Who Should I Main In Apex Legends? - The Ultimate Guide

Not sure who to main in Apex Legends? You're definitely not the only one. With such a vast array of characters in Apex Legends, each one offering unique abilities and playstyles, choosing who to invest your time into is a tough decision to make. Worry not though because we're here to help. This guide on who to main in Apex Legends will help you choose which Legend to focus on, outlining their strengths, weaknesses, and abilities. What are you waiting for?

Who To Main In Apex Legends - Offensive Legends

The Offensive characters are usually the most popular - it makes sense, as they’re in abundance. Out of each character type, there are more Offensive characters overall, which means that often more players will be opting for the shoot-first-think-later tactic. For many, it works, and we’d suggest you play an Offensive character to begin with as you learn the maps and understand your objectives.

Who To Main In Apex Legends: Wraith

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Wraith is the first choice for many players. The Interdimensional Skirmisher has abilities that make the game a little easier for newcomers, as if you find yourself in a pickle, you’ll be able to get out again with relative ease. Her Into The Void Tactical ability will take you into an alternate dimension where you are invulnerable and nearly invisible to the naked eye, with enhanced movement speed to get you out of trouble in a pinch. Once you’ve mastered this ability, though, you’ll be able to use it to flank your enemies rather than duck away from them.

Her Ultimate ability allows her to lay a Dimensional Rift, creating a teleporter for her teammates (and your enemies) to use to get from point A to B in a flash. Plus, her Passive ability will whisper warnings in her ear, so you and your team can duck for cover even before the bullets start flying, or keep your eye out for nearby traps. She’s a versatile character and can be transformed from a cautious team player into a flanking fighter.

Who To Main In Apex Legends: Octane

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Another legend with a very bold focus on manoeuvrability, Octane is simultaneously the most and least popular character in the game. Masters players often make sure Octane is their pick, as evidenced by our recent investigation into the most popular Apex character, but many players will be unhappy with an Octane in their team. Many players of the character are seen as self-centred, but you’ll see why soon enough.

Octane is a hero who is all about speed, and nothing else. The daredevil’s Tactical ability substitutes a slither of health for an immense boost in acceleration, and his quick-recovery Ultimate ability deploys a jump-pad that allows your team to fire through the air at huge speeds. Plus, his slow recovery of health help to make up for the HP he loses with his stim. If you like your games with a slice of chaos and high-risk, high-reward plays, Octane is your man.

Who To Main In Apex Legends: Horizon

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Horizon might not be the only character with mastery of vertical movement after the latest update (we’ll touch on that later), but she remains the best character in the Offensive bracket with the ability to truly use the space around her for a tactical advantage. Her Gravity Lift Tactical ability will fire anyone nearby into its twisting column, dragging them into the air and firing them in the direction they are pointing. It’s a great way to get a height advantage on your foes, and her Spacewalk Passive ability means she’s easier to manoeuvre in the air and can get moving after a heavy landing much quicker than other legends.

Her Ultimate unleashes a small black hole wherever she throws her N.E.W.T unit, sucking in enemies for you to either shoot up or escape. While Octane is all about forward momentum, Horizon uses her agility to reach tactically advantageous spots others perhaps couldn’t. She’s a popular character, and you’ll see it’s with good reason.

Who To Main In Apex Legends: Bangalore

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Bangalore is probably the most balanced fighter in the game and is accessible for most new players. The soldier’s playstyle is most akin to that of Overwatch’s Soldier 76, or your player in Warzone. Her Smoke Launcher can disorient enemies and help her evade snipers, but even when enemies get the shot on her, her Double-Time Passive effect gives her a 30% run speed increase when she’s under fire.

Her Ultimate can deal some serious damage if you’re able to back enemies into a corner- her Rolling Thunder artillery strike can disorient and destroy any player in a small square of land, helping you take out the weak or clear the enemy from their cover. A legend for any playstyle, and a great place to start for players migrating from the likes of Call of Duty and Battlefield.

