Apex Legends is a free-to-play battle royale shooter in which you play as a Legend and fight against other teams in the Apex Games. It mixes the battle royale format with hero-shooter abilities, and it has grown into a game with several modes. This guide explains what Apex gameplay looks like: how a standard match flows, what Legends and classes do, which modes you can play, and what makes the game feel different from other battle royales.
The standard match
A normal Apex battle royale match has 20 squads of three players, for 60 players in total. A two-player Duos mode exists with 30 squads of two. Before the match, you form a squad of up to three, either with friends or with random players, and each squad member picks a different Legend. The match begins when your squad launches from a flying ship into the arena. Your squad lands, loots, and then fights as the ring closes. The last squad standing is crowned the Apex Champions. If you are knocked down, your squadmates can revive you, but eliminated squads cannot respawn.
Why Legends matter
Each Legend has a distinct set of abilities, usually a passive, a tactical ability and an ultimate. They resemble the characters in a hero shooter, and they shape how a squad plays. Legends fall into five classes:
- Assault: consistent damage dealers who fight up close. Examples include Bangalore, Fuse, Ash, Mad Maggie and Ballistic.
- Skirmisher: specialists in mobility and repositioning who can flank or escape. Examples include Pathfinder, Horizon, Octane, Revenant, Alter and Axle.
- Recon: scouts who find enemies and reveal information, including Sparrow and Valkyrie.
- Controller: Legends who control space and defend positions, such as Rampart.
- Support: Legends who heal, revive or protect the squad.
A balanced squad covers more than one class. Many squads pair a mobile skirmisher with a recon or support Legend, so they can find fights, take them and recover afterwards.
How a match flows
Early game: drop and loot
The first rounds are about landing safely and finding weapons. All Legends begin in a dropship that flies across the map in a straight line. You choose where to jump, and your squad follows. Players loot weapons, shields, healing items and attachments. Ammo comes in types that match weapon categories, such as light, heavy, energy, shotgun and sniper ammo, and each is shown by a color.
Mid game: rotations and contested ground
As the ring closes, squads move toward the safe zone, fighting over buildings and high ground. Controlling key high-ground areas and choke points often decides the outcome of encounters. Legend abilities matter most here, because a good use of an ability can turn a fight.
End game: the final ring
The end game is hectic. In ranked play, the final circles are often packed with ten or more squads, which makes for some of the most intense moments in the game. Staying alive until the last ring, using third-party positioning and keeping your abilities available are the keys to winning.
Modes you can play
Apex has a number of permanent modes:
- Battle Royale Trios and Duos: the standard unranked modes.
- Ranked Leagues: twenty squads of three compete with rank-based matchmaking. Players spend Ranked Points to enter and earn them from placement and kills or assists. Ranked requires Level 50 or higher, and leaving a match can forfeit points and lock you out of modes.
- Mixtape: modes that work entirely differently from battle royale, including Control, Gun Run, Lockdown and Team Deathmatch. Team Deathmatch pits two squads of six against each other in a race to 50 kills, with everyone spawning with pre-equipped gear.
- Training and Firing Range: practice modes for learning controls and testing weapons.
- Bot Royale: a way to play against squads of bots on a smaller map while you learn how the game works.
- Limited-time modes: events that change the rules, such as modes that restrict the weapon pool or change how healing works.
What it feels like to play
Apex is fast. Movement is a core part of the game, with sliding, climbing and ability-driven mobility, and fights tend to be quick and punishing. Knockdowns are also important: a downed player can be revived by teammates, so fights often turn into a contest over who can finish enemies and who can secure a revive. Squad communication with pings is excellent, and you can mark enemies, loot and locations without voice chat.
Tips for your first matches
- Pick one Legend and learn its abilities before switching.
- Land away from the busiest spots until you can win early fights.
- Stay near your squad and use pings to share information.
- Use cover and the high ground, and avoid crossing open spaces.
- Heal and recharge shields after a fight before moving on.
- Try Bot Royale or Training before jumping into ranked.
Ranked: what to know before you queue
Ranked is a different experience from normal matches. Matchmaking puts players of a similar rank together, and the game rewards placement as well as kills, so playing for survival is often better than chasing every fight. Because abandoning can cost you points and lock you out of modes, only queue when you have time to finish. Loss forgiveness protects players when a teammate abandons the match.
Weapons, shields and healing
Weapons are grouped by ammo type, and each ammo type has its own color so you can match guns to ammo quickly: light ammo is brown, heavy is blue, energy is green, shotgun is red and sniper is purple. Armor and shields absorb damage first, and you can recharge shields with cells and batteries, so bring healing items for both health and shield. Because squads are small, you can often defeat a team that is better armed if you play positioning well, use your abilities, and take fights when you have the advantage.
Communication without voice chat
The ping system lets you tell your team about enemies, loot, and where to go without speaking. You can mark an enemy squad, point to a weapon and note a good place to hold. If you play with random teammates, using pings is the best way to coordinate, and it also helps players who cannot or prefer not to use voice chat.
How Apex differs from other battle royales
Compared with larger battle royales, Apex has fewer players and smaller squads, which makes every fight matter. The Legend abilities add variety that is closer to a hero shooter than to a pure survival game. The design team picked three-player squads and a limit of 20 teams so that players have a greater chance of winning and so that the game feels intimate. If you like fast, ability-driven shootouts more than slow looting, Apex is a good fit.
In Mixtape, Gun Run puts one squad against three others in a race through a 25-weapon track, while Control and Lockdown are objective modes. These modes are shorter and more focused than battle royale, which makes them good practice for aim and Legend abilities.
Frequently asked questions
Is Apex Legends free?
Yes. Apex Legends is free to play.
How many players are in a match?
Sixty in the standard trios mode, 20 squads of three, or 60 players in 30 duos squads.
What are the Legend classes?
Assault, Skirmisher, Recon, Controller and Support.
What is Mixtape?
A group of non-battle-royale modes that includes Control, Gun Run, Lockdown and Team Deathmatch.
When can I play Ranked?
At Level 50 or higher.
Can I revive teammates?
Yes. A knocked-down teammate can be revived by squadmates, but eliminated squads cannot respawn.