If you’re new to Apex Legends Mobile and don’t know where to begin, Android Police is here to help. We’ve compiled a guide that teaches players how to survive their first battle royale match, introducing this game’s legends (characters) while outlining features/game modes available on release.
So if you’ve seen our hands-on review of the stable release and are intrigued to explore what the latest and greatest battle royale on mobile has to offer, now that Apex Legends Mobile is officially available across the globe, it’s time to prepare for your first jump.
Getting started
Once you install the Apex Legends Mobile Android app, you’ll have a couple of steps to complete before entering the tutorial. The first step involves verifying your age and consenting to the game’s terms of service agreement. After this, you’ll get to choose your primary login method, where you can sign in with a Google account, EA account, Twitter, Facebook, or sign in as a guest.
Select your default settings; this can be reconfigured anytime. We recommend choosing ‘No experience in mobile shooting games (Auto-Firing will be enabled)’ or ‘Experienced in mobile shooting games’ depending on your comfort and background in mobile shooters. Once you’re prompted to pick your HUD display, the choices are ‘HUD1 – Classic Setup’ and ‘HUD2 – Apex Style’, so choose one based on your preferences.
Rookie Tutorial
During the tutorial, you’ll work with Mirage to learn the basics of the game, things like sliding, climbing, shooting, and picking up items and teammate banners. Once the tutorial is finished, you’ll be able to register as a legend and choose your username.
How to play battle royales: Apex Legends Mobile style
We’ve put together some beginner tips to help you survive your early matches.
- Looting is luck-based, but finding the right gun that fits your playstyle will help you adapt to Apex Legends Mobile more rapidly. Consider trying out the Peacemaker if you prefer shotguns/close-up confrontations. You can test out weapons anytime in the practice range, which is definitely recommended.
- Always pick up higher rarity items for upgrades. White is common, blue is rare, purple is epic, and gold is legendary. Memorizing these colors is key.
- Turn on auto-pickup to loot more quickly; you can sort out your bag once you’re in safety.
- Always be on the move, so you avoid being trapped outside of the ever-encroaching ring; if you are playing as a legend that can increase movement speed, don’t be afraid to pop an ability to get you back on track.
- Utilize the ping system to let your team know where you want to go and what loot you’ve found, this is still a team-based shooter, so communication is vital!
- Shields are your best friends, remember to top-up on your shields outside a fight. Shields are crucial for surviving your encounters.
- Finish off your opponents by using a finisher. Once you’ve eliminated an enemy, they’ll be in a downed state, so you’ll need to use a finisher to complete the job.
- Use the sliding mechanic to improve mobility. Combine jumping and sliding to move even faster.
- Don’t be hesitant to try out new legends; you’ll get the most enjoyment from playing a legend you like. Every legend has its specialty, and you’ll unlock more as you play. If you’re new to Apex, we recommend starting with offensive legends that focus on combat before moving into heavy utility-focused legends.
- Power up your legends by unlocking more perks. Perks are unlocked by playing as specific legends in matches.
- Legends have different hitboxes (large, medium, and small), so the larger your legend’s hitbox, the easier it is to register a shot. Gibraltar, Pathfinder, and Caustic all have the largest hitbox. The game is balanced around hitboxes, so use abilities that prevent you from being a target.
Learning your legends (characters)
Each legend offers a unique backstory and personality that’s part of the Apex lore, which exists in the Titanfall universe. Every legend has a set of abilities that can help you gain an advantage while you play. Selecting your legend will depend on playstyle preference and who you’ve unlocked.
To view the game’s available legends, tap on Legends on the main screen and then tap Details.
Bangalore
An offensive class specializing in tactical combat, so she can gain an edge in a fight. She can sprint while being fired at for a brief period (passive ability). She can also fire a smoke launcher to obscure vision in an area (ability). Her ultimate is Rolling Thunder which fires a flare to call in an artillery strike causing damage, slowing and blurring vision on the field.
Bloodhound
A recon class specializing in tracking and learning an enemy’s whereabouts. He can discover tracks showing the location and time of enemy actions (passive ability). His ability reveals enemies, traps, and clues through structures. His ultimate increases movement speed and highlights nearby enemy tracks. Since he is classified as a recon legend, he can scan survey beacons to reveal the ring’s next location.
