These are the top Legends to utilize in Apex Legends, ranked on our character tier list for Season 22, to assist you in deciding who to main.
In Season 16, Respawn redesigned the class system in Apex, categorizing Legends into one of five new classes. Then, in Season 20, another major change was implemented with the introduction of Legend upgrades. All Legends now feature four upgrades that can be acquired during gameplay, but you can only select two to utilize.
Below, you will discover our overall rankings for the Legends you want on your team in Season 22. Keep in mind that any Legend can be powerful with practice, as even ‘lower-tier’ characters can perform exceptionally well if you understand how to leverage them effectively. However, using the best weapons is equally important.
Apex Legends Character Tier List
| Tier | Legends |
|---|---|
| S | Bangalore, Catalyst, Fuse, Pathfinder, Rampart |
| A | Bloodhound, Crypto, Caustic, Horizon, Lifeline, Loba, Maggie, Newcastle, Valkyrie, Wraith |
| B | Alter, Conduit, Gibraltar, Octane, Revenant, Seer, Vantage, Wattson |
| C | Ash, Ballistic, Mirage |
Best Legend in Apex – Bangalore
From the S-tier Legends, we highly recommend using Bangalore. Despite several nerfs targeting her kit aimed at professional play, she remains the best all-around Legend. With a fantastic zoning ultimate, vision denial, and a passive ability that makes her extremely difficult to hit, she is indispensable in every team composition, standing above all other characters.
Our Tiers Explained
Here’s a quick breakdown of how each tier functions:
- S-tier: The best Legends in the game
- A-tier: Very good Legends providing an alternative to other options
- B-tier: Less powerful or more complex Legends that can still perform well
- C-tier: Best to avoid unless you’re particularly drawn to them
Now, we’ll delve deeper into each character on our Apex Legends tier list, ranking them from highest to lowest.
S-Tier Characters in Apex Legends
Bangalore
Bangalore, despite receiving multiple nerfs, remains at the pinnacle of the tier list. She’s effective in both pro and casual play, and excels in any team composition. Her ability to deny vision, coupled with an ultimate that can turn the tide in the final moments of a match, and a passive that makes her a tough target when shot at, clearly showcases that she is the ultimate pick.
Pros:
- Vision and area denial; capable of creating and controlling substantial space
- Equally proficient in offense and defense
- Easy-to-understand kit that remains effective in high-level play
Cons:
- Somewhat vulnerable to scan Legends using Digital Threat, though she benefits from being on a team with a scanning Legend as well.
Catalyst
Catalyst, introduced in Season 15, stands as a leading defensive Legend. With superior area denial, door buffing abilities, and an ultimate that can control space and sway fights dramatically, her versatility as a defensive Legend makes her an S-Tier choice at all levels of play. This explains her frequent picks in competitive matches.
Pros:
- Excellent at area denial and easily secures buildings
- Can quickly erect defensive walls, surpassing other defensive Legends who may get easily caught out
- Her passive allows for reinforcing and building new doors, proving useful
Cons:
- Lacks mobility
- Has a steeper learning curve and can struggle without proper execution or positioning
Fuse
Fuse remained at the bottom tier for an extended period in Apex Legends. His kit appeared strong when released, but justifying his pick over others was tricky. However, with multiple charges on his Knuckle Cluster and improvements to grenade usage, Fuse has seen a resurgence in popularity.
If you desire a Legend that inflicts damage with abilities, Fuse is an excellent choice. He’s adept at breaking doors, denying space with fire walls, and bombarding opponents with grenades, making him a formidable enemy.
Pros:
- Consistent damage and harassment capabilities with his grenades and abilities
- High damage potential at various ranges with any loadout
- Holds more grenades than any other Legend thanks to his passive
Cons:
- Requires effective inventory management to maximize grenade usage
- Lacks mobility
Pathfinder
Pathfinder has regained his status as one of the top Legends following a string of nerfs that had pushed him to A tier. He remains incredibly enjoyable to play, and if you master his grapple, you can maneuver like no other character in the game.
