From teleportation to air strikes, gas traps to jump pads, Apex Legends has many unusual ways to humiliate and dominate your opponent. Its lineup of legends is now 17-strong (thanks to the latest addition to Apex Legends, Valkyrie) and they’ve all got their quirks.
While the design or kit of a legend can be enough to convince players to use them, many stick with their legend for one reason and one reason only: they’re bloody great at picking up kills and securing wins with them in the battle royale. But as we head into the new season, which not only introduces Horizon but also a brand new arena to battle in with Olympus, which legends are the best?
Well, here we’ll try to answer that question. Obviously, some players will be more comfortable and effective with the abilities of certain legends, but there are a select few that are pretty hard to beat in most situations. This tier list does take into account our opinions of which legends are the best, but we’ve also weaved some science in there too with stats on pick rates and kills.
Apex Legends’ Arenas mode requires some slightly different tactics, we’ve also got a separate tier list for that. Use the links below to find the tier list that works for you so you can climb up the Apex Legends ranks.
Apex LEgends tier list
These are our picks for the standard battle royale mode. Read on to find out how we’ve scored each legend, giving you the best chance to secure a win.
Top Tier
These are our top picks for Apex Legends Season 9. All three of these legends are must-haves for any squad heading into Kings Canyon, World’s Edge, or Olympus.
Wraith
Caught in a sticky spot and need to dash off to do some healing? Want to head into a gunfight but need a quick way out if it all goes south? Want to know when an enemy has you in their sights? Then Wraith is the legend for you.
While none of her abilities are necessarily attack-minded, Wraith is arguably the legend that is best at keeping you alive if you overstep, allowing you to play aggressively but always have a safety blanket.
According to Apex Tracker, which monitors the top Apex Legends players, Wraith is the joint-most played champion with an 11.1% usage rate. She also leads the way in terms of kills per match, getting players an average of 2.6 eliminations.
Wraith abilities
- Voices from the Void (passive) – A voice warns you when danger approaches. As far as you can tell, it’s on your side.
- Into the Void (tactical) – Reposition quickly through the safety of void space, avoiding all damage.
- Dimensional Rift (ultimate) – Link two locations with portals for 60 seconds, allowing anyone to use them.
Bloodhound
Many may be surprised to see Bloodhound this high up an Apex tier list. However, thanks to a generous buff to their Eye of the Allfather scanning ability in Season 6, Bloodhound has seen a resurgence in people playing them. They’ve also been utilised heavily by professional Apex esports teams for their compositions.
As well as being a great recon legend, their ultimate grants them boosted movement speed for when you’re hunting down an enemy squad.
Bloodhound currently stands as the joint-most played legends, alongisde Wraith, with a usage rate of 11.1%. While their kills per match stat is poor, Bloodhound’s true value is as a strategist that will make their teammates’ lives much easier. Despite a nerf in the Genesis collection event, Bloodhound remains a top-tier legend.
Just watch out if you’re maining Bloodhound in ranked, because as of Season 9, they no longer receive assists from Eye of the Allfather, which will negatively affect your RP.
Bloodhound Abilities
- Tracker (passive) – See the tracks left behind by your foes
- Eye of the Allfather (tactical) – Briefly reveal hidden enemies, traps, and clues in structures in front of you
- Beast of the Hunt (ultimate) – Enhances your senses, allowing you to move faster and highlighting your prey
A-tier
We think these A-tier legends are great picks, but aren’t essential components for an Apex Legends squad.
Gibraltar
Good ol’ Gibby has always been a fan-favourite in Apex Legends, but he’s seen his play rate drop slightly over recent seasons. However, he is a popular pick for teams in Apex Legends esports, and here’s why.
Gibraltar is, quite literally, a bullet sponge. His Gun Shield and Dome of Protection can block bullets from both himself and his teammates, while his hidden ability Fortified allows him to take 15% less damage than regular legends.
Moreover, if you’re still in the process of healing up somewhere or waiting for a care package to come in, his Defensive Bombardment can buy you some time by discouraging any teams looking to push you.
