Apex Legends: Complete Guide

A full guide to Apex Legends in Season 30: Marked — legends, the new loot and energy ammo rules, the Bloodhound rework, maps, ranked, and how to actually win fights.

Researched September 2026 — current as of Season 30: Marked (launched August 4, 2026). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

• Squads of three, one team wins. Survive the ring, beat the other squads, and play together — lone wolves die in Apex.
• Pick a simple legend first. Bangalore, Gibraltar, Lifeline, or the newly reworked Bloodhound are forgiving and teach you the game.
• Shields are everything. Your Evo Shield levels up as you deal damage. Carry Shield Cells and Shield Batteries, and swap to the best armor from death boxes.
• Energy ammo no longer exists as loot (Season 30). Havoc, Nemesis, Devotion, L-STAR, RE-45, Volt, and Triple Take now regenerate their own ammo stockpile.
• Loot is scarcer. Gold attachments and gold backpacks are gone, purple attachments are rarer, and Arsenals unlock later. Don't expect a kitted gun from the first building.
• Stick with your team. Ping (middle mouse by default) enemies, loot, and destinations instead of running off.
• Rotate early. Getting to the next ring before other teams gives you the best position.
• Use the new Playground tab. The Legend Locker now shows detailed weapon and attachment stats — use it to understand your loadout.

Core Mechanics

Shields and healing

Item | Restores | Use time

Shield Cell | Small shield | Short

Shield Battery | Full shield | Long

Syringe | Small health | Short

Med Kit | Full health | Long

Phoenix Kit | Full health and shield | Very long

Evo Shield levels up (white, blue, purple, red) as you deal damage. Higher tiers mean more shield — deal damage early to level up.

Movement

Apex rewards movement: slide-jumping, climbing walls, using ziplines and jump towers. Slide down hills to keep momentum, and use jump towers to rotate across the map.

Ammo types (Season 30)

Ammo | Weapons

Light | R-301, R-99, Alternator, P2020, G7 Scout

Heavy | Flatline, Hemlok, Prowler, Rampage (C.A.R. takes light or heavy). The 30-30 Repeater is a care package weapon this season.

Energy | No longer lootable. Energy weapons regenerate their own ammo.

Shotgun | Peacekeeper, EVA-8, Mastiff, Mozambique

Sniper | Longbow, Sentinel, Charge Rifle

Weapons move between classes and care packages across seasons — check the weapon in-game if unsure.

Energy weapon rework

Energy weapons spawn with a stockpile measured in magazines — for example 3 magazines for the Havoc, Nemesis, and Devotion, 4 for the L-STAR, and 2 for the RE-45, Volt, and Triple Take. They regenerate a magazine's worth of ammo over 18 seconds, and the regen pauses while you shoot or reload. Practically: don't waste energy rounds on long-range spam, and back off to let the stockpile refill between fights.

Season 30: Marked — What's New

Bloodhound rework

Ability | What it does now

Passive | Fresh enemy clues show a red trail guiding you to them. White Ravens can be activated remotely up to 400m.

Tactical (scan) | A full-body scan lasting 3 seconds, followed by four snapshot scans at 1.5-second intervals.

Ultimate — Allfather's Cloak (new) | Throw a device that cloaks anyone who enters its area. Cloaked legends get 20% extra move speed and threat vision; the cloaking area lasts 8 seconds, and the cloak lingers for 12 seconds after leaving it and breaks when you take damage or fire. Bloodhound's abilities do not break it.

This makes Bloodhound a genuine repositioning tool: use the cloak to rotate across open ground or to reset a fight.

Legend balance

Legend | Change

Loba | Buffed — faster tactical deploy (0.4s), ultimate cooldown down to 120s.

Rampart | Buffed — faster locked hop-up progress, walls deploy faster with more health, and Sheila moves faster.

Valkyrie | Nerfed — tactical base damage 25 to 15, lower ultimate height, Eye in the Sky scans limited to 100m through walls.

Axle | Nerfed — tactical max slide boost cut from 5s to 3s (a new level 2 upgrade restores 5s); the ultimate now also damages, stuns, and displaces Axle herself, while allies are stunned and displaced but not damaged.

Seer | Nerfed — Home Base upgrade moved to level 3 (tactical cooldown inside the ultimate goes from 5s to 8s); tactical turn slow reduced.

Loot overhaul

• Gold attachments and gold backpacks removed from the loot pool.
• Purple attachments are rarer across all maps.
• Arsenals are time-locked and only activate when Evo Harvesters activate — no more early hot drops on them. There are fewer per POI, and they now upgrade weapons only up to purple.
• Mythic and gold bins removed; Bin Reset no longer upgrades loot tiers.
• Hot Zone removed.
• MRVNs reduced to 12 spawns, single-use, and no more arm drops.
• Wildlife, Loot Ticks, and Rollers give fewer attachments.

Corrupted Attachments (new)

High-tier attachments that trade a strength for a weakness. Only one Corrupted Attachment per weapon.

