Predator Versus Prey

I thought it would be a great idea for people that are either new to the game or that are interested in the synergies of legends, that viewing the game from this perspective would perhaps provide some insight on how abilities effect gameplay from an old Apex professional (This is very much not a brag thing, but a more so experience thing. I am an old man in the gaming scene. I am very washed. Please don’t look at my flatline sprays, they are horrendous). If people are interested in talking about counters to legends, that can be a whole other conversation because there is a lot to unpack there. There is also something to be said that not every single legend is great on every single map. Some legends are better suited on different maps. This is just an overarching opinion on high tier ranked/competitive play. Doesn’t mean that legends like Mirage can’t be played at a high level, but it just will be more challenging to the average player against Predators.

LEGEND TIER LIST EXPLAINATION

S+ TIER

Valkyrie

Valkyrie’s “Valk” ultimate is so strong, that I don’t see her falling out of meta comp. For pretty much every play style. Ultimate “ulti” and passive make this legend at least A+ tier. Most teams are so used to running Valk, that she is the new Gibraltar “Gibby” of old. Where she is in the meta for two years and won’t be until a huge shift of either gameplay, or she gets a nerf to her ultimate/other legends get better at macro.  She is quite literally the standard now, of macro rotations. This might change due to seeing the rarity of the mobile balloons and validity of them in high tier play. S+ tier due to her ultimate but could change.

S TIER

Wattson

Wattson if your goal is for holding areas outside of buildings and inside buildings. Offers team meds with ult if you feel as though you need to reserve meds and don’t want to run Loba. With the upgrade of being able to scan beacon, I don’t see many teams that don’t play hard zone picking Wattson. But she still remains the best controller offering the most utility in the kit. S tier due to her utility.

Wraith

Wraith if you want to now have a semi-macro rotation that is safer and without as much risk, but downside is that there are no height opportunities like Valk. Good for taking off angles/pre rotating to play positioning at precise timing or seeing if a spot is open without having to use Valk or have Crypto in the team comp. While I think she is now much more viable as the macro pick for teams, the ultimate still feels as though it needs a little bit more length in order to make her S+ tier. Currently, S tier with the changes and versatility.

Seer

Seer’s changes counters almost every single legend available due to his tactical having such a strong team fight ability. Stopping a rez or a heal absolutely changes team fights, and with his information passive – I think he will still be the go-to recon pick for most teams that offer a more hybrid playstyle. Ultimate is still very strong to defend pushes against other teams, unless Crypto ulted. Hard deterrent of pushes. S tier pick, even with the changes to the passive and cooldowns.

Bangalore

Bangalore is becoming one of the most prominent picks in high tier ranked and competitive due to her versatility playstyle. Pretty wild to think that in competitive, the teams that are running Bang is to offset aim assist. She hasn’t even got a change in her kit in a very long time. Her smokes are strong for blocking off sightlines for rotations and her ultimate is a great zoning tool to create space. Teams are just now realizing how strong of kit she has at her arsenal, and definitely going to continue to see play even with the changes to classes. She reminds me of the R301, she is ole faithful. S Tier.

A+ TIER

Catalyst

Catalyst I think will receive the highest bump of playability. While I don’t think she will see a lot of heavy zone comps (though it is very possible!). I can see her being picked as a strong hybrid/edge zone team. Changing her class to now be able to see where next zone is, gives the teams that still want that information a legend to use, without feeling hindered in a team fighting setting. She was experimented in pro play for a while as a “do it all” support legend, and I think the new change will only benefit her to becoming a higher picked legend for edge teams, but I think this pick may take some time until people get used to her kit. Since it is hard to get the most out of it, without putting some time to utilizing her kit. One of the two legends I will be keeping my eye on the most this upcoming pro league. A+ Tier now being able to see zone.

Maggie

Maggie is a bit of a unique legend; she offers a hyper aggressive play style. Her best uses of her kit are often going forward, and not going backwards. There have been moments in competitive where she is higher picked, and then forgotten about the next week. With the changes to shotguns being better, and with hammer point buffs, I think she will see some play. She really excels in a chaotic environment, and puts a lot of pressure on teams during fights with her tactical. Potentially could be put down into A tier, but I have high hopes for this legend in high tier ranked and competitive. A+ Tier.