While his Dome of Protection received a recent nerf with the Chaos Theory update (you can no longer use healing items faster inside of it) the defensive abilities on offer from Gibraltar make him an A-tier legend.
Gibraltar Abilities
- Gun Shield (passive) – Aiming down sights deploys a gun shield that blocks incoming fire
- Dome of Protection (tactical) – Throw a dome shield that blocks attacks
- Defensive Bombardment (ultimate) – Call in a concentrated mortar strike on a marked position
Octane
While he isn’t much of a team player (although his Launch Pad can be useful), Octane is arguably one of the most aggressive legends in the battle royale, with his Stim turning him into a rapid attacker.
Octane’s tactical ability has been significantly changed in Season 9, as he can use stims four times as quickly – every second – but it costs nearly twice as much hp, increasing from 12 to 20. His tactical ability is now a high-risk, high-reward strategy.
Bullet spread has been increased while you’re shooting in the air from the low Launch Pad trajectory (when you slide onto the pad), and Octane’s jump pad recharge time has been recently increased by 50%, but he remains the best choice for those players who love running headfirst into danger.
Octane Abilities
- Swift Mend (passive) – Automatically regenerate health over time
- Stim (tactical) – Move 30% faster for six seconds. Costs health to use.
- Launch Pad (ultimate) – Deploy a jump pad that launches teammates through the air
B-tier
These are some useful legends, but are locked into B-tier for now as they can often be quite situational.
Pathfinder
If “Who wants to ride on a zipline?” doesn’t fill your tiny little gamer hearts with joy then I don’t know what will. But aside from being an adorably polite and very memeable android, Pathfinder is a solid pick for aggressive Apex players whose strengths lie in movement.
Pathfinder is probably the legend that has been reworked, nerfed, buffed, and tweaked the most since Apex released, but Respawn seems to have finally got him in a relatively stable place for Season 9 that still makes him a top legend.
His grapple provides manoeuvrability and speed that is only really paralleled by Octane, and his Zipline Gun ultimate is useful for your team to quickly cover long distances or head up to high ground.
Pathfinder is a perfect blend of both team player and solo aggressor, and while he had his hitboxes increased slightly in Season 8, he is still a top pick for any Apex squad. He currently has a 10% usage rate and averages 2.4 kills per match.
Pathfinder Abilities
- Insider Knowledge (passive) – Scan a survey beacon to reveal the ring’s next location.
- Grappling Hook (tactical) – Grapple to get to out-of-reach places quickly
- Zipline Gun (ultimate) – Create a zipline for everyone to use
Horizon
Horizon is quickly becoming one of the most popular picks in Apex Legends due to her great movement abilities. Her Gravity Lift can not only be used to manoeuvre into new positions, but also can provide an incredibly steady platform to fire from.
Combined with her passive ability which increases her air control, you can rain hell on your enemies with a mid-ranged weapon from atop your Gravity Lift with next-to-no penalty to your accuracy.
Her ultimate ability could use some improvements, but can work well when combined with a few Arc Stars from new boy Fuse, or a Gibraltar bombardment.
However, Horizon’s tactical ability has been heavily nerfed in Season 9, reducing the speed of her lift by 30%, and reducing side-to-side acceleration. You can also only spend a maximum of two seconds on top of the Gravity Lift. Its cooldown has also been increased by five seconds.
This means there’s much less more strafing on top of the lift while healing up or raining down bullets on your foes, and Horizon’s usability has been severely neutered.
She’s still an absolute hoot to play with, so we’d recommend checking her out.
Horizon Abilities
- Spacewalk (passive) – Increase air control and reduce fall impacts with Horizon’s custom spacesuit.
- Gravity Lift (tactical) – Reverses the flow of gravity, lifting players upward and boosting them outward when they exit.
- Black Hole – Deploy NEWT to create a micro black hole that pulls players in towards it, and hits them with a graviton blast at the end.
Valkyrie
Valkyrie – or Valk, for short – is the newest legend entering the fray in Apex Legends Season 9: Legacy. We’ve had a chance to take Valkyrie and her jet pack for a spin, and she seems… Okay.
