Ash Guide - Apex Legends

If being a master of aggression in Apex Legends is right up your alley, you may want to give Ash a go. This offensive legend is versatile, making her suited for hit-and-run tactics, spearheading her team's attacks, or flanking the enemy for quick and ruthless kills. There may be more to Ash than villainous intent, but this incisive investigator has excellent abilities for anyone hoping to pursue their prey with a murderous fervor. In this guide, we'll go over everything you'll want to know about playing as Ash, from her abilities to her strengths and weaknesses.

Ash's abilities are about all-out aggression

Ash's abilities are inspired by Titanfall 2's Titans, specifically Northstar and Ronin. Both Titans feature weak defense but incredible movement capabilities and attack power, making them strong hit-and-run tacticians. Ash is the same, skewing more towards Ronin to specialize in quickly moving on enemy squads, hitting hard at close range, and then getting out of the firefight to get a lay of the land before attacking again.

Though she's an offensive legend, none of Ash's abilities are especially geared towards dealing damage. Though Arc Snare does deal damage to those caught in its tether, it's far more useful as a means of slowing an enemy down long enough for Phase Breach to close the distance.

Ash's passive ability Marked For Death allows her to see the location of recent death boxes and then hack them when nearby to mark surviving attackers.

Her Arc Snare tactical ability throws a spinning snare that damages and tethers the first enemy that gets too close, giving you an opportunity to push them or escape, depending on the situation.

Lastly, her ultimate ability is Phase Breach, which tears open a one-way portal to a targeted location that's also usable by allies and enemies, which provides extremely useful opportunities for chasing down or ambushing enemies.

It's a balancing game of strengths and weaknesses

Ash is a strong hunter. Her passive ability allows her to quickly figure out where fights are happening so that she and her squad can third-party. And if she's late to the fight, that same passive allows her to figure out where the lingering survivors have wandered off to. In a way, Marked For Death makes Ash a strong substitute for recon legends--if your squad is looking for someone to help map out where to go next in order to find a fight or avoid one, Ash's passive ability can somewhat fulfill the role. Her ultimate ability can be used to more quickly move her squad about the map too, similar to Pathfinder and Valkyrie's ultimate abilities. She's not as good at reconnaissance as an actual recon character, but she makes up for it by being ideally suited for going on the attack once a squad has been found.

Bring legends with you that pair well with your abilities

Ash pairs exceptionally well with her fellow simulacrum, Revenant. The two can use both of their respective ultimate abilities to account for the other's weaknesses, aggressively moving on enemy squads by teleporting into their midst as shadows. At close range, the two can use their tactical abilities in tandem to disorient enemy players. Though not as strong, this strategy works with an Ash and Seer combo too--he can use Exhibit and Focus of Attention to pinpoint all the enemies, giving Ash the knowledge of where to use her ultimate ability to flank and disorient.

Arc Snare can be brutally effective when paired with legend abilities that are geared towards dealing damage. Slowing down and pinning an opponent so they can't get away from Gibraltar, Bangalore, Caustic, Rampart, Horizon, or Fuse's ultimate abilities is an easy way of ensuring your squad delivers some solid hits. Arc Snare can be used in tandem with faster legends to chase down enemies as well--use it to trap a foe long enough for a fellow Wraith, Octane, or Pathfinder to use their tactical abilities to move up.

As a hunter, Ash pairs well with recon characters that are geared towards tracking enemy squads. A quick use of Marked For Death can give your allied Bloodhound or Crypto a starting point for where to go in order to track down an enemy squad.

Expect to get countered, too

As a close-range specialist, Ash is at her best when she's ambushing and pushing on an enemy squad. Her skill set lends itself to having a similar mindset to playing Octane, in that you're constantly spearheading your squad's offensive and encouraging forward momentum at a breakneck pace towards the next fight. This makes her a dangerous threat, but also quite easy to punish.

Unlike Wraith's ultimate ability, Ash's is one-way so there's no way for her to retreat if enemies notice that sound and react in time for things to go sideways for her. Any legend that can apply damage to a spot or deny an area can punish an Ash going through her Phase Breach--that means Gibraltar, Bangalore, Caustic, Wattson, Crypto, Rampart, Horizon, Fuse, and Valkyrie can all counter her. Even a well-placed thermite grenade can do so.

Revenant is a pretty strong counter to Ash as well, given his Silence can stop her in her tracks once she's close enough to effectively use her abilities. And since Ash excels at getting the jump on enemies, anyone who is tough to surprise--namely Crypto and Seer--are strong counters to her, too.

Phase Breach has its downsides

Phase Breach is Ash's strongest ability, but it's also a weakness for her too. The sound the ability makes is loud and leaves behind a noticeable scar in the fabric of reality for a short time--if any squad is within the vicinity, they'll know an Ash is nearby and be able to track her down fairly easily. And though it goes a decent distance, it's generally not enough to close in on a sniper that has Ash in their sights, so don't expect it to be a long-range gap closer.

Also, most folks likely won't immediately follow you through the portal unless they're trying to get away from something. They'll let you go through first and then follow a second after ensuring it's safe to do so. Because of this, you may find yourself alone on the other side sometimes, and enemies may put damage on the portal to catch your allies or potentially even convince them to not follow you at all.

And, of course, remember that Phase Breach only remains open for several seconds--it's no Dimensional Rift, which remains open for a while. Just keep that in mind when deciding how to use it to move you and your allies, as you certainly don't want to mess around and end up out of position because you used the rift too early and it closed before your teammates were near you.

Marked for Death can be an invaluable tool

You can use Marked For Death on allies' death boxes to mark where their killers are--an excellent strategy if you know the enemy is nearby but you're not sure as to their exact location. While you can only use the ability on each death box once, you can get the location of their killers three different times by scanning each box of a downed squard. Wait a bit between each scan to try and get a general idea of whether the squad you're tracking is staying put or moving in a certain direction.

Gotta catch 'em all... with Arc Snare

Arc Snare travels in a straight line so it can be used to tether legends that traditionally take to the skies to escape--use it to knock down and pin Pathfinder, Octane, Horizon, and Valkyrie. Meanwhile, remember that you don't actually have to hit a legend with Ash's Arc Snare for it to work--toss it into the ground or a wall and it will remain for several seconds as a trap for the first enemy legend that happens to wander by.

This tactical ability is also immensely helpful at helping you escape. Toss down Arc Snare and then move away from it and follow-up with Phase Breach--that gives you and your squad an opportunity bail out while also leaving a tether behind to slow down one of your potential pursuers.

Arc Snare has a fast cooldown, too, so don't be afraid to use it often.