Apex Legends is full of futuristic weapons. But which weapon is the best in each category and what does the tier list look like? And what do the upgrades do? Here you can find everything about the top weapons in Apex Legends.

Apex Legends is a new battle royale game with a variety of weapons. However, especially at the start of the game, many players are overwhelmed by the large selection. Since you can only carry two weapons, it is important to know which weapon to pick up and which one to leave behind.

This is how you ping weapons: Before we begin, here’s an important tip. You can use the ping function not only to indicate where you are going or where enemies are located. You can also ping weapons and let everyone on the team know where that weapon is located. Aim at the weapon and press the ping button.

By the way, you can also use the ping in the inventory. Open the inventory and use the ping function on the equipped weapon to request ammunition. This also works with the attachments you want.

This is the current tier list of weapons

We have summarized the weapons from Apex Legends into a tier list. The higher a weapon is in the list, the better it is. S-tier stands for the best guns in the game. Up to tier C, everything is still okay; tier D falls a bit short of expectations.

• S-Tier: Mastiff, Kraber
• A-Tier: Peacekeeper, Spitfire, Longbow, Triple Take, Wingman, G7 Scout
• B-Tier: Flatline, Devotion, R-301, R-99, Hemlok
• C-Tier: Alternator, EVA-8, RE-45, Prowler
• D-Tier: P2020, Mozambique

In the following paragraphs, we will introduce all weapons by category and explain what the different attachments do for the weapons.

Upgrade: 11.02.2019: Added tier list.

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The Assault Rifles

What are assault rifles? Assault rifles are reliable weapons that are usually effective at medium range and promise a good rate of fire and decent damage. The following weapons are available.

VK-47 Flatline

What can the Flatline? This fully automatic assault rifle is very accurate and can take down enemies particularly well at close to medium range. The large magazine is an advantage here and can be further upgraded. This way, you can also defeat enemies with full shields.

• Damage: 16 (body)/32 (head)
• Magazine: 20 (heavy)
• Upgrades: Scope, magazine, stock

Hemlok Burst AR

What can the Hemlok? Here you get a burst assault rifle that fires 3-round bursts. Since it has low recoil, it is well suited for precise bursts of fire. If you hit well, you can effectively decimate enemies from a distance.

• Damage: 18 (body)/34 (head) or 54 and 74 in burst mode
• Magazine: 18 (heavy)
• Upgrades: Scope, magazine, stock, barrel

R-301 Carbine

What can the R-301? This weapon is a good all-rounder. If you don’t find anything better, you can confidently take the R-301 with you. The weapon is mainly known for its good accuracy, but does not deal too much damage.

• Damage: 14 (body)/28 (head)
• Magazine: 18 (light)
• Upgrades: Scope, magazine, stock, barrel

The Submachine Guns (SMGs)

What are submachine guns? These weapons fire quickly and are extremely deadly at close range. However, they consume a lot of ammunition and are often inaccurate at longer distances. The following weapons are available to you.

Prowler Burst PDW

What can the Prowler? This weapon is a kind of mini assault rifle that fires 5-round bursts. If you hit well, you can take down enemies very quickly. The weapon performs optimally at close to medium distances. It is the only SMG that uses heavy ammunition.

• Damage: 14 (body)/21 (head) or 70 and 105 in burst mode
• Magazine: 18 (heavy)
• Upgrades: Scope, magazine, stock, hop-up (You can switch to automatic fire)

Alternator

What can the Alternator? This weapon behaves more like a fast-firing pistol and does not fire as rapidly as other SMGs. However, it is quite accurate even at medium range.

• Damage: 13 (body)/19 (head)
• Magazine: 16 (light)
• Upgrades: Scope, magazine, stock, barrel

R-99

What can the R-99? This weapon is a true lead sprinkler that fires its 18-round magazine in a flash. So if you want to kill someone with it, get close and make sure you hit well.

• Damage: 12 (body)/18 (head)
• Magazine: 18 (light)
• Upgrades: Scope, magazine, stock, barrel

The Light Machine Guns (LMGs)

What are light machine guns? These weapons are heavy guns that lay down suppressive fire at medium range with large magazines. Their rate of fire is usually good and they inflict significant damage. Currently, there are two LMGs in the game.