As the Season 9 character for Apex Legends, Valk saw a lot of play early on. Now she’s settled into a mid-tier, as her ultimate ability is great for making an early rotation or getting out of a sticky situation.
Her Missile Swarm is a little underwhelming, but stuns opponents if you manage to hit. Valkyrie is a great character to play if you’re into quick movement, handy abilities, and voice lines about snacks.
Valkyrie abilities
- VTOL Jets (passive) – Press [space] while in the air to engage jetpack. You can switch between hold and toggle mode in the options menu
- Missile Swarm (tactical) – Fire a swarm of mini-rockets which damage and disorient the enemy
- Skyward Dive (ultimate) – Press once to prepare for launch. Teammates can interact with Valkyrie to join the launch. Press again to launch into the air and skydive
Caustic
Caustic was in a great place at the start of Season 8, but his abilities have suffered a huge nerf in the Chaos Theory rebalances. He was once one of the most infuriating legends to play against, but in Season 9, Caustic is no longer a big threat.
His Nox Gas now does a meagre five damage per second, meaning opponents can heal quicker than it damages them. It is still useful for area denial and confusing enemies, but his damage is pretty useless. The nerf also added an extra minute to his Ultimate’s cooldown, meaning you can only throw a Nox Grenade every three and a half minutes.
The gas effect from his abilities is also now much thinner, making it easier to see through.
Before the nerf Caustic was seeing a lot of use in competitive play, but we can expect that to tail off pretty quickly with all of the nerfs he has received recently.
Caustic Abilities
- Nox Vision (passive) – Allows you to see enemies through your gas
- Nox Gas Trap (tactical) – Drop canisters that release deadly Nox gas when shot or triggered by enemies
- Nox Gas Grenade (ultimate) – Blankets a large area in Nox gas
Loba
Loba is often placed quite low down in Apex Legends tier lists, and we’re struggling to see why. Her passive ability and extremely quick ultimate charge rate means she is a diamond for securing your favourite weapon and some high-tier loot in the early game.
Season 7’s buff will also see players be able to pull as much ammo from her Black Market Boutique as they can carry, meaning your squad will rarely be short on bullets.
Her Burglar’s Best Friend teleporter is also brilliant for reaching high ground or zipping behind enemy lines. While she rarely makes an appearance in Apex’s esports scene, we think she is a great pick for squads chasing high-kill games.
Loba also saw some surprising picks in the Apex Legends Global Series, with Fire Beavers and Third Impact showcasing her abilities, with the latter taking her to take second place in the EMEA tournament.
Loba Abilities
- Eye for Quality (passive) – Nearby legendary and epic loot can be seen through walls
- Burglar’s Best Friend (tactical) – Teleport to hard-to-reach places or escape trouble quickly by throwing your Jump Drive bracelet
- Black Market Boutique (ultimate) – Place a portable device that can teleport nearby loot into your inventory. Each player can take two items maximum
Revenant
Apex’s most sinister legend is, unfortunately, about as sinister as a child in a Halloween costume when it comes to his strength on the battlefield. Revenant’s Death Totem is an intriguing ultimate that gives you the confidence for an initial aggressive push, but it’s so easy to sabotage if the enemy team knows where you placed it.
The Revenant and Octane combo is a classic – as Alliance’s John ‘Hakis’ Håkansson explained to The Loadout – and can be deadly in the right hands.
Revenant’s been on the receiving end of some serious buffs in the Genesis collection event, however, and despite his Death Protection being reduced by a few seconds, his hitbox has been slimmed down and his Stalker ability has been improved. Like, really improved.
Look at my boy Revenant climbing 😭 pic.twitter.com/SnFavnKBOx
— rspn_pav (@rspn_pav) June 24, 2021
Oh yeah, and he’s also got a sweet new heirloom – which is as good a reason to pick him as any.
Revenant Abilities
- Stalker (passive) – You crouch walk faster and climb higher than other legends
- Silence (tactical) – Throw a device that deals damage and disables enemy abilities
- Death Totem (ultimate) – Drop a Death Totem that protects those who use it from death for a set amount of time. Instead of being downed, users will return to the totem.
