Apex Legends celebrated its 7th anniversary with the launch of Season 28: Breach on February 10, 2026, and it remains one of the best battle royale experiences available. Whether you are downloading Apex for the first time on PC, PS5, or Xbox, this guide covers everything you need to jump in confidently — legends, weapons, armor mechanics, maps, and the ranked system.
For competitive performance, check our best Apex Legends settings for competitive play guide.
What Is Apex Legends?
Apex Legends is a free-to-play squad-based battle royale where 20 teams of 3 drop onto a map, loot weapons and gear, and fight until one squad remains. What sets Apex apart from other battle royales is its legend system — each player selects a unique character with three abilities (Passive, Tactical, and Ultimate) — and its movement system, which is some of the fastest and most fluid in any FPS. Sliding, climbing, zipline momentum, and bunny-hopping create a game that feels radically different from PUBG or Fortnite.
Best Legends for New Players
Apex has a large roster, but these four legends are free from the start and excellent for learning the game:
Bloodhound (Recon): The best starting legend, hands down. Their Tactical ability scans a wide cone in front of you and reveals all enemies, traps, and clues for your entire team. Knowing where enemies are is the single most valuable piece of information in a battle royale. Bloodhound’s Ultimate increases movement speed and highlights enemies in red, making clutch fights much easier. No complex mechanics — just scan, shoot, and push.
Lifeline (Support): Lifeline’s D.O.C. Heal Drone provides passive healing for your entire squad without consuming any healing items. Her Tactical automatically revives downed teammates while leaving her free to keep fighting. If you want to focus on gunplay without worrying about positioning or complex abilities, Lifeline lets you do exactly that while keeping your team alive.
Bangalore (Assault): Her passive grants a significant speed boost when bullets fly near you, which helps you escape bad situations — something that happens constantly when you are learning. Her Smoke Launcher blocks enemy sightlines for repositioning or reviving, and her Ultimate is a rolling airstrike that forces enemies out of cover. Bangalore teaches you to use abilities reactively, which is a core Apex skill.
Pathfinder (Skirmisher): If you want to learn Apex’s movement system, Pathfinder is the legend for you. His Grappling Hook is the most versatile movement ability in the game — it lets you reach high ground instantly, escape fights, chase enemies, and cross open areas safely. His Zipline Gun provides squad-wide mobility for rotations. Pathfinder rewards creativity and teaches you how powerful positioning is in Apex.
Note on recent legend changes: Sparrow was added in Season 25 (May 2025), but no new legends arrived in Seasons 26 through 28. Fuse received a full ability rework in Season 28 and plays significantly differently than before.
Evo Armor and Knockdown Shield Changes in Season 28
Season 28 introduced major changes to how armor and knockdown shields work. These are critical to understand:
Evo Armor still levels up by dealing damage, and the thresholds remain the same:
| Tier | Color | Shield HP | Damage Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | White | 50 HP | 0 (starting) |
| Level 2 | Blue | 75 HP | 150 damage dealt |
| Level 3 | Purple | 100 HP | 750 damage dealt |
| Level 4 | Red | 125 HP | 1,250 damage dealt |
What changed:
- Evo Knockdown Shields now auto-scale with your Evo Armor. You no longer need to find and pick up knockdown shields as separate loot items — your knockdown shield strength automatically matches your current Evo tier. This is a massive quality-of-life improvement that removes one layer of looting RNG.
- Hardlight Mesh: A new environmental feature on maps. These are breakable windows that can be shot through or destroyed entirely. They add a new layer to building fights — you can no longer rely on windows as guaranteed cover.
- White Backpack on spawn: All players now start the game with a Level 1 (White) Backpack, giving you 2 extra inventory slots from the very beginning. This makes hot drops slightly less punishing since you can carry more ammo and healing right away.
Current Map Rotation
Season 28: Breach features three maps in the rotation:
- World’s Edge — The most popular competitive map. Features Fragment (the hottest drop in the game), lava fissures, and a mix of open terrain and urban buildings. Expect intense early fights at Fragment and Skyhook.
- Broken Moon — A map with zipline rails connecting major POIs, enabling fast rotations across the map. Good mix of open and enclosed areas.
- E-District — The newest map featuring urban environments and the Hardlight Mesh windows. Tight building interiors and rooftop fights define the gameplay here.
Combat Fundamentals for Beginners
Apex’s combat is fast and unforgiving. These fundamentals will keep you alive longer:
- Always carry a close-range and a mid-range weapon. A Flatline or R-301 (assault rifles) paired with a Peacekeeper or Mastiff (shotguns) covers most engagement distances. Avoid running two snipers or two shotguns.
- Hipfire at close range. Many weapons in Apex have excellent hipfire accuracy. At shotgun range, aiming down sights actually hurts you because it slows your movement and narrows your field of view.
- Shield swap instead of healing. When you knock an enemy, grab their Death Box and swap your cracked armor for their intact armor. A shield swap takes 1 second. Popping a Shield Battery takes 5 seconds. This habit wins fights.
- Use cover constantly. Never stand in the open to shoot. Peek from behind cover, fire a few shots, then duck back. Apex has extremely fast time-to-kill when multiple enemies focus you.
- Stick with your squad. Apex is a team game. A mediocre trio that stays together will beat three skilled players who separate. If your teammates push, push with them — even if you think it is a bad idea, fighting 3v3 is always better than letting them fight 2v3.
Ranked System Explained
Ranked Battle Royale uses 8 tiers: Rookie, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master, and Apex Predator (top 750 players per platform). Each tier below Master has four divisions.
You earn Ranked Points (RP) based on placement and kills/assists. Entry cost increases with each tier, so simply getting a few kills is not enough — you need to place well to gain RP at higher ranks.
Season 28 ranked additions:
- Top 5 Streak Bonus: Placing in the Top 5 in consecutive matches grants +10 RP per consecutive game. Consistency is rewarded.
- Challenger Bonus: Defeating players who are ranked higher than you grants +50% bonus RP for those kills. This helps lower-ranked players climb faster when they perform well against tougher opponents.
TL;DR — Apex Legends Season 28 Starter Checklist
- Current: Season 28: Breach (launched Feb 10, 2026, 7th anniversary)
- Start with Bloodhound, Lifeline, Bangalore, or Pathfinder — all free and beginner-friendly
- Evo Armor: White (0 dmg) > Blue (150) > Purple (750) > Red (1,250) — Knockdown Shields now auto-scale with Evo tier
- You spawn with a White Backpack — Hardlight Mesh windows are breakable cover
- Maps: World’s Edge, Broken Moon, E-District
- Shield swap from Death Boxes instead of healing mid-fight — it is 5x faster
- Ranked: 8 tiers (Rookie to Apex Predator), Top 5 Streak Bonus (+10 RP), Challenger Bonus (+50% RP vs higher ranks)
