Apex Legends Season 9 Tier List: Ranking All Characters in the Game

Published 05/14/2021, 7:34 AM EDT

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After launching earlier in May, Season 9 of Apex Legends, titled Legacy, is shaping up as one of its finest chapters of gameplay yet. As with previous seasons, Respawn Entertainment added a ton of new content this time, including Valkyrie as the newest Legend.

The Legacy update for Apex Legends also incorporated a host of buffs and nerfs to existing characters like Lifeline, Loba, Horizon, and Octane. Accordingly, the meta in the game has undergone a revamp and players are looking to figure out which Legends are the best to go into battle as.

Out of all the 17 Legends currently in the game, none can be classified as bad or weak. Each character has their own playstyle and unique ways to be viable. However, the characters with a kit that focuses on mobility, recon, offensive capabilities, and team support certainly have the upper hand over the competition.

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In this article, we tackle the task of mapping out a definitive character tier list for Season 9 of Apex Legends. Have a look at the rankings below and see for yourself where your favorite Legend stands.

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C- Tier characters in Apex Legends

Fuse

Considering how effective throwables can be, there is no doubt about Fuse’s capabilities as he is the explosives expert. However, his kit is quite underwhelming when compared to some of the others on the list.

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Fuse’s passive lets him carry extra grenades and fire them farther and faster. His ultimate can be used to deny opponents access to an area or trap them in a ring of fire. In Season 9, Fuse received a small buff that saw a slight reduction in his tactical’s cooldown. Also, he can now hold two charges of his Knuckle Cluster.

Despite these adjustments, Fuse’s abilities are somewhat lackluster. Even the devs are looking into bringing in some more significant improvements for Fuse in the near future.

Rampart

Rampart’s impression among players has certainly grown in the past season. The improvements handed out to her tactical and ultimate abilities during Season 7 and Season 8 have added more power and viability to her kit.

Rampart’s playstyle revolves around the smart placement of her abilities. While her damage output potential is immense, she still has to hold her position down in fights and stay behind her Amped Walls and “Sheila” Minigun to use them efficiently.

Even though we have seen players utilize Rampart aggressively, the passive style of gameplay is what really fits her.

Mirage

Mirage has been creeping up the tiers over the past few seasons as he has gradually become better. He has always been fun to play, especially for the distraction and confusion he can cause to enemies.

Mirage’s decoys have become more challenging to fight against as they make footsteps noises, have more health, and mimic his movements. His Life of the Party ultimate is his most viable ability. In the hands of a seasoned player, it can turn the tide of an encounter.

It requires practice to develop the skills to main Mirage, but it also makes for a satisfying and rewarding playstyle. Being a solo-oriented Legend, Mirage lacks the utility to support team play. However, his passive ability to remain invisible while reviving or respawning teammates is very useful.

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B Tier characters in Apex Legends

Wattson

Wattson has always stood out from other characters because of her unique playstyle. She is exceptional at defending chokepoints and securing interior areas. Her ultimate ability can shoot down incoming ordnance, while her passive lets her use ultimate accelerants to fully charge up her ultimate.

Wattson also received an additional passive perk that regenerates her shield over time. Her tactical fences are great for stopping hostiles from rushing as they damage and slow down enemies who pass through.

Even though Wattson is a fairly balanced character, not too many players pick her as they once used to. Overall, one has to commit to the defensive playstyle by holding down positions to use Wattson to her fullest potential.

Caustic

Since receiving a significant nerf last season, Caustic has fallen a good amount of rankings. His Nox Gas has become much less fatal as it deals lesser damage per second now and his ultimate takes a minute longer to charge up.

Gone are the days of the damaging effect increasing the longer enemies are inside the gas. Players used to dread an engagement with Caustic in buildings and confined spaces, but now, they are becoming accustomed to fighting the Toxic Trapper’s tactics with little inconvenience.

Despite the changes, Caustic remains dependable, especially in the latter stages of a match. His ultimate creates a bigger cloud of Nox Gas, which is more effective in open spaces and can also be used as cover for repositioning. Caustic caters to a well-rounded playstyle as he capable of being on the defensive and the offensive.

Revenant

A specialist in ambushes and pushing the enemy, Revenant can turn out very frustrating to go against. His Death Totem protects players who use it from dying and is a very powerful tool for clearing up fights and gathering easy kills. Instead of getting killed or downed, players teleport back to the totem.