Lifeline
A lot of Apex Legends team compositions you come across will feature a Lifeline. Why? Well, she’s the game’s only healer for a start. With no other legend doing what Lifeline can do, she is one of the most played legends with a usage rate of 10.5%.
Surprisingly for a support-orientated player, Lifeline is also the fourth-best legend for kills per match, clocking up an average of 2.2.
Not only can Lifeline patch you up after a gunfight or come and revive you out in the open thanks to her D.O.C. Heal Drone, but she can also provide some sweet extra loot from blue supply bins and her Care Package ultimate.
However, Lifeline has had a serious rework in Season 9: her D.O.C. no longer deploys a shield while reviving allies, which seriously impacts Lifeline’s usefulness, but the heal rate has been increased from 5hp to 8hp per second. Furthermore, she can revive both teammates with her drone at the same time.
Her care package also gained some usefulness, and should now provide an upgrade to your gear based on what your team currently has equipped when the package arrives.
Lifeline Abilities
- Combat Medic (passive) – Deploy D.O.C. to revive teammates, leaving you free to move and defend
- Heal Drone (tactical) – Call D.O.C. to automatically heal nearby teammates over time
- Care Package (ultimate) – Call in a drop pod full of high-quality defensive loot
C-tier
In Apex Legends, these C-tier picks are not really going to do much to help you secure a win. They’re either only helpful in very specific situations, or have received recent nerfs.
Bangalore
There’s no denying that Bangalore’s smokes can be incredibly handy for getting out of tight spots or distracting enemies, but this OG legend’s problem has always been her ultimate. It just kinda sucks, right?
In Season 7, Rolling Thunder received a slight buff, reducing its insanely long wait time from eight seconds to six. However, this is still plenty of time for opposition legends to react, and Gibraltar’s similar mortar strike ability seems far more effective.
With new legend Horizon being able to suck enemies into a central position, perhaps Rolling Thunder could be effective in partnership with the bonnie astrophysicist? However, that’s a play a few Arc Stars and Thermites could replicate to be honest.
Bangalore Abilities
- Double Time (passive) – Taking fire while sprinting makes you move faster for a brief amount of time
- Smoke Launcher (tactical) – Fire a high-velocity smoke canister that explodes into a wall of smoke on impact
- Rolling Thunder (ultimate) – Call in an artillery strike that slowly creeps across the landscape
WATTSON
There is arguably no other legend you’d rather have on your team in the late game than Wattson. When that ring is closing and you’re hunkered down in your spot, unable to rotate, Wattson can be a massive factor in securing a victory.
Not only do her electrified perimeter fences deal damage to any legends that try to pass through them but her Interception Pylon ultimate is super useful too. Acting as both a healing aid for teammates and as a trophy system that will destroy grenades that are lobbed into your hidey hole, she has an elite setup for holding onto prime bits of real estate around the map. Wattson also gains the ability to regenerate her shields over time in the Chaos Theory update, which might aid her usefulness.
Apparently Wattson has a really good win rate, but at present, she just seems a bit subpar.
WATTSON ABILITIES
- Spark of Genius (passive) – Ultimate Accelerants fully charge your Ultimate Ability
- Perimeter Security (tactical) – Connect nodes to create electrified fences that damage and slow enemies
- Interception Pylon (ultimate) – Place an electrified pylon that destroys incoming ordnance and repairs damaged shields
Mirage
Mirage is something of a one-trick pony. He’s here for the bamboozles, and not a whole lot else.
However, he continues to be a relatively common pick in Apex Legends. Thanks to his decoy holograms scrambling the brains of the opposition, Mirage can often come out on top in clutch situations and has a decent 1.8 kills per game on average.
His decoys also received a positive tweak in Season 7. They will now all have a base health of 45, meaning it will take longer to clear them out and see which Mirage is real one.
Mirage Abilities
- Now You See Me (passive) – Automatically cloak when using Respawn Beacons and when reviving teammates
- Psyche Out (tactical) – Send out a holographic decoy to confuse the enemy
- Life of the Party (ultimate) – Deploy a team of decoys to distract the enemy
Crypto
The general consensus has always been that Crypto is an annoying and relatively useless legend to encounter in Apex. And to be honest, that’s still half true – we really hate those stupid drones.
