Guns are the main type of weapon in Apex Legends. Here’s a quick guide on what to use different guns for.
Assault rifles (ARs) | Your best all-rounder weapon. They’re suitable for close and mid-range combat. |
Submachine guns (SMGs) | Best for quick combat. Their magazines carry higher amounts of ammo, so you can cause a lot of damage quickly. |
Light machine guns (LMGs) | LMGs cause more damage than SMGs per shot but are slower to use. |
Marksman | Marksman weapons are between ARs and sniper rifles. They can deal high damage, but are faster to use than snipers. |
Sniper rifles | Best for long-range combat. Use them to accurately fire at enemies when you’re far away. |
Shotguns | Highly powerful guns made for close-range combat. |
Pistols | Light, fast guns that don’t cause a lot of damage. |
Akimbo pistols | Two matching guns that take up one weapon slot. Picking up an eligible pistol activates akimbo. |
Care Package weapons (also known as supply drop weapons) are Mythic-tier weapons that can only be found in Care Packages.
They come with a limited amount of ammo that can’t be replenished and are often equipped with their best attachments. Attachments can’t be removed.
Different types of guns have different strengths and weaknesses, like being faster to load, causing more damage, or being easier to control.
Try to play with lots of weapons to find what you’re comfortable with and which guns work best in different scenarios. Remember, you might not always find the weapon you want.
Looking for tips on how to improve your game? Check out our tips for beginners, or our advice for seasoned players.
If you’re new to Apex Legends, try getting used to assault rifles and submachine guns first.
Want to improve your weapon skills? You can see your weapon level for individual guns in the Loadout tab by selecting a specific gun.
Here you’ll find stats on how you’ve used the weapon so far and objectives to complete to improve your weapon level. You can get rewards for boosting your weapon level and completing trials.
You can add charms and skins to your weapons. Remember, you won’t start a match with your weapon, but this will customize how they appear in-game after you find and equip them.
Weapon attachments modify your gun. When you pick up an attachment, it’ll immediately be equipped to an eligible gun that you’re carrying.
Attachment perks include increased magazine capacity, increased reload and handling speed, increased damage, and reduced recoil.
There are different types of ammo in Apex Legends which have different qualities. Each weapon has a type of ammo it uses, and you need to have that ammo available to use your weapon.
Light ammo | Higher fire rate, but less damaging. |
Heavy ammo | Lower fire rate, but more damaging. |
Energy ammo | Bullets are faster and drop less after fire. |
Shotgun shells | Ammo used by shotguns. |
Sniper ammo | Ammo used by sniper rifles. |
Mythic ammo | Ammo used by Care Package weapons. This ammo only comes with the weapon and can’t be replenished or dropped. |
Melee weapons in Apex Legends are cosmetic. No matter what melee weapon you’re using, your Legend will still punch or kick their enemy.
You need Heirloom Shards to earn Heirlooms and Exotic Shards to customize your Artifact. Learn more about Apex Legends currencies.
Ordnance is a type of throwable weapon, like throwing stars and grenades. They take up a slot in your inventory.
Make sure to keep some ordnance handy to get enemies out from cover, deal damage from afar, or buy yourself time if you need to retreat.
