How To Get Better At Apex Legends, Understanding Your Weapon

• The easiest way to get better at Apex Legends is to understand the difference between weapons and how to use them to your advantage. 

Apex Legends has ranked play, so players with experience can play in ranked matches and they know they will be up against other good level players. However, if you just downloaded the game for the first time, ranked play should be avoided until you start to fine-tune your skills and know how to properly play the game. One of the elements to better your game is understanding your weapons. That is typically #1 on the list as you’ll need to know which weapon does what.

If you are struggling to get wins and feel like you are not getting better or improving, it’s important to start with the basics. Proper aiming and killing opponents is where you need start, no matter your skillset. IQ and experience will come in time, but if you are not downing opponents, chances are you are not winning games.

Getting better at Apex Legends does not mean a player needs to spend hours using aiming simulators to improve. Understanding the spray pattern for your gun is the way to get your kills up to help push you deeper into matches. Here is a brief look at the 3 major Apex Legends gun classes, spray and recoil patterns:

SMG Class

• ALTERNATOR: Twin barrel auto SMG with bullet recoil pattern running to the right. When shooting opponents up close, aim to the left side of the neck area. As your clip unloads, gun spray will move up towards the middle of face and head area.

• PROWLER: 5 round burst SMG with bullet recoil pattern running almost perfectly vertical. Aim weapon to the center of the target as the gun has minimal recoil. The last 8 bullets from your clip hardly have any recoil.

• R-99: Rapid Fire Auto SMG with bullet recoil pattern resembling letter “S”. Low recoil, extremely rapid-fire rate with high damage. Aiming upper middle chest will guarantee the end of the clip is hitting the head area.

AR Class

• Flatline: Full Auto AR, with bullet recoil pattern running slightly to the left, holding, then running up left near the end of clip. Excellent accuracy with low damage. Aim first bullet to the head area as mid clip will remain on target for 9 bullets before jumping up to the left.

• Hemlok: 3 round burst AR, with bullet recoil pattern running straight vertical before the slight move to left for the remaining magazine. Extremely accurate if you are comfortable with a burst rifle. Aiming anywhere shoulders up will deal immense damage as the Havoc contains almost no spray or recoil.

• Havoc: Full auto energy AR, with bullet recoil pattern running heavy vertical, with slight zig zag as recoil pattern never pauses throughout the whole magazine. Aim this weapon to the middle of the torso and hold there as its recoil will run heavy vertical. Havoc is best used as a secondary weapon or on opponents that are not full health.

• R-301: Full auto AR, with bullet recoil pattern running slight right. Aim this weapon neck up as it produces low body damage. Excellent recoil for a high fire rate. However, to maximize its damage, headshots must be dealt with midway through the clip. Aim slight left as the spray will move right before settling in as magazine empties.

LMG Class

• Devotion: Full auto energy LMG, with bullet pattern running a sharp cut near the end of its magazine. The Devotion is the weaker of both LMGs. Aiming your gun at the upper-middle torso, while trying to hold recoil from jumping is your best chance. There is no need to aim for the head with LMGs as bullets will be wasted.

• Spitfire: Full Auto LMG, with bullet pattern that rises left, then holds center mid clip, before ending with zigzag. The Spitfire has a stock magazine of 35 bullets and its recoil is very fair for an LMG. A player can start his aim at the center of an opponent’s torso and let the recoil ride as it will move its way up for head damage.

Improving At Apex Legends

For beginners or players who feel they are not improving, understanding the core elements of each weapon is important. Where to aim for each weapon is the first step on dominating a 1v1. SMG, LMG and ARs are the most important classes when it comes to understanding bullet spray and patterns. Learning a game’s weapons, a player will definitely take notice that they are improving at Apex Legends.

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