Who To Main In Apex Legends: Revenant

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Like a little edge with your characters? You and Revenant will get on just fine. The Synthetic Stalker is a frightening beast dedicated only to the kill, and his abilities will get you a few steps closer to sucking the life from your foes. The Silence Tactical keeps your enemies from using their abilities for a whopping 20 seconds, and deals a little damage too.

His Stalker ability will allow you to move faster when crouched and climb higher than any other legend, but the main event is his Ultimate ability. The Death Totem will allow you and your team to cheat death, respawning at your placed totem when you should be downed. It’ll give you a heavy tactical advantage when you plan a flank, and give you more chances to kill. If you play with surgical precision and live to tear down your enemies, Revenant is the legend for you.

Who To Main In Apex Legends: Mirage

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There are few gaming characters that will allow you to completely bypass physical barriers, and attack your enemies with real psychological warfare. And if used correctly, Apex Legends’ Mirage could be one of them. The cocky legend uses invisibility and a slew of holographic clones to perplex and deceive his enemies, and is the ultimate bug-bear of ranked Apex play.

His Psyche Out Tactical ability will fire out in a straight line from where Mirage is pointing, allowing you to mentally disarm your foes and slip away to get the upper hand. It’s aided by his Now You See Me… Passive ability, which activates an invisibility cloak on Mirage when at a respawn beacon or reviving a teammate, and will deploy a cloak and a decoy when downed.

His Ultimate is the best defence in his arsenal, though - upon activation, Mirage will become invisible and deploy five decoys that mimic his abilities in a circle formation, offering a huge distraction to allow your team to slip away or get the drop on your foes. Mirage breaches the barrier between game and player, and is the absolute best legend for players who are all about flashy kills and getting on your enemies’ nerves.

Who To Main In Apex Legends: Fuse

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One of the newest additions to the legend roster, Fuse is the game’s demolitions expert and is a big fan of explosions (I mean, who isn’t?). His Passive ability makes him immediately the right choice if you’re into your grenades, as he’s able to carry two of them per inventory slot, and his mechanical arm allows for further and more accurate throws. His Knuckle Cluster is similar, too, as it fires out a cluster bomb that continues to fire out smaller explosives, perfect for clearing a small area and disorienting players.

It’s his Ultimate that makes him the fieriest legend, though - the Motherlode unleashes a ring of fire that you can deploy around your enemies to pin them down for you to wipe out. It certainly helps that Fuse is the kind of guy you’d love to knock back a beer with, but his tactical deployments are extremely useful to a team. If you love all things that go boom, Fuse is your man.

Who To Main In Apex Legends: Defensive Legends

Defensive players are ones that have more of a dedication to their team than to simply running into hot areas and shooting them up. These characters offer more emphasis on moving as a unit, and in many cases, will allow you to hold down an area to give you the upper hand on incoming enemy forces. We can’t recommend having too many Defensive characters on your team, but your teammates with thank you if you can offer them some assistance at the moment they need it.

Who To Main In Apex Legends: Gibraltar

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The friendliest of the bunch, Gibraltar is a character for those of you who play tank classes in other similar games. He’s a big fella, but he makes up for it with his enhanced damage resistance and beneficial Tactical ability. Gibby’s shield is hugely beneficial for teams, keeping all damage out when you need to heal or revive teammates (which is especially enhanced, increasing his revive speed by 25% when inside the dome). He also has a Passive Gun Shield, which deploys a small shield along his arm when aiming down sights, slightly protecting his abdomen when in gunfights.

His Ultimate ability flips the script and provides an attack - his Defensive Bombardment drops a mortar strike on the enemy, raining explosives on them and forcing them to relocate, providing they’re not killed by the detonations. Gib is a great Defensive pick, and pairs nicely with Lifeline for some speedy recoveries when needed.

Who To Main In Apex Legends: Wattson

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Another hero who knows how to hold down an area, Wattson is best paired with a slower playstyle and is the perfect legend for defending smaller choke points. Her Perimeter Security ability allows her to lay electrified fences in a small radius that damage and slow enemies down, pinging the enemies in the process.