Devotion

What can the Devotion? Anyone who knows Titanfall 2 will certainly appreciate this weapon. The Devotion fires extremely fast and deals a lot of damage per bullet. It is also quite accurate. However, the Devotion has a disadvantage: it takes some time to reach its full firing speed. You have to shoot longer until it really revs up.

• Damage: 17 (body)/34 (head)
• Magazine: 44 (energy)
• Upgrades: Scope, magazine, stock, barrel, hop up (shorter time to maximum fire rate)

M600 Spitfire

What can the Spitfire? The Spitfire is a solid and reliable LMG. It deals a lot of damage and is ideally suited to pierce multiple enemies with one magazine. The handling is also very good and you can lay down precise suppressive fire with it. But consider the long reload time of the magazine.

• Damage: 20 (body)/40 (head)
• Magazine: 35 (light)
• Upgrades: Scope, magazine, stock, barrel

The Sniper Rifles

What are sniper rifles? Sniper rifles are extremely precise and deal significant damage at long range. They are ideal for headshots. However, they fire slowly and have limited ammunition in the magazine. Ideally, use them from cover. They are less suitable for quick firefights.

Kraber .50 CAL Sniper

What can the Kraber? This legendary and therefore rare weapon is a true killer! It already has all the necessary addons installed and offers a complete worry-free package. It fires powerful special ammunition that you probably won’t find separately in the game.

After the 8 shots loaded in 2 magazines, it’s over. However, it inflicts insane damage! Even body shots are often fatal. Headshots guarantee a kill. However, the rate of fire is very slow, so aim carefully and make sure every shot counts!

• Damage: 125 (body)/250 (head)
• Magazine: 4 (special ammunition, limited to 8 shots)
• Upgrades: no additional

G7 Scout

What can the G7 Scout? With its mediocre damage values, this rifle is unfortunately not a killer. But it has a crucial advantage: it is semi-automatic and allows many shots in quick succession. This makes it ideal for players who are not master marksmen and occasionally miss. This weapon forgives mistakes!

• Damage: 30 (body)/60 (head)
• Magazine: 10 (light)
• Upgrades: Scope, magazine, stock, barrel, hop-up

Longbow DMR

What can the Longbow? This rifle is a typical sniper rifle. It deals significant headshot damage that can potentially kill an enemy immediately. It also functions semi-automatically. Therefore, you can miss occasionally and make mistakes. However, don’t miss too many, as the Longbow has only a meager 5 shots in the magazine!

• Damage: 55 (body)/110 (head)
• Magazine: 5 (heavy)
• Upgrades: Scope, magazine, stock, hop-up (more headshot damage)

Triple Take

What can the Triple Take? This weapon is a kind of shotgun at a distance, as it fires three shots at once. However, they are very close together and deal a lot of damage if they all hit. Therefore, you should aim well and enjoy some serious headshot carnage.

• Damage: 69 (body)/138 (head)
• Magazine: 5 (energy)
• Upgrades: Scope, magazine, stock, barrel, hop-up (less projectile spread)

The Shotguns

What are shotguns? Shotguns fire a load of small pellets that spread further at long distances and therefore deal less damage. However, if all pellets hit, which usually happens at close range, they can inflict a lot of damage. Therefore, shotguns are ideal for brutal close-quarters combat.

Mastiff

What can the Mastiff? This monster is a legendary weapon and thus rare. If you have found it, even entire enemy squads shouldn’t be a problem. Because the Mastiff kills most enemies with body shots and headshots are usually fatal. The shotgun pellets fly in a horizontal line, not in a circle like other shotguns.

Currently, the Mastiff leads the top damage ranking. Since it is a legendary weapon, it is already fully equipped, so you cannot add any further upgrades.

• Damage: 144 (body)/288 (head)
• Magazine: 4 (shotgun)
• Upgrades: no additional

EVA-8 Auto

What can the EVA-8? Here you get an excellent all-round shotgun. It inflicts less damage than other shotguns, but it fires quickly and has a large magazine. This allows you to clear rooms of enemies effectively.

• Damage: 63 (body)/90 (head)
• Magazine: 8 (shotgun)
• Upgrades: Scope, magazine

Peacekeeper

What can the Peacekeeper? The Peacekeeper is a classic shotgun that somewhat resembles a Winchester rifle. You have to pump it after every shot, which slightly limits the rate of fire. But the shotgun hits really hard, especially headshots are easy to get and very deadly due to the large pellet load. With the hop-up attachment, it is surprisingly accurate even at a distance.