While he faces challenges from skilled players who can take him down easily, the majority of players won’t encounter such scenarios. In most situations, Pathfinder is a valuable pick, providing significant contributions to any team.
Pros:
- Amazing mobility with a generally low cooldown
- Excellent utility in his ultimate that’s simple to understand
- This might sound unusual, but his ultimate is generally more understandable than Alter’s, increasing the likelihood of teammate usage.
Cons:
- Requires practice to master his tactical capabilities, making him trickier to play than one might expect
- Struggles in close-quarters situations, lacking escape options there
Rampart
Season 6’s Quick Witted Modder, Rampart, was known as one of the weaker Legends for the majority of her tenure in the game. Thankfully, a series of significant buffs have transformed her into one of the best Legends currently available.
Her ultimate enables her to clutch in 1v3 scenarios when executed perfectly, and her barrier gives her an immediate advantage in fights. While she excels with LMGs due to her passive, she can still function effectively without them. Rampart may not be the most popular Legend, but she ranks highly in effectiveness.
Pros:
- Rebecca is hard to eliminate when properly set up and can deal significant damage
- Exceptional at unleashing massive firepower
- Outstanding ultimate ability, making it difficult to engage a competent Rampart in 1v1 situations
Cons:
- Her ultimate has a windup time, potentially leaving her exposed
- Relatively immobile unless adept at supergliding off her barriers
- Opponents can exploit poorly placed barriers
A-Tier Characters in Apex Legends
Bloodhound
Bloodhound can track down opponents in Apex Legends.
Overall, Bloodhound remains a strong character in Apex Legends. Their information-gathering abilities are valuable, complemented by a beginner-friendly kit that’s consistently effective.
That said, Bloodhound has undergone several nerfs over the years, affecting their scanning frequency, ultimate reset, and EVO upgrades, among other aspects. Yet even after these adjustments, Bloodhound remains an A-Tier character—still proficient, but just shy of S.
Pros:
- One of the most reliable scanners, particularly effective in a Bangalore-centric meta
- Easy for beginners to use; their abilities don’t demand much skill
- Integrates well into most team compositions
Cons:
- The scan pulse can reveal your position
- Doesn’t inflict damage or turn fights with abilities, relying on pure gun skill
- Lacks mobility outside the movement speed boost during their ultimate
Crypto
Crypto has received some love from Respawn in Season 22, gradually climbing the pick rate charts. While still a niche character, he proves exceptionally potent in the right hands as one of the game’s premier scanning Legends.
With team coordination, the Surveillance Expert can excel. He suffers primarily from teammates constantly pushing him into unfavorable situations, but with thoughtful gameplay, Crypto can be a dominant figure—in particular, if you’re skilled enough to drop your shield before using EMP in stealth mode to eliminate entire squads.
For what feels like the first time in Apex’s history, Crypto is genuinely a top-tier choice.
Pros:
- Excellent at collecting information without revealing his position like other scanning Legends
- Ultimate is effective in initiating and concluding fights
- His drone provides incredible utility for tasks like opening doors and retrieving banners
Cons:
- Very steep learning curve; using the drone in battles is challenging
- If the drone gets destroyed, you effectively lose your abilities
- Requires strong team cohesion to excel; not the best option for solo queue
Caustic
Caustic has seen fluctuations in his tier placement throughout updates. Buffs followed by nerfs and then subsequent buffs have resulted in him returning to the Apex meta at the highest level. This is unsurprising, given how cautiously players approach competitive play—his usefulness extends even into solo queue.
His capacity to deal damage through smoke is unmatched by most other defensive Legends, making him very effective for countering campers and winning in prolonged firefights. Although he performs better with a coordinated team, he can thrive without support.
