Best Characters in Apex Legends: Tier List Rankings (Season 21)

Apex Legends Tier List Rankings – The Best Characters

If you’re looking for the best characters in Apex Legends, you’ve come to the right place!

We’ve updated our rankings just in time for Season 20.

Although player skill and playstyle always come first, it’s always good to know the meta so you can play around it.

We recommend sticking with the characters you’re most comfortable with until you hit a wall – after that, it’s a good time to consider a meta pick.

If you found this tier list useful, don’t forget to also check out our list of the best Apex Legends weapons.

There’s a good chance you might play it as well, so don’t miss our list of the best weapons in The Finals.

Here are our rankings for the best characters in Apex Legends:

For a visual version of our tier list, check out our infographic:

Character Commentary

To understand our rankings for the best characters in Apex Legends, let’s dive into a few reasons for each.

S tier Legends

Bangalore

Bangalore is a legend with a simple but effective range of abilities. Bangalore’s base abilities are some of the most versatile in the game, and have only been made better with her perk choices. Ultimate Artillery, along with Refuge at level 3 makes Bangalore a formidable enemy.

Bloodhound

Bloodhound is a powerful legend who provides your team regular information. The ability to counter Bangalore’s smoke, especially with the removal of Digital Threat from SMGs is highly valuable. Bloodhound’s perks are impactful at both level 2 and 3. Odin’s Glare is notably valuable for its increased scan duration for your team. Overall, Bloodhound adds great value to all team comps.

Conduit

Conduit is one of the best support legends, with her base abilities remaining as strong as they were last season, even with the slight nerf to the Revenant – Conduit synergy. The combination of shielding your team with controlling an area Conduit gives your team many opportunities to win fights. As a support legend, conduit is very strong.

Horizon

Horizon is a great legend for controlling areas and moving around the map. Her level 2 perks are quite underwhelming, and her level 3 perks only offer cooldown reduction. Even so, Horizon’s base abilities remain effective and stand on their own in making her a viable legend in a variety of situations.

A tier Legends

Wraith

Wraith is a powerful legend who is effective in a variety of situations. Her level 2 and 3 perk choices keep Wraith at her dominant position as a Skirmisher legend. In combination, the tactical cooldown reduction and tactical windup reduction make Wraith difficult to corner. Overall, Wraith is again a very strong legend in most situations and team comps.

Newcastle

Newcastle is a great defensive legend. His perk choices at level 2 and 3 offer valuable improvements to his base abilities. With the changes to perk choices, his Castle Wall can now provide a Wattson-style defense from ordinance. These changes make Newcastle a powerful defense legend in a variety of situations.

Caustic

Caustic can be a very powerful legend to control an area. His level 2 perk choices both offer significant improvements on his base abilities, while his level 3 perks give the choice of HP regen in his Nox Gas or longer Nox Vision. In close quarters, Caustic is a very strong choice, and with the perk upgrades he can provide consistent defense for your team.

Wattson

Wattson is a strong legend in a variety of situations. In the last few rings of the game, she is a great legend suited for holding down an area in the end game. Her perk choices offer meaningful choices depending on playstyle. Wattson is great as a controller legend who can effectively hold down an area for your team.

Crypto

Crypto is one of the few legends who doesn’t have a hard counter to his ultimate. His perk upgrades turn Crypto into a formidable legend. With his perks, his ultimate can affect every team in the last couple of rings, while providing regular information on enemy teams.

Catalyst

Catalyst is a great legend for team play. When combined with other controller characters like Wattson or Caustic, enemies will struggle to push your team. Catalyst’s perks effectively undo the nerfs that she has seen in previous seasons.

Alter

Alter is the new skirmisher legend that has arrived with Season 21. Alter primarily offers movement abilities for your team which can also be used to target enemy teams. Her Void Passage ability allows players to move through surfaces that are otherwise impassable, which can make for creative ways of pushing and cornering enemies.

Mad Maggie

Mad Maggie can be a great legend to push enemy teams. Her base abilities allow you to force teams out of cover, disorient enemy teams, all while pushing towards them with her ultimate. Maggie’s level 2 perk Fire Ball changes her ultimate from disorienting to dangerous, while her level 3 perk choices help keep constant pressure on teams behind cover.

Pathfinder

Pathfinder is a great movement and rotational character. His level 2 perk choices make him a better team player, by giving access to either Survey Beacons or Ring Consoles. Pathfinders’s level 3 perk Down and Away, can turn him into a legend who can slip into and out of fights very effectively.