Compared to Revenant’s ultimate, his other abilities seem a bit underwhelming. His passive allows him to crouch walk faster and climb higher, which is not useful in all situations. His Silence is a viable tactical as it can disable the abilities of opponents, making them rely solely on their guns for a while.

Overall, Revenant has the potential of being a top-tier Legend, but with proper team composition and coordination.

Bangalore

Since the game’s inception, Bangalore has been very consistent and well-balanced. She received an important change in Season 9 that made her tactical smoke denser and harder to see through. As a result, the smokes are going to be very useful as a repositioning tool.

Bangalore’s Double Time passive gives her a temporary boost in speed, making it good for getting in and out of fights. Her Rolling Thunder ultimate is efficient and effective in stalling enemies or taking advantage of a third-party situation.

With a versatile nature of support and offensive capabilities, Bangalore makes for an all-rounder soldier that any player should be able to succeed with.

Loba

Loba was one of the biggest winners in Season 9 as she finally received some much-needed improvements to tactical ability. She can now run and slide much faster while aiming to throw her jump drive bracelet and while it is traveling in the air. Besides, a lot of bug fixes were implemented to make the bracelet more reliable and it will no longer slow Loba down after translocating.

As a result, Loba can teleport in and out of gunfights much more conveniently than before. Although her Black Market Boutique had its cooldown increased by 30 seconds, it still gives access to all the extra loot every 2 minutes.

Right now, Loba’s kit brings the complete package to combat with offensive, defensive, and support capabilities. It could be her time for the spotlight this season if more and more players continue to choose her.

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A Tier characters in Apex Legends

Horizon

Horizon was soaring high ever since her Season 7 release but a series of nerfs in recent times have brought her back to the ground. The Season 9 update brought several adjustments for her Gravity Lift tactical by reducing its lift speed, side-to-side acceleration, and increasing its cooldown. Moreover, the time players can sit at the top of the Gravity Lift is limited to 2 seconds.

 

While these changes have helped Horizon reach a balanced state, she still remains a strong character to pick. With some proper team coordination, her ultimate can prove decisive while pushing or engaging in fights. Horizon’s kit has essentially become more focused on team movement and support rather than the offensive powerhouse it used to be.

Crypto

Being a recon legend, the amount of information Crypto can gather for his team can turn the tide in their favor. He can use his drone to scout areas, ping items, open boxes, and warn teammates about nearby enemy squads. Moreover, his passive ability uses the drone to highlight nearby doors, supply bins, traps, and enemies.

Crypto’s ultimate causes an EMP blast from his drone, dealing shield damage and slowing down players. Timing this ability to perfection is effective in clearing up fights aggressively or halting rushing teams. Crypto can also pick up teammates’ banners and respawn them remotely using his drone. This is especially useful after a chaotic situation through the mid-game.

Overall, mastering Crypto has a high skill ceiling and he brings a lot of support and utility to the team. However, few players are ready to go through the learning curve for this valuable legend.

Octane

Octane skyrocketed in popularity last season with major improvements to his Launch Pad’s functionality. The changes made his playstyle even more fun and satisfying. However, this season it was time to slightly nerf the High-Speed Daredevil.

The Season 9 update increased the health cost of using Octane’s Stim from 12hp to 20hp while reducing the cooldown time in between from 4s to 1s. The adjustments aim to bring about a more tactical and meaningful approach when it comes to using the ability. Besides, there is now more bullet spread while shooting in the air after launching from a jump pad.

Apart from that, Octane’s playstyle hasn’t really changed. His kit provides him with mobility to aggressively push opponents or make a hasty retreat from a gunfight.

Lifeline

Lifeline received the most attention in the Season 9 update with a massive rework for her kit. The revive shield of her D.O.C healing drone is now gone, but she can revive two players at once and is also able to cancel the revives in progress.

Lifeline’s D.O.C had its heal rate increased and deployment time reduced. This means her squad will be able will get back into the action faster after finishing up a fight. Finally, her Care Packages have a reduced cooldown and come with a guarantee of certain upgraded items based on her entire team’s gear.

