How to Use Wraith in Apex Legends
Over all five seasons of Apex Legends, Wraith has maintained her fan-favourite status, the top pick for pro players as well as casual gamers. Wraith gets a bad rep for being a character that “tryhards” and “sweats” use, and we can’t forget about “TTV_Wraith”’s, but there’s a good reason why she turns up the most in every single Apex Legends match, and squad.
There are three main characters that are dominating teams in Apex Legends Ranked and competitive play, and the majority of squads consist of Wraith, Pathfinder, and Wattson. In the Apex Legends Global Series Tournament earlier this year, this was the line-up that most of the pro teams went with, choosing mobility and trappers over any other type of Legend at their disposal.
Wraith is obviously included in GGRecon’s best Apex Legends Ranked characters team building guide, and again we mention the ALGS and note that Wraith is the number one chosen Legend across the board, and in fact, the winners of all five games in the Major 1 NA Qualifier were made up of Wraith, Wattson and Pathfinder. All three of her abilities (Passive, Tactical and Ultimate) are intrinsic to a successful team layout, from knowing if she’s been spotted by an enemy, to void jumping in the heat of battle to retreat to safety, to transporting her teammates to the optimal position.
Wraith also appears in many tier lists as a Tier S Legend, including our own, because of her wide range of skills from pushing to retreating or rotating.
Stats from Dreamteam.gg show that Wraith is still head and shoulders above her fellow 12 Legends in terms of pick rate, remaining at around 30% consistently since March on PC, with Pathfinder obviously taking a nosedive in pick rates due to his recent nerfs.
Click to enlargeSo why is Wraith so popular? And does she deserve her top spot in the Apex Legends meta?
This guide will take you through Wraith’s usability, how best to use all her abilities, and tips & tricks to make sure you are successful with the Interdimensional Skirmisher.
Apex Legends Wraith USABILITY
Some players take to Wraith immediately, whereas others find her abilities challenging to use – and we’re here to help. Wraith’s usability seemingly knows no bounds, and her Offensive Class status means she is actually pretty easy to pick up for a beginner to Apex Legends. Wraith is fast and furious, able to retreat, push, and flank easily. Mobility is always key in any Apex Legends match, and Wraith has it all when it comes to movement.
Apex Legends Wraith SKINS
It goes without saying that Apex Legends cosmetics are not pay-to-win and are just that; cosmetic. However, certain skins give Wraith a tiny leg-up in battle, whether that be striking fear into your opponent's hearts with a Legendary skin like The Liberator or Vengeance Seeker, or using darker-toned Skins as camouflage to your advantage with the all-black Midnight common skin, or Perfect Soldier.
Click to enlargeLOW-PROFILE AND HITBOX
The low-profile status of smaller Legends such as Wraith, Lifeline and Wattson, means the characters take 5% more damage in relation to their decreased size in comparison to the other Legends. Wraith is by far the smallest character, and when Apex Legends content creator TheGamingMerchant discovered the exact pixel size of each of the legends’ hitboxes, she came in at a miniature 95,997, compared to largest Legend Gibraltar, who comes in at a whopping 203,396 pixels.
This can definitely be used to your advantage on the battlefield, as not only is Wraith statistically the hardest character to hit, she can utilise her amazing teleporting abilities in conjunction with this, to nip in and out of engagements in a flash, taking her teammates along for the ride.
PASSIVE ABILITY: VOICES FROM THE VOID
Voices From the Void not only clues Wraith in on the fact that she is being aimed at (usually by a sniper) it also alerts her to nearby traps, which is very effective when trying to push buildings that may contain a Wattson or Caustic inside. Although the passive ability does not tell you which direction you’re being aimed at from, it’s a useful voice cue for comms for your teammates to prepare for a fight. Make sure to utilise these on-screen cues to warn your squad, as they could just save your lives.
Click to enlargeTACTICAL ABILITY: INTO THE VOID
Into the Void can be used tactically in many ways. One of them is defensive, for retreating from a risky engagement, and acts as the perfect escape plan, with a lightning-fast cooldown period of only 35 seconds for such a powerful ability. However, you must be aware that enemies can see your trail, and you aren’t exactly invisible, so they may be able to guess where you’re going to end up when you leave the protective cocoon of the void, so our top tip is to dip into buildings where you can to un-phase, to provide more cover. Enemies cannot be seen while in the void, so you should make sure, where possible, that you don’t phase right into the middle of a team.
Offensively, Wraith’s tactical ability is solid for flanking and getting the drop on teams who may already be in an engagement, for the ultimate third-party. You can’t shoot in the void, so make sure you prime your weapons beforehand, reload, and be ready to aim (or hip fire) immediately.
As for other little tips & tricks for this ability, triggering Into the Void will also protect you from zone damage as long as it is active – very useful for those last-minute dashes to the circle.
When running to build the Dimensional Rift, hitting the tactical ability will speed Wraith up, meaning you can cover more ground with the portal. Beware, you can’t enter a portal while using Into the Void.
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ULTIMATE ABILITY: DIMENSIONAL RIFT
Wraith’s Ultimate Ability is where she really shines. It can be used in several different ways, again, but with far better results. Activating the Ultimate will place an entry portal, allowing you to run as far away as possible to place the exit portal, which lasts for 60 seconds. Let’s get into all the different ways you should, and can, use Wraith’s portals.
Click to enlargeRescue Missions
Downed teammates can enter portals, so always take the opportunity to use Dimensional Rift to rescue your squad and get them to a position where can revive in (relative) safety. Also make use of this in banner-collecting situations, dipping in and out of the portal to get your teammate back in the game.
Bait
Teams, where a trapper is present, should use Wraith’s portals to bait opposing teams into following them through it, only to be met with gas, electric fences, thermite grenades, or just a weapon aiming right at them. The portal’s sound cues will alert you to any enemies passing through your Rift.
Catching Up (Zone/Teammates)
Wraith is nippy and may end up being significantly ahead of her teammates, meaning placing a portal as a tool to catch-up with her is always welcomed. This also means your squad can be right behind you should you get into trouble. Using a portal to run from the zone is also viable, with Wraith again leading the charge for her teammates.
Retreating
Is a gunfight not going your way? Being third, fourth, and even fifth partied? Get into cover and lay down a portal, allowing you to retreat to a safe distance, to either heal or simply run away. There’s no shame in it, sometimes we just don’t have the loot for that kind of fight…
Pushing
On the other hand, why not use the portals to push, and push hard? Particularly aggressive Wraiths will hear gunshots in the distance and place down the Dimensional Rift to get involved as soon as possible, whether that be directly into the middle of the engagement or grabbing high-ground to dip in and out of the fight. We recommend tactically placing the exit portal, on high-ground where possible, but any flank is a good flank. Make sure your team are on board and ready to attack.
Tips & Tricks
- A lot of players use Wraith’s portals for looting opportunities, such as making portals to Care Packages to grab that high-tier loot. It may seem like a waste of a Dimensional Rift to some, but a Devotion is probably worth waiting for it to recharge.
- When placing the portals, you cannot get on ziplines.
- If your Rift energy goes down to 0% when in the middle of placing portals, don’t worry, it will automatically place where it runs out.
- Use sneaky plays where possible. It takes practice, but several people have mastered the ol’ bait and switch – such as aiming the exit portal in a position where any enemy who runs through will run off the map and be eliminated. Be careful not to launch yourself off the map, though.
Stay tuned to GGRecon for more Apex Legends guides.
Images via Respawn Entertainment
