Apex Legends' New Character Classes Explained

This season, Apex Legends developer Respawn Entertainment is shaking up the meta like never before. Nowhere is this more evident than in the developer's recently revealed plans to sort the legends into new character classes, a change that will go into effect when Season 16: Revelry launches on February 14.

In a recent blog post announcing the changes--collectively referred to as Remastered Legend Classes--Respawn confirmed that players can still expect to see new playable characters in the future, and explained the reasoning behind the decision to re-work all 23 legends. "We wanted to see how the core legends could evolve the ways players have been using them," the blog reads.

The new Remastered Legend Classes system rearranges the legends into one of five character classes: Assault, Controller, Recon, Skirmisher, and Support. Each class has its own unique perk that only applies to the legends in that class. The legends within each new class, and the Class Perk that applies to them are listed below:

Assault

• Area of expertise: Combat initiation & utility
• Legends: Ash, Bangalore, Fuse, Mad Maggie, and Revenant

Regarding the changes to the Assault class, lead Apex Legends designer Devan McGuire told the press during a preview event, "Altogether, this makes [the Assault-class legends] these more offensive, mobile armories ready for any fight."

Assault legends have a special Class Perk that allows them to hold more ammo per inventory slot. This perk allows them to carry 20 extra rounds of light, energy, and heavy ammo per slot. The same goes for other ammo types--instead of 16 shotgun rounds per slot, Assault legends can hold 21. The same goes for sniper ammo--Assault-class legends can hold 37 rounds in each inventory slot instead of the standard 28.

Assault legends can also get their hands on better gear via the Smart Loot system that has been added to the secret compartment of Weapon Supply Bins. Weapon Supply Bins are painted red instead of orange, and are marked on the map with a special icon. This icon is highlighted when playing an Assault legend. Weapon Supply Bins work like the ones in the IMC Armories on Storm Point--they contain gear and items that are compatible with a player's current loadout. Keep your eyes out for these special Supply Bins and make use of them whenever possible. But be sure to approach with caution--odds areyou, you may not be the only Assault legend hunting down Smart Loot.

Because Assault legends can cram extra rounds of ammo into each inventory slot, they can afford to take long-distance endgame pot-shots in situations where ammo might typically be more scarce. This perk also allows for Assault legends to play aggressively with the Nemesis. The more you fire Nemesis, the more the weapon's burst-fire pace increases. In chaotic close-quarters battle (think Skull Town TDM), it's good to keep Nemesis as close to 100% charged as possible, so it's often wise to pop off a few shots to warm it up before firing at the enemy. The extra ammo Assault legends can carry really comes in handy, as you'll want Nemesis at full power before you come face-to-face with the enemy.

Controller

• Area of expertise: Area setup & control
• Legends: Catalyst, Caustic, Rampart, and Wattson

Controllers can scan a new type of beacon called a Ring Console to get info on the size and location of the next ring, similar to the way Survey Beacons have been used in the past.

At first glance, this ability may not seem particularly ground-breaking, as anyone who's played Bloodhound, Crypto, or Pathfinder in the past has undoubtedly made use of the handy gadgets. But the legends this perk has been reassigned to are what really make a difference. Now all legends with area-control abilities can scope out the ideal POI and safely set up camp, booby-trapping doors and pathways without having to worry that all of their hard work will go to waste the minute the ring starts to move. Controller legends can see Ring Consoles highlighted on their minimap, allowing players to plan their gameplay strategy accordingly.

The Controller class is especially useful in non-ranked matches with random teammates. If you're down a squadmate or two, get geared up and then make Ring Consoles your priority. Positioning is everything near the end of a match, and if you're outnumbered, the best way to overcome the odds is to claim the high ground. Controller legends' ability to access ring consoles gives players time to fortify to their surroundings and get the drop on unsuspecting enemies who go running through a POI, unaware that they're about to exit the location of the next ring. Forcing enemies to decide between running towards the rung or going up against a Controller-based squad in a reinforced building is a very effective strategy for turning the tables when the odds aren't in your favor.

Recon

• Area of expertise: Enemy intel & tracking
• Legends: Bloodhound, Crypto, Seer, and Vantage

Recon legends can use Survey Beacons to see enemy placement around them, similar to the radar scanner located in Crypto's Map Room, a Town Takeover located in Kings Canyon. This was depicted in the Season 16 launch trailer, which showed Vantage making use of the new ability.

"Recon Legends have a pretty big paradigm shift this season, and will no longer have access to ring data," McGuire explained. Instead, they now scan a modified survey beacon to reveal enemy positions on a map for about 30 seconds. There's some risk to this though, because nearby enemies will be notified of the beacon scan location, and they can use that to their advantage against you."

