character instead, Lifeline is the one for you. D.O.C. Heal Drone is one of the most useful abilities in the game, allowing you and your teammates to heal while stationary around the drone.

During season 9 the heal rate was bumped from 5hp to 8hp per second, while deployment time before healing begins was reduced, so the process has become faster altogether.

Of course, Apex Legends is a game that will have you moving most of the time, but if you're resting behind a wall after your shield was destroyed by enemy fire, the drone will serve as a backup as you reposition yourself.

This is also helpful when reviving teammates, granting them instantaneous health regeneration for a couple seconds.

Speaking of which, Lifeline has a unique way of bringing teammates back to the fray. Combat Revive allows her to leave a drone make the action on her behalf, and after the balance update, this can now be used with two teammates simultaneously. They will no longer have a shield as before, but you can manually cancel the action and let them use their knockdown shield instead in the worst of cases.

In addition, Care Package is always nice to have. Lifeline will deploy a station with this ultimate ability (with a cooldown of five minutes instead of six like before), granting better versions of the squad's existing equipment (body and knockdown shields, helmets, weapon attachments, backpacks and so on).

Lastly, her passive ability allows her to open an extra compartment in blue supply bins, which is super helpful for looting.

Best Recon characters in Apex Legends

The battle royale maps are big, and it's always helpful to have a recon character on your team. Our best choices are all about scanning the surrounding area for enemies, as well as adding new mobility options for you and your squadmates.

In addition, while they were first exclusive to Pathfinder, survey beacons can now be used by all recon characters to obtain future ring locations.

Bloodhound

A character you will see every few matches at the very least, and for good reason. Bloodhound is the perfect definition of the recon category. They excel at keeping track of enemies' actions and last movements thanks the passive ability Tracker. But if that's not enough, Eye of the Allfather is an excellent ability to have on your squad.

This sonar radar reveals enemies in a radius in front of Bloodhound, alongside receiving a message of how many foes were detected by this. Their appearance won't last long, but it should provide plenty of time to warn your teammates or prepare your a surprise attack, which is immensely useful.

It's worth keeping in mind that enemies will know they have been scanned - but you and your team will have the tactical advantage.

As for their ultimate ability, Beast of the Hunt enhances Bloodhound's senses for a period of time, making cold enemy tracks visible as well as boosting the overall speed. In heated circumstances, this is the perfect ability to use.

When paired up with Eye of the Allfather, no one will be able to escape from your sight.

Seer

Few characters have made such a huge impact as Seer in recent seasons. All of them bring something unique of course, as well as their own personalities and stories, but the latest in the recon category is formidable.

His passive, Heart Seeker, allows you to detect enemies' heartbeats. Not only you can hear them if you're close enough, but enemy locations' become visible on your weapon's reticle when you're aiming down sight (within a 75 metres' radius).

As for his tactical, this is where it gets even more interesting. Focus of Attention summons a swarm of micro-drones that reveals enemy locations to your and your teammates, as well as their health bars (shields included!). It no longer causes damage on impact after a balance update on August 24th, but can still interrupt actions such as revives and the use of items.

As for Seer's ultimate ability, Exhibit gives you a throwable device that triggers a micro-drone dome, revealing enemies and their footsteps in a much larger radius than Focus of Attention for as long as they're moving inside it. An enemy counter also becomes available in both you and your squadmates' HUDs.

When these two active skills are paired up properly, no one is able to escape Seer's sight.

Pathfinder

Another community favourite from the original character cast, Pathfinder remains not only viable, but also entertaining to use and helpful to have on your team. Plus, he's the only legend with a grappling hook, which enhances movement capabilities greatly.

The Grappling Hook allows for a kind of traversal that few characters have, and still, the use is rather different. You can attach yourself to teammates (including Valkyrie when she's in mid-air!), climb to surfaces, and just overall gain the possibility of exploiting verticality in new ways.

Thanks to the reduced cooldown after using a survey beacon, his ultimate ability Zipline Gun is even more appealing. This creates a zipline between your current location and a specific destination, the latter being any surface on the other end.

Need to escape from the imminent ring? Throw a Zipline. Did you spot an enemy squad that is unaware of your team's presence? Throw a Zipline and surprise them.

Pathfinder's abilities open up many strategies like this, and while you have to deal with a cooldown for his ultimate, remember to use survey beacons to mitigate the waiting time. And remember, if you need a way to get there quickly, that's what the Grappling Hook is there for.

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