Her Ultimate ability allows you to deploy an Interception Pylon that destroys incoming throwables and repairs damaged shields, which pairs nicely with Wattson’s Passive ability. Her shield recharges by 1 point every 2 seconds, which stacks with the shield buff from the interception pylon. Plus, she can carry two ultimate accelerants per inventory slot, and they charge her Ultimate to full every time.

Wattson’s arsenal is full of very specific abilities, but they can be immensely effective when utilised correctly. If you’re looking for a slower playstyle (or play Torbjörn in Overwatch), Wattson is the legend for you.

Who To Main In Apex Legends: Caustic

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Caustic is a legend that remains Defensive but will take every opportunity to punish enemies anyway. He’s similar to Gibraltar in his effective damage reduction, but subs protection for traps. His Nox Gas Traps are deadly, producing a gas that slows enemies to a crawl and punishes them with huge damage if they’re unlucky enough to be within range. You can charge up to three at a time, and thankfully they won’t be much trouble for you, with Caustic’s Nox Vision Passive ability allowing him to move through gas unharmed and seeing enemies pinged through his own traps.

His ultimate ability deploys a large Noxious Grenade, smothering an area in gas to catch your enemies unaware and slow them enough for you to take them out with ease. Caustic is a legend for the methodical and calculated players, who can find some great hiding spots for traps to spring on the enemy. If you like to punish players, you and Caustic will get along nicely.

Who To Main In Apex Legends: Rampart

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Rampart is the Defensive character with a hint of chaos. Her Amped Cover makes for some great tactical positioning, resisting a good deal of incoming damage while allowing you to send out return fire without taking every bullet your foes throw at you. Her Passive ability makes her perfect for LMG users, as she has a faster reload time with these weapons than other legends, as well as having an increased magazine capacity thanks to her modded loader Passive ability. But, her Ultimate ability is the real star of the show.

Sheila, Rampart’s Emplaced Minigun, is a real beast. Boasting a fire rate of 20 bullets per second and a massive 350 heath, the giant gun is perfect for clearing out attackers from your fortified location. If you’ve got a fortress to defend or love a hint of lunacy in their Defensive plays (Fortnite fans, we’re looking at you), then Rampart will hold down the fort nicely.

Who To Main In Apex Legends: Support Legends

Sadly there aren’t as many Support characters in Apex as there are in other roster-based titles, but that’s mostly down to their abilities being spread out across the Defensive and Recon categories. But that means playing as a Support character will make you even more popular in your team.

Who To Main In Apex Legends: Lifeline

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Lifeline is, shockingly, the only real healer in the game. Sure, Wattson can recover your shields, but Lifeline is your only option for dedicated legends with a focus on healing your team. Her D.O.C drone can deploy to offer a remote healing station for your teammates, and her Ultimate ability can bring down a specialised care package that holds some useful loot, but it’s her reviving abilities that make her so enticing.

A recent nerf brought her revive ability down a peg, but she’s still able to use her D.O.C to revive players while still moving around and defending the area so her teammates can get to cover and heal up. Her nerf certainly left her with a detriment, but as the game’s main healer, she’s still an excellent pick by default.

Who To Main In Apex Legends: Loba

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While she’s technically a Support character, Loba has some interesting tricks up her sleeve. Without a doubt the legend pick for those who are especially loot-oriented, Loba’s item-finding abilities are unparalleled. Her Passive Eye For Quality ability allows her to see epic and legendary-grade loot through walls, and her Black Market Boutique Ultimate allows players (both teammates and enemies) to pluck two items from a 112.5-meter radius.

Loba’s Burglar’s Best Friend Tactical ability allows for efficient escapes, as she throws her jump drive bracelet in the direction you’re facing and allows you to teleport to hard-to-reach places. She’s a slippery devil, but she’s the absolute best pick if you rely on the very best weapons and shields to be crowned champion.