However, while his play rate is very low in public matches and ranked, Crypto has wormed his way into many teams in the esports scene recently. During the Autumn Circuit of the Apex Legends Global Series, Crypto cropped up in around a quarter of teams in some regions, whereas previously you would be hard-pushed to see him make an appearance.
This is due to his Drone EMP being a great counter to Gibraltar’s dome shields.
So while for us mere mortals there are plenty of better picks than Crypto, he has been pulled out of the bottom tier of our list by his very circumstantial usefulness.
Crypto Abilities
- Neurolink (passive) – Enemies detected by Surveillance Drone within 30 metres are marked for you and your teammates to see
- Surveillance Drone (tactical) – Deploy an aerial drone that allows you to view the surrounding area.
- Drone EMP (ultimate) – Your drone sets off an EMP blast that deals shield damage, destroys traps, and slows enemies
D-Tier
These legends are bottom of the pile and really won’t add much to your Apex Legends experience.
Fuse
Season 8’s legend Fuse slots into C-tier. While his kit is an absolute blast to use (especially his passive ability that can yeet grenades like an NFL quarterback) Fuse is only really useful in certain situations, rather than across the board like the legends above him in this list.
His ultimate, which herds up enemies into a ring of fire for easy pickings, is great for catching rotating teams unawares. However, when it comes to the end game with everyone hunkered down in buildings, it’s close to useless.
A buff to his Knuckle Cluster in Season 9 does little to make Fuse more viable. While there’s certainly worse options to have on your squad, there’s definitely better ones too.
Fuse abilities
- Grenadier (passive) – Stack an extra grenade per inventory slot. Fire grenades farther, faster, and more accurately.
- Knuckle Cluster (tactical) – Launch a cluster bomb that continuously expels airburst explosives on impact
- The Motherlode (ultimate) – Launch a bombardment that encircles a target area in a wall of flame.
Rampart
Season 6 addition Rampart looked absolutely terrifying when she was first revealed – a mounted minigun on a defensive barricade just sounded ridiculously overpowered. However, in practice, Rampart has failed to make much of an impact on the Apex meta.
If she does have Sheila mounted up in a prime position behind her barricade and catches you by surprise she can be problematic. However, with so many legends that can now move positions quickly to avoid her storm of bullets like Pathfinder, Horizon, or Loba, she becomes a very situational legend.
Despite a number of buffs this season to her kit, it’s still not enough to drag her up our tier list – nor is it enough to increase her dismal play rate of just 2.3%.
Rampart abilities
- Modded Loader (passive) – Increased magazine capacity and faster reloads when using LMGs and Sheila
- Amped Cover (tactical) – Build a crouch-cover wall, that deploys a full-cover amped wall which blocks incoming shots and amps outgoing shots
- Emplaced Minigun ‘Sheila’ (ultimate) – Place a mounted machine gun that anyone can use. High ammo capacity, long reload time
So there you have it, our part-opinion, part-science Apex Legends tier list for Season 9. Keep tuning in throughout the season to see if any of the legends climb up or slide down our list as players take to Kings Canyon and Olympus in Apex Legends ranked.
Apex LEgends Arenas tier list
Apex Legends Season 9: Legacy has seen some of the biggest additions to the popular FPS game yet. New legend Valkyrie brings an extra dose of aerial reconnaissance, and we’re loving the game’s latest weapon, the Bocek Bow, a whole lot.
However, the biggest change introduced with Season 9 is the all new 3v3 Arenas mode. Due to how the mode’s economy works, every ability and every consumable comes at a cost. As such, picking and choosing legends whose abilities bring the most value is crucial to success (as is out-gunning your opponents, of course).
For this tier list, we not only considered which legends had the most effective ultimates, but also who can impact the opponent’s economy, as well as who we think will excel in these intense, fast-paced rounds. Our S-tier picks come straight from the upper echelons of our general Apex Legends tier list, but there are a couple of noteworthy picks from the lower tiers that we reckon might be especially devastating in the Arena.