Lifeline’s unparalleled support capabilities not only make up for her lack of offensive power but also make her the ultimate team player. She is often among the most picked Legends in the game and is going to remain this way.

Pathfinder

Pathfinder finally had the Low Profile perk removed during Season 8 and the change has seen the robot gain prominence in the meta once again. His Grappling Hook is finally in a good spot after seeing a slew of nerfs and buffs in the previous seasons.

Pathfinder’s Zipline Gun is very useful for him and his team as a repositioning tool by allowing them to travel long distances quickly. Moreover, being a recon character, he is able to scan the next ring’s location which is crucial in the endgame.

The only issue with the fan-favorite robot seems to be his lack of a distinctive passive ability. Pathfinder’s kit has a lot of offensive potential because of the high mobility it offers. At the same time, it requires some skill to main the friendly robot. It won’t be surprising if Pathfinder becomes a must-pick once again considering some of the changes made to other mobile characters this season.

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S Tier characters in Apex Legends

Wraith

Since the inception of the game, Wraith has consistently been one of the best legends to use in combat. This is because of how unique and powerful her abilities are, despite them being the subject of several nerfs to establish better game balance.

Although her dimensional portals don’t have an extensive range, they are very useful in dipping out of critical situations. Wraith’s passive ability alerts her of incoming threats, giving a sense of invulnerability. Once again, her tactical allows her to reposition quickly through the safety of void space, making her immune to damage while inside.

In Season 9, Wraith benefitted from the removal of Low Profile and that means her performances are only going to improve. While Wraith has certainly fallen a bit from the state she used to be in, she still is still a popular legend and belongs in the top tier.

Valkyrie

As with Horizon’s release two seasons ago, Valkyrie has started her journey incredibly strong. It’s still early days to realize the true potential of the newest addition, yet she has become a hot topic of discussion within the Apex Legends community.

Valkyrie belongs to the recon class and flying high is her specialty. Her VTOL Jets passive allows her to fly for a short duration and activates a HUD that marks enemies within a large radius. The tactical ability fires a swarm of miniature missiles that damages and stuns her opponents.

The real strength lies in Valkyrie’s ultimate. Using the ability, she and her teammates can skydive into the air every three minutes or so. Focusing heavily on movement-based abilities, Valkyrie’s kit helps in keeping up with the fast-paced and intense nature of the game. The newcomer legend has already garnered quite the popularity and settled for a spot in the topmost tier.

Bloodhound

Bloodhound brings a complete package with some of the best aggressive and support-based abilities in the game. They can scan and gather a lot of important information depending on which the team can decide to engage or retreat.

Bloodhound’s tactical reveals all nearby hostiles, traps, and other clues for the entire team and the passive is reliable for tracking the actions performed by enemies. Meanwhile, Bloodhound’s ultimate is a powerful ability that turns them into the apex predator. Using Beast of the Hunt increases their movement speed, highlights enemies in red, and enables the tactical scan to be used much faster.

Overall Bloodhound is not only an allrounder, but they are also fairly easy to learn and control in combat. This is what makes the Technological Tracker one of the greatest contenders in the game.

Gibraltar

Gibraltar has been consistently prominent in the competitive scene of Apex and he is also an excellent legend to learn as a beginner. Although Gibraltar has a large hitbox, he soaks up as much damage as a tank, thanks to the gun shields that protect his body from incoming fire and the Fortified perk.

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The Dome of Protection is a really versatile tactical that blocks incoming and outgoing attacks. It can be used to protect the team as well as a form of makeshift cover to facilitate rotations. Gibby’s ultimate, Defensive Bombardment, spells destruction for those trapped inside it. The team can also use it to stall approaching hostiles and reposition themselves to gain an advantage.

With a combination of powerful abilities of support capabilities, Gibraltar has always been very dependable in combat. Thus, he is a perfect fit for the S tier.

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Which are the five best characters in the current season of Apex Legends according to you? Let us know in the comments below!

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Written by:

Souhardya Biswas

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Souhardya Biswas is an eSports writer for EssentiallySports. He joined the organisation in 2020, wanting to explore the sphere of professional eSports journalism. His passion for gaming started with titles like GTA San Andreas, Far Cry 2, Modern Warfare 2, FIFA 09, eventually developing an interest in Battle Royale games like PUBG and Apex Legends.
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