Pros:
- Can block doorways with his Tactical, which can be exasperating for opponents
- His smoke is significantly more effective now that scanning Legends aren’t the dominant choice and Digital Threat is absent
- Smoke damage bypasses shields, allowing him to excel against shield-swapping foes
Cons:
- Large, slow, and clumsy; can be vulnerable without direct defense
- Needs extended skirmishes to be effective, as his poison takes time to accumulate
Horizon
Horizon has remained one of the premier Legends since her introduction in Season 7. Despite facing more nerfs than many other characters on the roster since her release, she remains a very viable option.
While she can no longer deal substantial damage while moving through her Gravity Lift, her mobility and team repositioning abilities remain invaluable assets. Players will need to plan engagements and combat more cautiously than in the past to succeed.
Pros:
- Exceptional mobility; challenging to pin down
- Significant team utility; enhances the effectiveness of static Legends
- Highly effective on vertically dynamic maps thanks to her passive and lift abilities
- Provides decent crowd control and area denial through her ultimate
Cons:
- Horizon’s lift benefits enemies just as much as allies
- Her ultimate can be easily destroyed if not positioned properly
- Reduced accuracy while using her lift was a major nerf; avoid firefights while airborne
Lifeline
Having Lifeline on your squad can be a genuine lifesaver. She is easy to use, her abilities are well understood since she has been in the game from the beginning, and her teammate revive can turn the tide in challenging fights.
However, outside of healing and reviving, her impact is somewhat diminished. While she is still a solid support character, she tends to lack the carry potential she once had when her revive shield was overpowered. Nevertheless, her natural support character advantage allows her to craft banners.
Pros:
- Unmatched healing abilities; can sustain teammates even without available meds
- Ability to revive teammates while remaining in the fight
- Facilitates better loot acquisition in difficult circumstances through her ultimate
Cons:
- Lacks impact and proactivity; often requires teammates to initiate fights unless exceptionally skilled
- Her revive can be exploited, as it removes the protective revive shield; this can lead to unintentional team losses.
Check out our guide to master plays as Lifeline.
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While Loba might not be the favorite at the highest competitive levels, her ability to view and secure loot makes her incredibly formidable in solo queue environments. Her ultimate and passive place her in an advantageous position to secure early game advantages, allowing for effective EVO stacking.
With characteristics of a pubstomp character, she boasts a solid late game that permits her team to gather resources without needing to reposition. Nonetheless, her teleportation bracelet can be predictable and easily countered, limiting her mobility compared to other Legends.
Pros:
- Ability to view and secure loot before opponents
- Her ultimate is effective throughout the game
- Can utilize her ultimate to retrieve items from vaults and locked sources
Cons:
- Requires proficiency in gunplay; loot is only as useful as your skill
- Her capabilities are limited once fights commence
Mad Maggie
Initially, Maggie appeared daunting when she was revealed ahead of Season 12, but her launch was somewhat underwhelming. Now, following a series of significant buffs and meta adjustments, she stands as a top-tier choice for various reasons.
Her increased mobility when wielding a shotgun, her drill’s effectiveness against camping Legends, and improvements in her ultimate’s usability have positioned her as one of the best options for those looking to initiate fights aggressively.
Pros:
- Enhanced performance when equipped with a shotgun; shotguns are currently strong in the meta. She excels with dual Mozams
- Her drill is effective in rooting out camping squads and countering defensive Legends
- Game-changing ultimate once mastered
Cons:
- Based entirely on aggression; requires a team willing to fight vigorously for optimal effectiveness
- Her ultimate has an awkward usage pattern, making it susceptible to deviating off course due to minor obstacles.
Newcastle
As players have improved their skills with Newcastle, his capabilities have risen. While his tactical shield can be awkward in combat, and his passive is only helpful with downed teammates, he can save the day in critical moments when used properly.
When positioned to assist an incapacitated teammate, canceling the revive can catch opponents off guard, allowing for a swift attack. Newcastle is arguably amongst the Legends with the highest skill ceilings in Apex, placing him outside of S tier. He harbors immense potential, but is challenging for inexperienced players to master.