• Damage: 110 (body)/165 (head)
• Magazine: 6 (shotgun)
• Upgrades: Scope, magazine, hop-up (less spread)

Mozambique Shotgun

What can the Mozambique? This curious weapon is a pistol that fires shotgun shells. However, you have to get quite close, as the weapon doesn’t deal much damage and has a small magazine with 3 shots. If you can hit reasonably well, you can kill enemies at close range with it.

• Damage: 45 (body)/66 (head)
• Magazine: 3 (shotgun)
• Upgrades: Scope, magazine

The Pistols

What are pistols? Pistols are light weapons that serve primarily as a backup when you don’t find anything better. However, especially at the beginning of the game, pistols can often decide a fight.

Wingman

What can the Wingman? This weapon is the only pistol that is still worthwhile later in the game. It deals a lot of damage and can also be deadly at a distance with a bit of practice. This revolver also looks cool and is ideal for Western fans!

• Damage: 45 (body)/90 (head)
• Magazine: 6 (heavy)
• Upgrades: Scope, magazine, hop-up (more headshot damage)

P2020

What can the P2020? This weapon is simply a pistol, nothing more. It is average in every way and does exactly what it is supposed to do: perforate enemies. If you don’t have anything better, grab it and start shooting.

• Damage: 12 (body)/18 (head)
• Magazine: 10 (light)
• Upgrades: Scope, magazine

RE-45

What can the RE-45? This weapon is weak, but it fires automatically. This gives you a solid advantage in the chaotic close combat at the start of the game!

• Damage: 11 (body)/16 (head)
• Magazine: 15 (light)
• Upgrades: Scope, magazine, barrel

These are the attachments

You can find upgrades for your weapons in the game, called attachments. They are automatically installed when you pick them up and have an appropriate weapon active. The upgrades come in rarities of “Common”, “Rare”, and “Epic.” For scopes, there are also legendary versions that outline enemies in red. The different upgrades are:

• Scope: There are various versions, from holo sights for short distances to the powerful 10x zoom for snipers. Legendary versions highlight enemies in red.
• Magazine: Increases ammunition in the magazine. Each quality level provides more extra ammunition, and rare and epic improve reload speed.
• Barrel: Each level improves recoil and makes already very precise weapons even more accurate.
• Stock: Each level improves aim deviation and handling. Here, you can further enhance the already well-balanced weapons.
• Hop Up: This upgrade is not available for all weapons and has a special effect. We have noted that with the respective weapon.

Jürgen’s current favorites (as of 08.02.2019)

I currently use the Flatline often, as I like to control the rate of fire myself and don’t think much of burst weapons like the Hemlok. With a solid scope, it also performs well at distance when using short bursts.

However, an extended magazine is a must for the Flatline, as it otherwise needs to be reloaded too often.

As a secondary weapon, I also prefer a weapon with heavy ammunition, otherwise, looting at the end tends to turn into micromanagement, and the menu is somewhat annoyingly fiddly in my opinion.

That’s why I often have a sniper weapon like the Longbow. Alternatively, I also like to use the EVA-8, even though I have to stock up on shotgun shells then. At close range, the shotgun is simply a great weapon.

The best weapons are useless without a shooter. Here you can find the various characters in Apex Legends:

Do you want more information on Apex Legends?

• Here are 17 tips you should know before starting the game
• All information about the legends, the playable heroes is available here

The battle royale game Apex Legends features wild battles until the last survivor. How to win despite the tough competition can be found in our following tips.

In Apex Legends, 60 players compete in 20 three-player teams and fight until only one is left. Except for a brief tutorial, not much is explained about the gameplay and its specifics.

Therefore, we have listed some useful tips and advice for you here. With these, you should perform much better in the battles!

Don’t be a loot raccoon!

In Apex Legends, good loot is particularly scarce at the beginning of the game, and nothing is more frustrating than running around completely empty because your teammates have greedily stuffed their pockets.

Especially for ammunition and weapon upgrades, you should only take what you really need. However, if you do take a valuable piece, be fair and drop it at the next loot opportunity, letting your teammates know that this item is available.