Here’s how we think the legends shape up in Apex Legends Arenas mode:
Tier | Legends |
Top tier | Bloodhound, Gibraltar, Wraith |
A-tier | Revenant, Crypto, Pathfinder, Loba, Mirage, Horizon |
B-tier | Octane, Fuse, Bangalore, Valkyrie |
C-tier | Lifeline, Rampart, Wattson, Caustic, |
Top tier
Bloodhound
Although the arenas may be more contained experiences than the traditional battle royale maps, Bloodhound’s tactical, Eye of the Allfather, remains a crucial recon tool when trying to keep tabs on enemy movement during a firefight.
Their ultimate ability, Beast of the Hunt, may cost a small wedge of your economy to purchase, but the bonus mobility and massively reduced cooldown it attributes to their tactical ensures your team has a constant stream of information on the enemy team’s position. Scary.
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is the king of creating space for your team to recover. Should a stray Bocek arrow snipe out one of your team mates, a quick Dome Shield provides safe cover while they’re helped to their feet.
Additionally, the dome – especially when paired with a Wraith – can provide safe passage when attempting to close a range disparity. Perhaps your team has all opted for the R-99 – the top SMG on our Apex Legends weapon tier list – only to be laced by Charge Rifle fire? Drop a bubble, crack open a portal, and all of a sudden you’re in a much more favourable situation.
Need a bit of extra safety? Two words: Defensive. Bombardment.
Wraith
Wraith’s addition at the top of this tier list should require little explanation. Despite a recent nerf to her hitbox hitting her ability to dodge and weave through fights, she is still the second-most picked legend after Bloodhound (according to Apex Tracker).
Wraith’s kit allows for incredibly safe pushes thanks to her tactical ability, Into the Void. Additionally, as extra charges can be purchased each round, her ability to dip in and out of engagements will be vital to drawing enemy attention away from the rest of the team.
As mentioned in Gibraltar’s entry, Wraith’s Dimensional Rift can also provide safe repositioning around the Arena. However, if used in the middle of a losing fight, it may invite further trouble should the enemy squad choose to follow. At that point, it’s best to have a few extra grenades at the ready to bombard the portal opening.
A-tier
Revenant
Revenant has had a bit of a miserable time lately. Although he is absolutely terrifying, and you definitely wouldn’t want to meet him down a dark alleyway, meeting one in King’s Canyon or Olympus is a far less scary affair.
However, Arena is an economy game. So what better way to damage the opponent’s economy than by throwing out a tactical Silence, rendering their expensive ultimate abilities useless? Additionally, as you can purchase extra tactical charges, if you have a few spare gold each round, you can maintain its uptime for the duration of not only the fight, but the whole match.
Crypto
Crypto’s usefulness has traditionally been very circumstantial. Attempting to drone in a packed battle royale map is usually an invitation for trouble. Additionally, there are few greater flames to draw the legions of moth-like legends to your team than a giant EMP.
However, once again, the Arena provides a platform for the Surveillance Expert to shine – and not just because there are fewer enemies to get caught out by while seeking out opponents. With Gibraltar expected to feature heavily in this game mode, Drone EMP provides a natural counter.
Furthermore, with only two mini shield batteries provided by default each round in the Arena, extra meds come at a premium. Indeed, much in the same way a Revenant silence can damage the opponent’s economy, a well placed Crypto ultimate can also be absolutely devastating to those who haven’t invested in extra shield juice.
Pathfinder
Pathfinder is another legend we feel will see success in the new mode. Even the first Arena ring packs a serious punch, so the ability to quickly zip your team out of a potentially deadly position cannot be understated. However, you will have to front the cost for the privilege.
Much like the next legend on our list, Loba, Pathfinder’s tactical ability allows him to go on the solo offensive, while also providing an out in case things get a little heated. Indeed, should a fight enter a stalemate, creative Pathfinders can find a new angle of attack that can unlock the enemy’s defence.
Loba
We also feel that Loba will have more joy in the Arena than in a more traditional setting. Her tactical, Burglar’s Best Friend, is a potent tool for setting up a flank – though the fairly long animation time between landing and readying her weapon means you need to carefully pick your place, and pick your moment.