Pros:
- One of the most adaptable and valuable passives in the game
- Can swiftly change the tide of a combat encounter with his ultimate
- Highly effective defensive Legend
Cons:
- Challenging to use efficiently
- Requires teammates in distress to excel; struggles if the player is out of place and eliminated first
Valkyrie
Valkyrie’s balance has fluctuated since her release. Her ability to traverse the map with her team was overly powerful, prompting nerfs that dropped her to B tier. Recently, buffs have returned her to a competitive status without permanently placing her at S tier.
Currently, she stands out as a solid A tier pick. Adjustments to Horizon, alongside her buffs, have enhanced her mobility and utility, making her worthwhile to play. Players who haven’t experienced her for some time will notice a significant reduction in her jetpack’s fuel capacity.
Pros:
- Highly mobile and evasive when airborne, capable of quick navigation and evasion with unpredictable movements
- Can rotate her entire squad across the map and reach points of interest (POIs) more rapidly than most Legends
Cons:
- Her tactical ability falls short, as her rockets have minimal impact
- Must conserve jetpack fuel; depleting it takes much longer to recharge
- Her ultimate can be interrupted by enemy fire, resulting in her being shot down by skilled players
Check out all our top tips for taking down the opposition as Valkyrie.
B-Tier Characters in Apex Legends
Alter
Alter is a Skirmisher in Apex Legends, introduced in Season 21. Although she appears to have great potential on paper, her practical application is niche. On her own, Alter’s kit lacks depth, requiring considerable planning and positioning, and more importantly, cohesive teamwork.
If your teammates are unaware of her ultimate or overlooking portals, her effectiveness diminishes. She struggles in solo queue conditions unless your team actively collaborates.
Pros:
- Excellent for maneuvering through tight spaces as she can pass through walls
- Fantastic for recovering teammates during fights, as her ultimate is usable even if they’re downed
- Thrives in prolonged engagements thanks to her passive ability
Cons:
- Dependent on preparation; requires optimal positioning
- Struggles in solo queue environments, necessitating communication for success
Conduit
Conduit is a solid support character whose fit within Apex Legends is commendable, though she isn’t exceptionally strong in any single aspect. Her passive facilitates fast looting at small POIs, while her temporary shielding can be advantageous in combat, but her overall utility is somewhat limited.
Moreover, her ultimate feels lackluster, almost akin to a tactical-tier ability; it fails to create a significant impact. While Conduit is enjoyable and not poor by any means, she doesn’t excel either.
Pros:
- Her passive allows rapid movement around the map, facilitating teamwork
- Temporary shields can be crucial during intense situations
- Ability to quickly shield herself may turn the tide in battle
Cons:
- Tactical shields are only effective if you retreat from combat and aren’t permanent
- Her shields do not stack on top of existing ones, which can lead to frustration if strategic placements are required
- Lacks a meaningful ultimate
Gibraltar
Gibraltar can create a dome of protection for his entire team.
In the current Apex Legends environment, Gibraltar is merely satisfactory. He once dominated pro play and remained a niche yet powerful option in casual battles, but now he falls short. His bulkiness makes him an easy target, while newer defensive Legends outshine him.
While his kit used to be among the top choices for maintaining defense and protecting teams, he has been significantly overshadowed by the introduction of new characters doing similar roles more effectively.
Pros:
- His bubble halts enemy advances and serves as an effective zoning tool
- For beginners, his deployable shield aids in learning trade engagements, often leading to victory even with inferior aim
- His ultimate functions similarly to Bangalore’s but with reduced efficiency; nonetheless, it’s beneficial for clearing areas
Cons:
- Inability to shoot through his bubble limits offensive strategies
- A poorly placed bubble can jeopardize the team’s position, especially against aggressive players
Octane
The rapid and cunning Octane is among the most entertaining Legends to engage with. His speed via stim, soaring jumps with the jump pad, and healing while moving makes him exhilarating. Unsurprisingly, he often dominates the solo queue due to his popularity.