Use the ping system

According to many fans, the ping system in Apex Legends is the best that has ever been in a BR game. You can ping pretty much anything in the game with a single click or button press. Your character will then comment on the situation, for example, “There’s a Longbow here,” “Heavy ammo here,” or “There’s an enemy!”

You can send more specific information by holding down the ping button and selecting further phrases from a wheel menu.

Especially when you find good loot or drop an item from your inventory that your squad might need, you should always ping it. That way, everyone knows it’s there and where it is located. Additionally, you can ping items in your inventory as well to ask for ammunition or upgrades.

Familiarize yourself with the movement

In Apex Legends, while you can’t (yet) move as acrobatically as in Titanfall, you do have some useful movement features compared to the competition that you should adopt early on:

• Sliding: If you see a slope, ALWAYS use the sliding feature. This way, you can slide down the hill quickly and are harder to hit.
• Shrink your weapon: You can shrink your weapon with a press of the 3 key, allowing you to run faster. This is ideal if you want to escape the zone.
• Climb walls: If you hold down the jump button and approach a wall, you can climb up it.
• No fall damage: Jump down anywhere freely. The jetpacks on your heroes prevent you from dying from falls. Just watch out that you don’t fall off the island; that is indeed lethal!
• Use ziplines and balloons: If you want to switch locations quickly, use the ziplines scattered throughout the game. The lines leading to the balloons are particularly effective. From up there, you can then cross long distances while airborne.

Think carefully about going to the supply ship

At the beginning, a supply ship flies alongside your dropship over the map. It offers a selection of cool loot in a compact space.

However, keep in mind that the ship may not be easily accessible, as it spawns randomly. Furthermore, many opponents will also have their eyes on the loot. Make sure to land first and find a weapon immediately.

If you find yourself unprepared against an enemy, just grab the loot and jump right back down.

On the map, you will also see the outline of the ship. This indicates the location where it will land in the end. However, by then it may already be completely looted.

Look for supply drops; they contain the best weapons

There are two legendary weapons that can’t be found in the game: The massive sniper rifle Kraber and the Mastiff shotgun. Both weapons are absurdly powerful, but if you want them, you need to find and loot a supply drop later in the game.

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So think carefully about whether you want to take that risk. Nonetheless, finding such a super weapon significantly increases your chances of achieving final victory. If a drop goes down near you, make sure to get there quickly and watch out for campers.

Learn how to interpret the color of damage numbers

In Apex Legends, you gain shields from armor that you can recharge to protect you from damage. Since you can’t see the armor, it’s hard to gauge whether an enemy is easy to kill or can withstand a fair amount with full shields.

Fortunately, there is this simple trick to determine how tough the opponent still is: The color of the damage numbers.

• Purple: You have a problem here; the enemy has optimal level-3 armor and can have up to 200 hit points, which is double that of an unprotected hero.
• Blue: Your opponent has a maximum of 175 health points as they are wearing level-2 armor.
• White: This indicates level-1 armor. Therefore, the opponent has up to 150 health.
• Red: If you see “red numbers,” the opponent has no armor left and can be easily killed.
• Yellow: This color indicates headshots.

Leave downed enemies

If you’ve knocked out an enemy, you shouldn’t kill them immediately. Often, the defenseless one lures in their teammates, allowing you to trap them. Furthermore, it’s sometimes not that easy to reach a downed enemy, as they can sometimes have a shield.

You can kill enemies with a finishing move, which saves ammunition and even recharges your shield with the legendary level-3 armor. But keep in mind that during the animation, you are completely defenseless and may die quickly if there are still enemies around.

So think carefully about whether you want to pull off a show.

Think carefully about reviving friends and use the respawn

As is usual in battle royale team modes, you can revive your friends in Apex Legends when they go down. But be careful not to blindly run into enemy fire when your friends are lying in the middle of nowhere.

In that case, it may be wiser to kill the enemies first and then help your teammate. If they die in the meantime, it’s not a catastrophe.

Just collect your teammate’s banner in time after the fight and respawn them at the next respawn beacon. By the way, anyone from the team can do this, not just the one who collected the banner.

Remember, in this case, the respawn starts you back in the game completely without equipment. Ideally, give them one of your weapons.