Attachment | Upside | Downside

Overflowing Magazine | Bigger magazine | Slower reload

Headseeker Barrel | More headshot damage | Worse hipfire accuracy

Tactical Laser | Faster reload | Worse ADS recoil control

Agile Standard Stock | No movement penalty, faster ADS | Smaller magazine

Rapid Sniper Stock | Higher fire rate | Smaller magazine

Weapon changes

• Care package rotation: the 30-30 Repeater moved into care packages (damage buffed and the Shattercaps hop-up added); the G7 Scout returned to floor loot with lower damage, no Double Tap, and no sniper optics.
• SMG nerfs: Alternator, RE-45, and R-99 lost damage and magazine size — they were outperforming other close-range options.
• Hemlok: Breach Charge cooldown increased, damage slightly lowered, and 50% less structure damage.

Maps

Map | Status in Season 30 | Notes

World's Edge | In rotation | Reworked for Marked: Sorting Factory returns, Construction Stacks areas (War Camp, Tree Settlement) are restored, Monument/Fragment is rebuilt with separated combat zones, and Landslide is merged with Big Maude.

Storm Point | In rotation | Big, open island map. Use gravity cannons for rotations.

E-District | In rotation | Dense, urban, lots of close-range fights.

Rotation applies to both Pubs and Ranked. During launch week World's Edge ran exclusively for 24 hours on August 4 (Pubs and Ranked) and 48 hours on August 8–9 (Ranked only).

Legends by Role

Class | Legends | What they do

Assault | Bangalore, Fuse, Ash, Mad Maggie, Ballistic, Revenant | Take fights and push.

Skirmisher | Wraith, Pathfinder, Octane, Horizon, Valkyrie, Alter | Mobility and escapes.

Recon | Bloodhound, Crypto, Seer, Vantage, Sparrow | Scan enemies and find fights.

Support | Lifeline, Gibraltar, Loba, Newcastle, Conduit, Mirage | Heals, revives, loot, and shields.

Controller | Caustic, Wattson, Rampart, Catalyst | Hold buildings and zones.

Newer legends such as Axle aren't listed here, and class membership has shifted in past seasons; the character select screen always shows each legend's current class. A balanced squad usually has one Recon, one Support, and one fighter (Assault/Skirmisher).

Good picks for Season 30

• Bloodhound — the rework made the cloak a strong rotation and reset tool.
• Loba — shorter ultimate cooldown and the scarcer loot pool make her Black Market Boutique more valuable.
• Rampart — stronger walls and a faster Sheila make her great for holding buildings in ranked.

Ranked

• Tiers: Rookie, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master, Apex Predator.
• Season 30 change: ranked ladders were extended to 5-day windows, giving more chances to compete for ladder placement. Check the in-game Ranked page for the schedule.
• Placement matters: survival and placement are worth a lot. Dying in the first ring is costly — avoid pointless third parties early.
• Volunteer Jumpmaster: you can now opt in to jumpmaster during character select.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Hot dropping every game. Hot drops teach fights but rarely win ranked games.
• Pushing a knocked enemy alone. The rest of their team is waiting.
• Healing while enemies push. Break line of sight first.
• Spamming energy weapons at long range. Your stockpile regenerates slowly now.
• Expecting gold loot. It's gone from floor loot this season; adapt.
• Ignoring the ring. Late rotations kill more players than bad aim.
• Not pinging. A pinged enemy is information your team needs.

Advanced Tips

• Swap shields from death boxes — a higher-tier armor with shields beats healing.
• Third-party timing: wait until one team knocks another, then push.
• Use cover mid-fight. Peek, shoot, back off, re-peek from a different angle.
• Break the cloak on purpose. Allfather's Cloak ends when you fire — use it to approach silently, then shoot first.
• Build around one Corrupted Attachment. Pair the Headseeker Barrel with a gun you ADS a lot; the Tactical Laser suits close-range guns you reload often and rarely fire at long range, where its recoil penalty matters less.
• Plan loot around Evo Harvesters. Arsenals now unlock only when they activate.

FAQ

What season is Apex Legends in right now? Season 30: Marked, which launched on August 4, 2026.

When does Season 30 end? EA hasn't stated a fixed date in the notes used here; based on recent season lengths, fans expect early November 2026. Check the in-game timer.

What happened to energy ammo? It was removed as loot. Energy weapons now regenerate their own ammo stockpile.

What does Bloodhound's new ultimate do? Allfather's Cloak cloaks anyone who enters its area, giving 20% extra move speed and threat vision.

What maps are in rotation? World's Edge, Storm Point, and E-District.

Who are the best legends right now? Bloodhound, Loba, and Rampart were buffed; Valkyrie, Axle, and Seer were nerfed. Pick what fits your team.

Sources

• EA — Apex Legends: Marked patch notes
• Esports.gg — Season 30 patch notes: Bloodhound rework
• Sportskeeda — Season 30 patch notes: Corrupted Attachments, looting overhaul
• Esports Tales — Season 30 end date
• EA Help — Apex Legends seasons and updates