Apex Legends: All you need to know before jumping onto the battlefield

EA's free-to-play battle royale game Apex Legends has been gaining considerable steam over the past couple of weeks, already hitting over 25 million players. Apex Legends does stand out from games like PUBG and Fortnite and jumping into the game can be difficult at first. While it may not take you much time to understand the fundamentals of the game, even a little time can cost your team a victory. So, here’s a little first-timers guide detailing everything you need to keep in mind while jumping into a game.

Understand the Legend
Each Legend in the game has different abilities; you might want to take a bit of time to read through a Legend’s abilities before diving into combat. Don’t stop at one Legend; you should get a gist of the skills of at least 3 Legends before hitting that ‘Ready’ button. Since Apex Legends is a 3-man team-based battle royale, you could get drafted last to pick a Legend.

Never Jump Alone
Players are launched into the game in teams of three. Each side has a Jumpmaster who can control the entire team’s landing location. Although you can separate from the team and choose the area you want to land in, it isn’t advisable, as players who usually break from their teams are easily picked off. If you’re assigned as the Jumpmaster and don’t know where to land, simply relinquish control by holding down on ‘Left Control’.

Don’t Fight Unarmed
Once you land, head to the nearest supply bin or building to gather ammunition and armour. Do not attempt to fight an enemy using melee attacks with your fist, as you could end up hurt if an enemy finds a weapon, while you’re going on an unarmed chase.

Death is not the end
Lastly, when you die during a game-in-progress, don’t immediately leave the game. As teammates will still be able to revive you within a short 90-second window. You can also revive a teammate by picking up their tag using ‘E’. Once you’ve got the tag, head to the nearest Respawn Beacon (Indicated as green icons on minimap), interact with the beacon and your ally will fly back on a dropship. You might want to hold back while an ally drops as revived allies drop unarmed, which could make them easy targets.

While these pointers aren’t meant to help you win the game, they’ll undoubtedly get first-time players off to a good start.