Best Abilities Tier List
Apex Legends has been a smash hit since its release on February 4. If you aren’t familiar with the game, Apex Legends is a battle royale game released by Respawn Entertainment. The game has multiple classes and playable characters with different abilities. None of the characters are particularly overpowered but some characters are definitely more useful than others. With this being said, if your character doesn’t appear on this list that doesn’t mean you should stop playing them. After all, the difference in tiers of the characters are only based on their abilities (and agility) and none of the abilities are particularly overpowered. Without further ado here is a tier list for the Apex Legends Characters with the best abilities.
1. Lifeline
Passive: COMBAT MEDIC | Revive knocked down teammates faster while protected by a shield wall. Healing items are used 25% faster.
Lifeline’s passive is extremely useful as is one of the most practical passives in the game. The ability to revive fallen teammates is particularly useful early game and the shield wall is a very nice touch which helps out with reviving teammates who were taken out from long range fire. The 25% faster use of healing items speaks for itself as it is useful in virtually every game.
Q [Tactical]: D.O.C. HEAL DRONE | The Drone Of Compassion [DOC] automatically heals those near it over time.
Her Q ability is pretty self-explanatory and is very useful if your team gets pinned down and doesn’t have time to use meds.
Z [Ultimate]: CARE PACKAGE | Call in a droppod full of high quality defensive gear.
While not the same as a regular care package, Lifeline’s ultimate proves to be extremely useful because of the high chance of receiving a level 3 defensive item. Note that this ability cannot drop your team weapons but nonetheless is one of the most useful abilities in the game. Especially if it can be utilized multiple times. This is definitely one of the most useful abilities on this tier list and gives Lifeline an edge over other support characters.
2. Bloodhound
Passive: TRACKER | Foes leave behind clues for you to find.
While his passive isn’t ridiculously useful, it can prove to help in situations where you are unaware that there was/is another squad nearby. It helps a lot for teams information-wise and earns itself a nice spot on this Apex Legends tier list.
Q [Tactical]: EYE OF THE ALLFATHER | Briefly reveal enemies, traps, and clues through all structures in front of you.
Bloodhound’s Q is very useful if you are approaching a building from another drop zone and need to check the building for hostiles or gas traps. Be aware that his Q only shows where the enemies are in a particular instance in time and alerts enemies that you have used it with an orange wave. While it is a double edged sword, players can utilize it to have an advantage or get the drop on opponents since you know where they are inside of the building.
Z [Ultimate]: BEAST OF THE HUNT | Transform into the ultimate hunter. Enhances your senses, allowing you to see cold tracks and move faster.
This is the pièce de résistance of his entire kit. When using his ultimate, Bloodhound gains a very large agility boost and allows him to see where enemies have previously moved to by seeing red footsteps on the ground. After transforming into the ultimate hunter, the players screen will turn black and white with the only color being enemies (painted in red) and red footsteps. The ability is extremely useful for flanking opponents or simply outplaying them with the agility advantage. While using this ability Bloodhound can also see enemies through smoke, which can prove extremely useful with or against an enemy or ally Bangalore.
3 (TIE). Bangalore
Passive: DOUBLE TIME | Taking fire while sprinting makes you move faster for a brief time.
While not considered offensively useful, Bangalore’s passive is very useful for getting to cover while under enemy fire. This can allow you to outmaneuver opponents and get a positional advantage or just more effectively get to safety.
Q [Tactical]: SMOKE LAUNCHER | Fire a high velocity smoke canister that explodes into a smoke wall on impact.
This ability is particularly useful while in a tight spot to cover your flank. It synergises well with Bloodhound’s ultimate ability as Bloodhound can still see enemies through it. Likewise it can also be countered against an enemy Bloodhound so be careful not to put yourself in a disadvantage by making use of it.
Z [Ultimate]: ROLLING THUNDER | Call in an artillery strike that slowly creeps across the landscape.
This ability has multiple uses and allows players to flush out enemies in highly condensed areas. It is very useful in open-field fights or in situations where your teammates have cover while fighting a squad outside.
3 (TIE). Pathfinder
Passive: INSIDER KNOWLEDGE | Scan a survey beacon to reveal the ring’s next location.
This ability is particularly useful to give your team the positional advantage. Since your squad will know where the location of the next circle will be early. It can be utilized to get a position inside before other squads.
Q [Tactical]: GRAPPLING HOOK | Grapple to get to out-of-reach places quickly.
Pathfinder’s Q is probably the most useful movement ability on the tier list (excluding Bloodhound’s ultimate) and is on a relatively short cooldown. It aids in escapes and is especially useful early-game for outmaneuvering enemies who find a weapon before you do.
Z [Ultimate]: ZIPLINE GUN | Creates a zipline for everyone to use.