Additionally, while she doesn’t quite offer mobility value to the team like a Pathfinder perhaps does, her translocation means she won’t be taking damage mid-rotation like our favourite MRVN is prone to doing mid-grapple.
Although her ultimate ability, Black Market Boutique, has no real value in the Arena, that simply means you can allocate more of your funds into consumables, upgrades, or extra tactical charges.
Horizon
The Arena was made for Horizon. Usually, her flashy abilities would invite trouble from further afield when used in the battle royale mode. However, in the Arena none of that matters. With a few extra charges of Gravity Lift picked up in the buy phase, your team will always be able to achieve a vertical advantage.
Horizon’s ultimate, Black Hole, is a crucial tool for either shredding the entire enemy team when combined with an offensive ultimate or a couple of grenades, or generally creating a chaotic moment for your opponents – during which time your team can pounce.
Mirage
Although he is more of a one-trick bamboozling pony, we feel that Mirage has some real clutch value. In the Arena, where there are no third-parties to snipe downed enemies, teams may be more inclined to go for a full squad wipe instead of thirsting for a kill. As such, the invisibility Mirage passively provides to himself and an ally picked from a distance makes for a safe revive.
Perhaps more importantly, with the prevalence of Bloodhound we are expecting to see, Mirage’s tactical, Psyche Out, and ultimate, Life of the Party, provide a natural counter to the cacophony of scans – even if only for Mirage himself.
B-tier
Octane
Octane has had a bit of a love tap to his Stim in Season 9, with the High-Speed Daredevil now taking more damage in return for the zoom zoom. Despite this, we still think he’s going to be plenty strong in the Arena, even if his Launch Pad isn’t particularly viable.
Similarly to Loba and Pathfinder, Octane can flank with his immense speed. However, he lacks verticality without his ultimate, and can be sprayed down on approach.
Bangalore
As much as we would love to place Bangalore higher – especially with how strong a good Smoke Launcher charge can be for providing cover and navigating tricky situations – the Bloodhound factor once again comes into play.
Furthermore, while her passive, Double Time, provides a movement stim akin to Octane’s, it doesn’t quite offer the same flexibility as you need to already be under fire for it to kick in. But what about Bangalore’s ultimate, Rolling Thunder? Well, unfortunately it’s wasted economy if an enemy Gibraltar simply pops a bubble. Additionally, with mobility being a core factor in many of these top tier list choices, it won’t take much for many legends to swiftly make their exit from the blast zone.
Fuse
Fuse is a bit of a situational pick for sure. His Knuckle Cluster grenade is great for chipping away at a team caught in a Horizon ultimate, though a good frag grenade more than covers that. Fortunately, as the Arena maps tend to trend towards being more open, there is ample opportunity for The Motherlode to help keep your opponents locked down.
Valkyrie
We have yet to fully-form our take on new legend Valk, hence a more conservative placement. Her VTOL Jets do provide verticality, though she is incredibly slow to move through the air, painting a huge target on her back.
Meanwhile, her tactical Missile Swarm feels… underwhelming. Additionally, her passive – which highlights enemies in her line of sight – is easily countered either by quickly dashing into a building, or hiding behind cover. Skyward Dive is a great repositioning tool for the team, but the cost and readying time before a dive can take place are too great to really merit its use in the middle of a round.
C-tier
Lifeline
Lifeline’s efficacy in the Arena will rely entirely on the fate of her passive resurrection shield. From what we know so far, it is set to be removed, making thirsting for a teammate mid-res a simple task for the enemy team. Should the shield remain, however, then we will be sure to adjust her place accordingly.
Although this is offset by her ability to provide covering fire mid-res, most teams will be looking to target the Lifeline each round to prevent resurrections coming through altogether. Furthermore, with how intense fights usually are, there won’t be a great deal of time for Lifeline’s Heal Drone to output enough healing to make it worth splurging out for extra stacks.
Rampart
Similarly to Lifeline, Rampart suffers from lack of mobility, and a lack of situations where she can actually provide real value. Her passive, which allows her to cram more rounds into an LMG magazine, is a solid boon to the M600 Spitfire – a weapon which remains pretty broken.