However, Octane offers minimal assistance to his team. He is strikingly self-centered, lacking support capabilities outside of placing jump pads, and is often better suited for fleeing fights than aiding his team with his gunplay. While he remains fun, he doesn’t rank among the top-tier Legends.
Pros:
- Faster than nearly any other Legend
- Health regeneration is a substantial asset
- Low cooldown on his ultimate facilitates team positioning
Cons:
- Offers no utility aside from mobility
- Excessive use of stim can rapidly deplete health
Revenant
Revenant is Respawn Entertainment’s attempt at a more secretive Legend.
Introduced in Season 4, Revenant has oscillated in the Apex hierarchy. After significant changes in Season 18, his abilities underwent a complete overhaul.
He now pursues opponents with high mobility and shields from his ultimate, although he no longer possesses the Death Totem utility that once made him useful in team fights. Although he lost his silence, this change has transformed him from a niche choice to a straightforward character mostly suited for dominating inexperienced opponents.
Pros:
- High mobility via tactical abilities; arguably the best aspect of his kit
- Substantial potential in 1v1 engagements with his ultimate
- Ability to scale buildings stealthily, pivotal for specific maps
Cons:
- Lacks utility and damage options, rendering him a selfish Legend reliant on raw gun skill
- Struggles in close-quarters encounters
Check out Revenant reborn here.
Seer
Seer has undergone significant nerfs
Seer experienced a flurry of nerfs in recent seasons. Initially dominating the Apex Legends meta, his power waned as scanning metrics shifted. However, he has been adjusted to the point where he’s now arguably the weakest scanner available.
While he has unique abilities for gathering intelligence about enemies, they also expose his position. His ultimate can be easily dismantled if improperly deployed, and he lacks substantial mobility compared to other scanners.
Pros:
- Can always detect opponents with his passive ability
- Unique zoning potential with his ultimate ability, distinguishing him from other scanners
Cons:
- Weaker now that all players can see health bars; this buff compromised part of his identity
- Scanning abilities unnecessarily expose his location
- Ultimate can be easily countered by opponents
Vantage
Introduced in Season 14, Vantage serves as a solid option, particularly for snipers. However, she is somewhat niche and comes with a steep learning curve.
Her passive and ultimate abilities excel at long-range combat, but she struggles up close, leading to a narrow range of usefulness. This requires experienced players to maximize her effectiveness.
Pros:
- Exceptional at long-range combat, highlighted by her ultimate sniper rifle’s reduced bullet drop
- Enhances performance of any scoped weapon
- Performs well late game during clutch situations in the final circle
Cons:
- Her tactical ability is awkward and requires her to stow her weapon, leaving her vulnerable to attack
- Both her tactical and ultimate abilities disclose her location, making stealth difficult
Wraith
Wraith has been among the most beloved Legends in Apex Legends since launch. Her ability to navigate fights quickly is appealing, and her passive ability proves advantageous on expansive maps featuring long sightlines.
Nonetheless, her numerous nerfs have brought her performance to a standstill. A combination of her tactical ability’s long cooldown and the risks inherent in her portal’s placement have led her to be outperformed by newer mobility-based Legends.
Pros:
- Damage immunity that persists, even through storm damage, allows for strategic edge plays
- Her passive provides substantial situational awareness within expansive maps, especially where snipers loom
- Pivotal in rescuing teams from unfavorable engagements and stalling during critical moments
Cons:
- The lengthy delay on her tactical is one of the most impactful nerfs in the game, preventing Wraith from returning to her former glory
- Her abilities are relatively easy to anticipate by both enemies and allies
- Highly dependent on cooldowns, her passive contribution diminishes during direct combat scenarios
Wattson
Wattson excels roughly 5% of the time in Apex Legends. When in optimal conditions and positioned favorably, she can become nearly unstoppable. Players experienced with Wattson can create formidable placements for her traps, enhancing their effectiveness.