Crypto and Bloodhound players may be caught off guard at first, as they've always been able to use Survey Beacons, but until Season 16, Survey Beacons worked like Ring Consoles, simply giving players intel on the ring's next location. Now Survey Beacons serve as a sort of X-ray vision ability for the in-game map. Upon activating a Survey Beacon--which has also had a number of slight aesthetic changes implemented along with its new function--every single enemy in the match will become visible on both the minimap and the expanded map. Each enemy is marked on the map by a red arrow, which provides valuable intel when it comes to squad rotations or deciding whether to third-party an ongoing firefight. Just keep in mind that these enemy location markers are static--they don't move along with the enemy, and will fade after a few seconds, but they'll be visible long enough for you to get your bearings and make tactical decisions.

Skirmisher

• Area of expertise: Combat mobility & escape
• Legends: Horizon, Mirage, Pathfinder, Octane, Wraith and Valkyrie

Skirmishers can see the highest-value item inside a Supply Drop at a distance before it even hits the ground. The ability works like an upgraded version of Loba's passive ability, Eye For Quality. Unlike Loba's passive, however, this power only applies to neutral Supply Drops. It also only applies to one item in the Supply Drop. To activate the passive, you'll need to aim your reticle at a neutral Supply Drop that is unopened and has landed or is just about to touch the ground. After a few seconds, the highest-value item in the drop pod--almost always a weapon--will be revealed.

Regarding the new Skirmisher perk, McGuire said the information revealed via the perk allows Skirmishers to make calls on looting the powerful weapons commonly found in Supply Drops. "They can set up an ambush to take it back, or know that missing Kraber is soon going to be coming from behind," he explained during the Season 16 preview event.

Of all the new class-exclusive legend perks, Apex's Skirmisher class got stuck with a bit of an odd one. While it is nice to be able to tell from a distance whether or not it's worth running after the giant, glowing, loot-stuffed trap known as a Supply Drop, this perk is definitely on the less-powerful side--though this isn't too surprising, as all of the Skirmisher legends have incredibly strong abilities and are mainstays in the competitive scene. For your average Joe, however, this watered-down version of Loba's Eye For Quality isn't all it's cracked up to be.

One tip worth keeping in mind, however, is to make sure you communicate with your squad regarding Supply Drop loot. Once the Mythic-tier weapon within is visible to you, you can ping it, which will cause your legend to announce the weapon's presence to your squadmates. If you don't play Loba frequently, it can be easy to forget that you now have the ability to occasionally ping loot through walls. Plus it's always nice to keep your teammates in the loop--just because you can't hit the broad side of a barn with the Kraber in that Supply Drop doesn't mean the same is true for your fellow legends, and if there's a red-tier shotgun in that Supply Drop, Skirmisher legends (and Loba) are the only characters who can let Mad Maggie know there's a very deadly version of her favorite weapon within reach.

Support

• Area of expertise: Team survival & supply
• Legends: Gibraltar, Lifeline, Loba, and Newcastle

Support legends can open the hidden compartment located in blue Extended Supply Bins. This compartment now contains only "big" healing items and survival items like Heat Shields, Mobile Respawn Beacons, Med Kits, Phoenix Kits, and Shield Batteries. Support legends also have a secondary class perk: They can use Replicators to craft Banner Cards for dead allies, even those whose respawn timer has already expired. This tweak may seem small, but it is genuinely game-changing in practice. Previously, if the timer on a player's Banner Card hit zero, that player was out of the match, doomed to spend the rest of the match spectating from their deathbox. With the new class system, players on the same team as a Support legend can have a second chance--even if their squadmates didn't grab their banner card in time.

The key here is to coordinate with other teammates--it's easy to forget that a timed-out banner card is no longer the end, so if you've got a squad mate in a deathbox and know they're going to time out before you can get to them, flip on your mic and let them know you intend to craft their banner card so they don't leave the match before you get a chance to do so. Make sure you have some Crafting Materials on hand at all times when playing a Support legend, because there is truly nothing worse than successfully pulling landing a Mobile Respawn Beacon next to a secluded Replicator only to discover you don't have 30 Crafting Materials required to resurrect your fallen squadmate. Open every Supply Bin you can (even ones you don't plan on looting) to ensure you always have enough Crafting Materials to respawn a teammate, and keep an eye out for POIs with multiple containers of large amounts of Crafting Materials.

Apex's remastered legend class system can be a little confusing at first (especially if you're used to rage-quitting after your banner card times out), but once you're used to them, you'll find yourself relying on their aid frequently. Pairing certain legend abilities with class perks can mean the difference between first blood and first place, and perks like the ability to respawn timed-out teammates are so helpful, you'll almost forget how good the gold knockdown shield used to be.

Apex Legends is free to play on console and PC. A mobile version of the game, Apex Legends Mobile, is available to play on Android and iOS devices but will be sunset on May 1.