Who To Main In Apex Legends: Recon Legends

In the final category for Apex Legends, Recon legends offer their team special information and data that will help them assess the shape of the battlefield. Pointing out enemy locations and the placement of the next ring, these characters are a very specific benefit to your squad.

Who To Main In Apex Legends: Bloodhound

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Bloodhound is probably one of the easiest legends in the game to use, which is incredibly beneficial as their abilities are excellent in preparing for their team for a battle. Their most notable ability is their Tactical ability, the Eye of the Allfather. It allows Bloodhound to scan for enemies in a cone around them, making nearby enemies appear through walls for a few seconds. Their Passive ability also helps to keep an eye on enemies - actions performed by foes linger as clues for you to identify and flag to your teammates, so you can effectively track enemy teams.

Bloodhound’s Ultimate transforms them into the Beast of the Hunt, amping your vision, speed, and all-around killing effectiveness to a high, allowing you to shift the tide of battle if you can use it right. They’re a perfectly balanced character that’s easy to use as a new player, especially with their enhanced tracking abilities—a legend for those who need to know exactly where their enemies are before engaging.

Who To Main In Apex Legends: Crypto

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If you’re a player who likes to keep their distance, Crypto might be the legend for you. The surveillance expert’s leading talent is his Drone, which can be flown 200 meters from him and can identify enemies from afar, and paired with his Ultimate ability, can detonate a huge EMP blast that deals 50 shield damage, slows players and disarms all traps.

The real caveat to Crypto’s gameplay is that all of his abilities rely on the drone that has only 60HP, but if you can use it well, you’ll be a huge buff for your team. If you’re a big sniper user and aren’t a big fan of getting jumped by the enemy, hang back as Crypto and let your team make the moves.

Who To Main In Apex Legends: Pathfinder

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Pathfinder is practically Apex Legends’ mascot, and for good reason. He’s a legend who is a great figurehead of the Recon class while simultaneously being a very slippery opponent. His Grappling Hook allows for some incredible movement tactics, and his Ultimate ability deploys a zipline that any player can use for quick traversal, or to get the jump on your foes. His Passive ability gives him a little more incentive to get to a nearby survey beacon, as it reduces the Zipline Gun’s cooldown by 10 seconds.

He’s similar to Bloodhound in his abilities to prepare a team for a fight, but he’s got enough manoeuvrability to keep Apex’s gameplay fresh.

Who To Main In Apex Legends: Valkyrie

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Bridging the gap between the battle royale and Titanfall 2 in story and abilities, Valkyrie brings a whole new degree of traversal to the game. Her VTOL Jets Passive ability allows her to fly upwards for a short while. Her jets are loud, though, but it’s the price you pay for amazing vertical versatility. Her Missile Swarm launches a 4x3 array of disorienting explosives that damage and stun your enemies, making them easier to isolate and take out. Plus, her Skyward Dive gives you a jump-tower-like drop from wherever you like, and you’ll be able to bring your teammates along for the ride. A very flashy character with incredible mobility, that makes the transition from Titanfall 2 to Apex Legends just a little easier.

That’s our guide for who you should be picking when jumping into Apex Legends for the first time. The game’s roster of legends is immensely diverse, and there’s almost definitely a hero for you buried in this 17-strong list. When you've picked who to main in Apex Legends, make sure you check out the rest of our guides for this battle royale below:

Apex Legends characters tier list | Apex Legends best team | Apex Legends Arenas tier list | Apex Legends crossplay |  Apex Legends pro settings | How to unlock characters in Apex Legends | How to make a private match in Apex Legends | Which Apex Legends character should I play | Apex Legends Ranked Predator | Apex Legends rarest badges | Apex Legends Seer abilities | Apex Legends LGBTQ characters | Apex Legends zodiac signs | How old are the Apex Legends | Apex Legends Octane lore | Unreleased Apex Legends skins | Apex Legends loading screen error fix | Apex Legends loading and compiling shaders