However, both Amped Cover and mounted minigun Sheila offer very little in the Arena. If you hole yourself up in a building, then prepare to be peppered with grenades. And with no other teams to potentially offer a timely third-party, you effectively become a sitting duck.
Wattson
Wattson once again suffers from the same issues as the other legends in this tier. Her passive, Spark of Genius is rendered useless, while her tactical, Perimeter Security, is just asking for trouble. A creative Wattson could bait out an empty building with her tactical, getting the drop on the enemy as they approach it, expecting to find her and her team inside. But again this is wildly situational.
Interception Pylon does provide economic value in that it repairs damaged ally shields. But similarly to Lifeline, there is no real guarantee that it will be able to pump out enough healing to make it viable. Furthermore, as an ultimate ability, the pylon could simply end up a sunken cost.
Caustic
Caustic’s Nox Gas Grenade is perhaps the only valuable tool in his kit in an Arena environment. A Gas Trap may provide an opportunity to turtle in a building during a res, but it also gives ample time for the enemy team to surround your location, and open fire as soon as you pop your head out. We couldn’t feasibly see a scenario where he would be utilised over a legend like Gibraltar.
Well, there it is. Our take on which legends we believe are going to be bringing home the victories in this intense new mode. Naturally, as players experiment and the meta begins to form, we will be sure to keep this guide updated. However, for now, this is how we predict it’ll shape up.
- 11
- 7
- 9
- Absolute
- Account
- ADvantage
- Aiming
- All
- Allowing
- android
- animation
- AREA
- around
- batteries
- Battle
- Battlefield
- beer
- BEST
- Biggest
- Bit
- Black
- board
- bomb
- Boosted
- boosting
- brains
- Building
- buy
- Capacity
- care
- caught
- change
- charge
- charges
- chasm
- checking
- child
- coming
- Common
- confidence
- Consensus
- continues
- Costs
- Couple
- Creating
- Creative
- crypto
- Dash
- deal
- Deals
- defence
- Design
- destroy
- distance
- Dodge
- drone
- Drones
- Drop
- Early
- Economic
- economy
- Edge
- Effective
- Environment
- esports
- estate
- Event
- Excel
- Exit
- Experiences
- experiment
- eye
- Feature
- Feet
- fights
- Finally
- Fire
- First
- Flexibility
- flow
- follow
- form
- Free
- full
- funds
- game
- Games
- GAS
- Gear
- General
- Genesis
- Gibraltar
- Giving
- Global
- Gold
- good
- grants
- great
- guide
- handy
- head
- Health
- here
- High
- hold
- Home
- How
- HP
- HTTPS
- huge
- image
- Impact
- Increase
- information
- inventory
- issues
- IT
- join
- jump
- keeping
- Kills
- King
- kit
- knowledge
- large
- latest
- launch
- launches
- Line
- List
- Lists
- location
- Long
- looked
- love
- Making
- map
- Maps
- Market
- Match
- Matters
- Meta
- mobility
- Most Popular
- move
- NFL
- nodes
- nox
- offer
- offset
- Okay
- open
- Opinions
- Opportunity
- opposition
- Options
- Other
- painting
- Partnership
- Patch
- People
- platform
- player
- Plenty
- Pony
- poor
- Popular
- Portal
- Premium
- present
- press
- protection
- public
- punch
- purchase
- quality
- range
- Rates
- React
- real estate
- Recharge
- Recover
- reduce
- REST
- rift
- Ring
- rounds
- running
- safe
- Safety
- scanning
- Science
- security
- Series
- set
- setting
- shine
- Short
- Simple
- SIX
- small
- snacks
- So
- South
- Space
- speed
- spend
- Spin
- Spot
- spread
- start
- stats
- Storm
- Strategy
- Strikes
- success
- supply
- surprise
- surveillance
- Survey
- Swarm
- sweet
- Switch
- system
- tactical
- tactics
- Tap
- Target
- time
- top
- tournament
- Update
- us
- usability
- users
- value
- View
- vision
- Voice
- wait
- Watch
- Weave
- WHO
- win
- within
- words
- Work
- works
- worth
- zipline
- zoom