Crypto

Crypto in zone is still very strong, going to be very impressive if there is a team that can do it for edge, but takes a lot of team synergy and practice of timings. That being said Crypto in a zone comp makes the most sense, having tabs on all teams around you with the possibility to rank up armor with ulti is a reason people will use him in comp, but probably not ranked. The value of Crypto is no longer beacons in Zone 3, but instead, getting puts more emphasis on his information for rotations via the drone which slightly lowers his effectiveness in the overall picture. Pretty much every region except NA, Crypto will still stay high pick-rate. A+ Tier, but could be moved down due to the change of Zone knowledge.

Horizon

Horizon is no surprise. I think she is so fun because her whole kit is so versatile, but is a bit risky which is what makes her fun. But sticking to the tier list specific, her kits offer flexibility, but mainly in fights. With her changes to the accuracy of shooting while in the tactical, it is no secret that she won’t be able to breach and frag like the role that she has always had, but she will provide utility to her teammates that make her extremely strong in team fights. Reason she is in A+ tier is due to her skill ceiling being one of the highest in the game, but also that her floor is one of the lowest in game to make her kit effective.

 

 

A TIER

Caustic

Caustic whole purpose as a legend is to lock down buildings and tight corridors, and making it to late game. He is very difficult to fully utilize in open space, and therefore only viable in a hybrid/zone heavy team. With him being able to scan zones, I can see a Valk – Gibby – Caustic meta becoming popular again in competitive. While his value is increased with the change, I don’t believe he is the best controller in the game but will definitely see use in competitive play. A Tier.

Bloodhound

Bloodhound is an interesting legend with the new changes. Hard to see at the current moment being more than an edge team comp that has no care in the world about Zone. I think with the now white raven, even proves further that they are a full-send type of legend that individually is very strong, but now with the change of the ultimate tactical, not going to be nearly as strong in a team fight aspect. Individually going to be very strong like mirage in a team fight, but at least offer utility of scan during team fight. One of the legends to keep an eye out on, but I don’t see Bloodhound being more than heavy edge compositions. No longer is a viable as Seer in almost all aspects of team fighting. A Tier.

Rampart

The more Horizon stays out of meta, the more Rampart becomes more viable in heavy zone comps IMO, though Rampart sort of counters Horizon as well. Rampart is designed in a way to completely sell out on a particular part of zone that zone teams play, which is a bit risky. If zone calls are correct, and a Rampart is in a power position. There is not much another team can do, going against the powered-up walls. Along with Catalyst, she is a legend to look out for in high tier lobbies with her change to now being able to see Zones via the Beacon. If a team can utilize her, I think she is very fun to watch play in high tier lobbies. Need to watch out for the Horizon ults though. A Tier.

Loba

Loba is a unique pick in that she is a very weak fighting legend. But her ultimate ability makes her very viable for heavy zone teams. Instead of having to loot everything in your POI, you can use ultimate to get the final things you need, then rotate quickly. Getting better spot in zone, then using the ultimate later to gather up loot is what suits her best. It usually is trying to fend off a team with limited resources where Loba gets in trouble as a legend, since she offers no fighting abilities to the team. Still good for rotate early teams. A Tier.

Newcastle

Newcastle has a unique kit that requires a large amount of mechanical skill to do well with him. I believe he has or had the lowest pick rate due to his skill floor being extremely high (AKA, he is hard to play well as a newer/less mechanical play). But his kit does the best parts of other kits, and combined into one legend. Revives like Lifeline, but with movement. Places a wall down, like Rampart, but it is massive and has higher HP per wall spot. Throws down a shield, like Gibby, but it can move in all rotations, but isn’t like a dome so I will say this one is equal to if not weaker than Gibby’s tactical. He really is the one stop shop Support legend; his downfall is getting countered by Seer when a teammate is downed (being revived). He makes non playable area in late game, playable area due to his ultimate. I personally, still think Newcastle still hasn’t been mastered yet, but watching people like Albralelie, FunFPS, play this legend makes me think it is the best in game. A Tier.

Pathfinder

Pathfinder “Path” is a legend that still suffers from having an extremely easy hitbox to hit, but still offers creative expression in fights that other legends don’t. I believe with the changes to the zipline, it is an alternative to the macro rotations, but much riskier. Less risky than it was, since the changes to the ultimate make the zipline much faster. Reminds me of Horizon tactical that can catch people off guard. I actually can see Pathfinder being used in all types of team comps, due to the ultimate giving options for height and for distance. It will be interesting to see how different teams experiment with Path. He gets an A Tier rating for now.