However, her performance tends to falter dramatically in wide-open maps, limiting her usability within final circle outcomes. While a competent Wattson poses a significant challenge, her overall unpredictability keeps her firmly in B tier.
Pros:
- Highly effective in ideal scenarios; can render buildings nearly impenetrable
- Mitigates grenade spam threats with her ultimate, and the shield regeneration from her passive is advantageous
- Expert Blake players can adeptly employ her fences, although this is a significant challenge for the average player
Cons:
- Needs structural cover to function effectively; performs poorly in wide-open areas
- Lacks barriers or shields, rendering her and her allies vulnerable despite good fortification
- Dependent on an appropriate team composition; performs best alongside other defensive Legends
C-Tier Characters in Apex Legends
Ash
Ash comes off as quite unremarkable. Despite her significant role in the Apex universe (and, by extension, Titanfall), she fails to stand out as a compelling character. Her ultimate is effective in limited scenarios, and while her snare has seen improvements, it remains underwhelming when compared to other options (like Wraith’s or Pathfinder’s abilities).
She’s playable, and that’s about the most favorable assessment one can provide.
Pros:
- Decent crowd control with her snare
- Can pursue enemies post-battle
- Can reposition her team briefly with her ultimate
Cons:
- Lacks unique strengths; other characters outperform her in most aspects
Ballistic
Ballistic was introduced in Season 17, yet has struggled to rise up in pick rates, especially after the initial excitement of his arrival. On paper, his kit seems attractive; however, he ultimately enhances weapons slightly without providing unique strengths.
His primary tactical ability creates complications during combat by restricting ammo supplies, especially since his “amped”weapon lacks versatility compared to typical weapon slots.
Consequently, while teams may benefit from the stats he brings, he doesn’t substantially influence fights.
Pros:
- Can revive teammates even when ammunition is scarce, thanks to his ultimate providing additional rounds
- His tactical can deter rushing enemies
- Possesses three weapons!
Cons:
- Three weapons! (but one is less effective than the others)
- Inventory management can become cramped due to juggling three ammo types
- Generally lacks substantial impact during confrontations; not favorable in solo queue
Mirage
Mirage started off as a notably underpowered character in Apex Legends. His Ultimate ability was seen as ineffective, and his Tactical felt gimmicky compared to many others. Fortunately, following a rework, Mirage improved marginally—yet still lags behind.
His ultimate can confuse foes, and his stealth passive when reviving teammates offers some utility, but that’s where the positives end. Even though there are players who have mastered his clones, navigating his kit often feels tedious, leading players to prefer alternatives.
Pros:
- Annoying to face
- Stealth passive during revives proves to be a lifesaver at times
- Effective for escaping tight situations
- Can excel in the hands of skilled players with clone-based strategies
Cons:
- Annoying to play against
- Generally low impact; tends to distract rather than significantly contribute
Best Apex Legends Characters for New Players
- Bloodhound
- Lifeline
- Gibraltar
- many
- Bangalore
While numerous Legends are effective in Apex Legends, some are more challenging to master than others. For example, although Valkyrie is a powerful Legend, understanding the optimal use of her abilities demands experience.
Consequently, it might be beneficial to begin with the aforementioned characters to grasp the game’s fundamentals: Bloodhound introduces scanning mechanics, Lifeline emphasizes support and healing skills, Gibraltar focuses on defense, Loba highlights loot acquisition, and Bangalore teaches vision denial and area control. Each of these five characters will impart invaluable knowledge about Apex Legends.
This is our latest ranking of the characters in Apex Legends – this list is subject to change as future updates roll out and new Legends are introduced throughout the game’s lifecycle.
Now that you understand the current meta for Season 22, combine this knowledge with the best weapons for enviable results. If you’re curious about acquiring Heirloom Shards, our detailed guide includes everything you need to know.
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