By the way, keep in mind that the character Lifeline revives friends faster and generates a shield while doing so. With her, you might be able to successfully respawn even under heavy fire.

Separate just before landing

The coordinated jump is a brilliant idea, and you should definitely jump as a team and aim for a common landing point. However, just before landing, you should still separate and land at a nearby location.

Otherwise, you might all end up in the same house and find insufficient loot for everyone. But if each team member has a slightly different landing spot, you will surely find enough loot for all.

By the way, if you want to know how to land especially fast, check here. The best landing spots with great loot can be found here.

Save shield cells with this trick!

After a fight, you should always refill your shields. But first, keep your hands off the shield cells in your inventory. Loot the enemies first.

If they also had shields, then take them from the enemies, even if they are of the same level. Because the looted shields are fully charged when you equip them!

There is a way to revive yourself

The legendary and epic items in Apex Legends often have special features that one does not usually have. The legendary knockdown shield allows for a very cool self-revive! You can revive yourself once with an adrenaline syringe.

This takes a bit, and you are defenseless during the process. However, since many opponents don’t know this yet, you can surprise them. Just imagine enemies camping over your corpse to ambush your friends, and suddenly you stand back up behind them and take them all out.

Don’t hold back your abilities; use them!

Your heroes have an active ability that you can use again after a short cooldown. So don’t hoard them but use them whenever you feel like it. Who knows if you’ll get another opportunity.

And the skills are almost always useful. Every team appreciates Lifeline’s heal or Gibraltar’s large shield. And often, Bangalore’s smoke grenade saves you from certain death.

However, you should be more cautious with your ultimates. They take quite a long time to charge without accelerators. Their use can, again, be decisive at the right moment.

For instance, when Lifeline requests optimal loot via airdrop, Wraith creates a super useful portal, or Bangalore takes out entire teams with her artillery strike.

Test all heroes

Since each hero can only be in the team once, you cannot rely on your favorite always being available. Therefore, you should try out each hero at least once so that you don’t end up looking foolish in such situations.

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Additionally, it doesn’t hurt to know the strengths and skills of your opponents when they are playing that hero.

Make sure you have a complete loadout

Especially at the beginning of the game, you should quickly find the following items:

• Helmet: Headshots are less severe if you have a helmet
• Armor: Only this provides shields, and they are vital!
• At least one weapon: Without a weapon, you are not very useful and can hardly defend yourself. So quickly get some kind of gun. Even the Mozambique is better than nothing.
• Appropriate ammunition: Ammunition is often scarce in Apex. So make sure to take what you can get in appropriate rounds.

Also help your friends in the team by pinging excess items. This ensures that everyone quickly has their full loadout and can continue to act.

A good starting weapon is, by the way, the Wingman pistol. It deals heavy damage, is accurate, and can still be useful in the mid or even late game.

Make sure you have a balanced mix of weapons

You should expand your loadout as early as possible. Ideally, you have one weapon for medium or long range and another for close-range combat. For the first category, assault rifles and snipers work well.

Shotguns are ideal for close range. SMGs, on the other hand, are also good for close combat but can also be useful at medium range. Regardless of what you take, make sure you don’t carry two similar weapons and that you have enough ammunition available.

Flank your enemies, stay in motion!

Apex Legends is a fast-paced game that rewards active gameplay. When you encounter opponents, don’t just start shooting right away; instead, try to flank them and take them by surprise. This way, you can gain a tactical advantage and possibly eliminate the enemy quickly and effectively.

Many hero skills support this:

• Pathfinder and Wraith can quickly open alternative routes
• Gibraltar can draw fire with his shield
• Bangalore is very fast under fire and can protect the team with smoke grenades
• Bloodhound prevents you from being flanked with his scan
• Those who properly utilize Mirage’s illusions can seriously confuse the enemy

The zone doesn’t have to be your death

The Apex map is quite large, and the zone may keep you on your toes. However, especially in the first phase, the damage you receive in the power field is still quite harmless. You can comfortably heal yourself on the way and still survive long distances somehow.

However, keep in mind that you may be ambushed by enemies when you reach the safe ring.

By the way, if you have the medic Lifeline on your team, healing after the zone is not a problem because her drone fixes you up in seconds. Your shields are also not scratched by the zone.

That’s it for our tips and tricks. Do you have any other advice? Let us know!

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