Fuse

Fuse is often used in edge compositions to create openings and emphasize damage done to players to create space. While he offers a lot of utility with his passive in grenades, and the tactical. His ultimate is very precise and is hard to be perfect on placement. He is extremely fun to play, and offers damage, and knocking off doors for free instead of having to waste utility on it. He is similar to Caustic where you get the most out of the damage in tight spaces, so late game is where Fuse can really get late game Kill Participation. A Tier.

Vantage

Vantage is a fun little pick that I think actually is going to benefit from the change of classes. Being able to scan beacon to see where teams are located/rotating will help teams that run Vantage, be ahead of the game and allow for her kit to be utilized more. She specializes in single target damage. With her being able to use beacon, she can be used in the more hybrid style compositions looking to play aggressive around second zone while holding out teams outside of the ring. Most teams will more than likely not use her, she has the ability to be a strong addition to a double recon or double assault compositions. A Tier but has a high ceiling with the change. A Tier.

 

 

B TIER

Gibraltar

Gibraltar was the definition of Meta in 2020 to mid-2022. Every single team in competitive was running this legend. Teams were crafted around Gibby, because he was that good for so long. He was also the premiere hybrid pick of playstyles before Valk came out. No one really was running Gibby in Ranked matches though, because he was a very hard legend to use. This was due to his hit box and kind of clunky playstyle. He currently offers a lot of the same utility, but there are other legends that do the same, or better. So, for now, I don’t see Gibby being in the meta, unless teamed up with Caustic and Valk. There are challenges even then with how teams play now to counter the composition. B Tier.

Revenant

Revenant is going to probably going to stay here, until he gets his change to the kit. He is just too easy to counter in high tier lobbies and especially comp, which is GOOD. His kit was extremely frustrating to go against when Octane and Rev were paired together. Made for a very unenjoyable experience. Glad he is getting a change to make him potentially viable. B Tier.

Ash

Ash became one of the premiere edge fighting legends when she came out. Problem with her is her ultimate doesn’t travel enough distance, and her tactical is very…mid. There are just other legends that do what she does, but better. Wraith imo is a better version of Ash, but doesn’t get the ultimate verticality of Ash. HOWEVER, Wraith’s overall kit is better. So, therefore most people would choose to play Wraith over Ash. You get where I am going here, right? I think the biggest thing is the distance, because she doesn’t have any macro rotation, and her micro rotations aren’t far enough to warrant a legend slot for her in the team. B Tier.

Lifeline

Lifeline probably saw her shine the most two ranked splits ago, when Seer was his high point. She is the only hard counter to Seer (her rez drone doesn’t get stopped when reviving someone). The only problem with playing lifeline, is that her kit is best used when someone on her team has already got knocked. Which in high tier gameplay, usually means you already lost the fight. Makes for lifeline to be a very niche pick against Seer, but she isn’t a terrible legend. She just lacks the oomph you get from other legends kits.  B Tier.

C TIER

Octane

Octane suffers the most from the “other legends do the same thing, but better” aspect. Ash can move a team across space without getting shot (though not as far), Pathfinder now has an ult that can send teams across space at the speed of light, and Wraith now has a ton of distance on the portal, with a better tactical ability than Octane. Tough scenes out here for Octane, but is still very fun legend to play, just not a competitively viable legend. C Tier.

MIRAGE TIER

Mirage

Mirage is just a fun legend, doesn’t offer much to the team outside of the team fighting aspect. But he is the best 1v1 legend IMO, because of the decoys. If Apex was a single player only game, Mirage would be S tier. Unfortunately for him, Apex is a team game. Mirage Tier.

 

Hard Zone Comps:

Caustic/Wattson – Valk/Wraith – Crypto/Seer

Loba – Valk – Seer/Crypto

Hybrid:

Catalyst/Caustic – Horizon – Seer

Bang – Valk – Seer/Blood

Wraith – Seer – Catalyst

Valk – Gibby – Caustic

Edge:

Horizon – Valk – Seer

Horizon – Wraith – Seer

Bang – Seer – Catalyst

Fuse – Bang – Seer

These are just a few that I thought would potentially be meta, but would love for your opinion on what YOU think would be a great team comp!

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