This is a very interesting ultimate ability and, if utilized correctly, gives teams a great positional advantage. Especially to get to the top of buildings which were otherwise unreachable unless you landed on them. It can be very useful for quickly getting over obstacles blocking your way to the ring or just moving around the map as a unit more effectively.
4. Wraith
Passive: VOICES FROM THE VOID | You hear a voice when danger approaches. As far as you can tell, it’s on your side.
Wraith’s passive gives players a head’s up when there are enemies nearby or a threat is detected (someone is aiming at you). While usually you will know there is a threat nearby anyway, it can help players to be more alert and ready themselves for nearby threats.
Q [Tactical]: INTO THE VOID | Reposition quickly through the safety of the ‘void’ space, avoiding all damage.
This is arguably one of the most useful Q abilities in the game. While the weakness of it is that players can very obviously see where you are going as you leave behind a blue trail, it is very advantageous if the enemy squad has blown all their shots on you and you are able to reposition near allies and repair your shield/heal. Note that Wraith is intangible while using this ability and avoids damage from all sources.
Z [Ultimate]: DIMENSIONAL RIFT | Link 2 locations with portals for 60 seconds.
The downside to this ability is that to place a portal you must be standing where you must place it. Basically if you want to place a portal you have to place the first portal then run to where you want the second portal to be and place that. While you can go to both locations with the portal and it can be pretty useful in certain situations, it is very situationally useful and cannot always be utilized to its full extent.
5 (TIE). Gibraltar
Passive: GUN SHIELD | Aiming down sights deploys a gun shield the blocks incoming fire.
This is definitely one of the more interesting abilities in the game but against skilled opponents, will fall short since they will likely go for head shots or simply flank you because of Gibraltar’s ginormous hit box. Still, this is an ability tier list and this ability is definitely a useful one in itself without taking other things into account.
Q [Tactical]: DOME OF PROTECTION | Throw down a dome-shield that blocks attacks for 15 seconds.
This ability can be particularly useful in situations where your squad is stranded in a field or pincered between multiple squads as it can stall our until the enemies have taken fire and are low on health and shields. It can give your allies the time they need to heal up and repair armor before getting back into the battle. The downside to this is that it is a very obvious and large blue shield that shines like the sun and can allow your opponents to reposition around you. It also blocks fire going out but can be situationally useful in certain situations.
Z [Ultimate]: DEFENSIVE BOMBARDMENT | Call in a concentrated mortar strike on a position you mark with smoke.
This is a useful ability for making opponents move or shifting their attention to something other than your squad. When you call it in enemies will be notified and will likely be forced to move to another location. Its AOE is pretty small though so keep this in mind when using it.
5 (TIE). CAUSTIC
Passive: NOX VISION | You gain threat vision on enemies moving through your gas.
Caustic’s passive is extremely situational as enemies have to be affected by your gas or he basically doesn’t have a passive. Still, if utilized correctly it can be useful in niche situations but is, again, extremely situational. After all, caustic can be considered one of the most situationally useful legends in Apex Legends.
Q [Tactical]: NOX GAS TRAP | Place up to 6 canisters that release deadly Nox gas when shot or triggered by enemies.
These are pretty useful in situations where your team wants to hold down a spot on the map. They can be particularly useful late game when the circle is small and you place them strategically. While the canisters themselves don’t do a lot of damage they do slow and disorient enemies making them easier targets. They are also very bulky and can be activated if enemies shoot them from a distance.
Z [Ultimate]: NOX GAS GRENADE | Blanket a large area in Nox gas.
This ultimate is pretty meh unless you just happen to place it perfectly. Honestly the gas is pretty underwhelming but considering how long it stays in an area it can be useful in certain congested areas.
6. Mirage
Passive: ENCORE! | Automatically drop a decoy and cloak for 5 seconds when knocked down.
Okay, so mirage if definitely one of the fan favorites and is a fantastic comedic relief character don’t get me wrong. But his abilities are pretty lackluster. His passive “cloaks” him for 5 seconds and drops a decoy (which is very obviously not him if you have played the game for more than maybe 3 hours). It would be great and all if he wasn’t very obviously visible when cloaked since, again, he is ‘cloaked’ and not invisible.
Q [Tactical]: PSYCHE OUT | Send out a holographic decoy to confuse the enemy.
This ability can be useful as it can cause your opponent to have a split second of hesitation. It very closely resembles the cloning ability from Halo Reach. Since most of Mirage’s abilities can be easily played around by the right player, he earns himself the spot at the bottom of this Apex tier list.
Z [Ultimate]: VANISHING ACT | Mirage deploys a team of decoys to distract enemies, while he cloaks.
This ability can be pretty useful if you are in a tight spot and need to make a hasty getaway. Note that he is ‘cloaked’ when he uses this ability and his outline is still visible to enemies. On top of this he cannot use weapons or equipment while cloaked.