Caustic
A defensive class specializing in toxic gas to scout and trap enemies. His passive allows him to see enemies inside his gas. His ability drops six canisters of Nox Gas that can be shot/triggered by enemies; once the gas disperses, it’ll slow and cause damage to nearby enemies. His ultimate, Nox Gas, Grenade, fills an area of Nox Gas that’ll slow and damage enemies found within. Since he is classified as a defensive legend, he gains access to the fortified passive that reduces incoming damage by 15% and is immune to being slowed down by bullets.
Fade
An offensive class specializing in dimension manipulation. His passive gives you a short movement speed boost after sliding. His ability uses the Void to teleport into a position he’s been at previously. His ultimate, Phase Chamber, sends all legends within range into the Void. Note: He is exclusive to Apex Legends Mobile and can’t be found in the core console/PC game.
Gibraltar
A defensive class that specializes in generating shields to tank damage. His passive shields the upper body when he aims down sights. His ability creates a shield that blocks incoming damage if you’re inside. His ultimate, Defensive Bombardment, sends down a strike in a location that causes damage and stuns. Since he is classified as a defensive legend, he gains access to the fortified passive that reduces incoming damage by 15% and is immune to being slowed down by bullets.
Lifeline
A supportive class specializing in healing and supporting her teammates. She can send a D.O.C. to provide a shield and revive her teammates (passive ability). Her ability sends out a drone to heal nearby teammates, but if she takes damage while the ability is active, the healing will be interrupted. Her ultimate, Care Package, calls down a pod nearby containing higher-tier equipment.
Mirage
An offensive class specializing in using holographs to trick his enemies. He automatically cloaks when interacting with respawn beacons and when trying to revive teammates; while knocked down, he will release a decoy and become invisible (passive ability). His ability deploys a decoy; reactivating the ability will have the decoy mimic his movements. His ultimate, Life of the Party, sends out multiple copies that mimic his movements while the real Mirage stays invisible and moves faster.
Octane
An offensive class that specializes in mobility. His passive regenerates health over time when he’s not taking any damage. His ability temporarily increases movement speed at the cost of his health. His ultimate, Jump Pad, summons a device allowing everyone to double jump in the air. Note: He is unlocked for free when you start playing.
Pathfinder
A recon class that specializes in utilizing the environment to traverse around the map quickly. His passive scans a survey beacon to reveal where the next ring will be located, and his scans reduce the cooldown of his ultimate. His ability sends out a grappling hook to latch onto a surface — allowing him to zipline from one place to another. His ultimate, Zipline Gun, creates a zipline for his entire team. Since he is classified as a recon legend, he can scan survey beacons to reveal the ring’s next location.
Wraith
An offensive class specializing in the use of dimension manipulation to enable flanking. Her passive warns of danger when she’s spotted near traps and is being targeted. Her ability allows her to enter the Void to move quickly without taking damage. Her ultimate, Dimensional Rift, enables her team to move from one place to another by entering the portals.
How to unlock more Legends
You unlock more legends by playing any game mode to earn experience points. You can obtain more experience points by opening up crates, completing your dailies, and performing well in matches (such as getting more kills).
Features and game modes
Selecting your camera, First-Person Perspective (FPP), and Third-Person Perspective (TPP) will control who is in your matches. Players choosing FPP will only be matched with other FPP players, while TPP players will be matched with others using TPP. FPP will give you the traditional Apex experience, but TPP is there if you wish to have a flexible playstyle and are already familiar with the third-person view. Playing in third-person widens your field of view compared to first-person.
The available modes to play are the battle royale mode, ranked, team deathmatch (3v3), tutorial, free practice, and limited-time modes (events). To select a new game mode, tap on the tab on the left side of the Play button.​​​​​​​
This game also features a battle pass (free and premium) that rewards you with attractive in-game cosmetics. New missions unlock every week. You can also claim loot by completing daily and seasonal missions, leaving you with plenty of challenges to work on during matches.
The future outlook for Apex Legends Mobile
To see a mobile interpretation of a popular game offering the same set of features on mobile is always a promising start. Apex Legends is considered a free-to-play AAA game, so a direct port would have been challenging with the limited performance of mobile devices, which is what makes the standalone mobile release so surprising. Of course, if you’d like to see the game in action, we’ve recorded gameplay for our hands-on. And to become a champion in Apex Legends Mobile, you’ll need to get a head start — which is why we’ve included the Play Store widget for the app below.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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