B tier Legends

Lifeline

Lifeline is a great support legend. Her level 2 perk choices makes Lifeline more viable as quicker revives and more frequent healing are always useful. Having the ability to revive your team while fighting off an enemy is always useful. As a support legend, Lifeline is not the best, but is still a good pick.

Revenant

Revenant is a great movement legend who can hunt down vulnerable enemies. Since his rework, Revenant has remained a powerful legend with strong base abilities. His level 3 perk Grim Leaper resets his tactical ability on knockdowns, allowing him to be a slippery opponent. However, Revenant does not offer great team utility.

Loba

Loba is most effective in endgame situations, where her Black Market Boutique allows your team to access much-needed loot in small rings. Though this doesn’t sound like much, having regular access to loot can be very useful to keep pressure on enemy teams. Loba’s perks are a good improvement on her base abilities, allowing greater range for Black Markets and an extra choice of loot.

Valkyrie

Valkyrie is a good legend for hunting down enemies or escaping dangerous situations. Her perks have reverted some of the nerfs Valkyrie has seen over past seasons. For teams that desire regular rotations into or out of fights, Valkyrie offers this choice but is not as dominant as past seasons.

Fuse

Fuse has good base abilities, with the level 2 and 3 perks improving on these abilities. The level 2 perk Scar Tissue addresses one of his previous weaknesses and makes it easier to use his ultimate more freely in close quarters. Overall, Fuse is best used by keeping constant pressure on enemies behind cover.

Rampart

Rampart performs great in specific situations. Her level 2 perks are useful but not game changing, while her level 3 perks are welcome improvements to her base abilities. The choice to either have quicker reloads or better handling and quicker spin up make Rampart a dangerous opponent in short to medium range.

Gibraltar

Gibraltar can be a great support legend. He’s able to tank more damage than other legends, which is especially valuable with the changes to evo shields. His perks aren’t game changing but do provide valuable buffs to his support abilities. However, outside his ultimate, Gibraltar may not provide as much support as other legends.

C tier Legends

Octane

Octane can be a strong legend when combined with other movement legends. However, outside of this, Octane does not provide great team utility. His new perks make Octane an even more difficult legend to catch, which only improves on his niche as a Skirmisher, rather than improving his team play.

Ash

Ash can be a viable legend to rotate your team out of dangerous battles, but does not offer as much freedom to move as other legends. Ash’s level 3 perk, Greedy Snare, only keeps the Arc Snare on the ground for 24 seconds. Instead of tethering the enemy for that long, it actually only lasts a few seconds. Her ultimate has more niche uses when compared to other movement abilities in the game.

Vantage

Vantage is great in long range encounters. Her base abilities give her the upper hand in sniper fights. Her level 2 perks are useful for either finding the next ring or increasing the bullets for her ultimate. While improved movement is useful for a recon legend, the level 3 perks are not game changing. Outside of her niche as a sniper, there are often better and easier choices.

Seer

Seer is a legend that can provide regular information for your team. His perks only improve on his base abilities. While seer is not the best scan legend, his abilities can prove valuable for your team. Since other legends such as Bloodhound and Crypto are so effective at providing info to your team, Seer is not a top pick for recon legends.

D tier Legends

Mirage

Mirage can be an effective choice in close-mid range situations. Outside movement legends such as Octane and Pathfinder, Mirage can be difficult to keep up with due to his abilities that disorient and distract enemies. His perks only improve upon his niche, and the ability to revive and respawn your team while invisible can be very useful in dangerous fights.

Ballistic

Ballistic is best when he is using his ultimate ability, Tempest, but is otherwise fairly weak. His perk choices do not fully address his overall weakness. Having an upgraded third weapon can be useful when it’s needed, but overall Ballistic does not provide much utility for your team outside of his ultimate.

Ranking Methodology

S-tier

S-tier legends can decisively change the outcome of a fight and give you the best chance of victory in a variety of situations. These legends work great in nearly every team comp. S-tier legends define the meta.

A-tier

A-tier legends are able to perform well in most situations. They are able to make a significant impact with abilities and play well with most team comps. They are strong picks to help your team win.

B-tier

B-tier legends can be useful situationally, and can make a difference in a few niche situations. Overall they don’t play well due to either being overshadowed by better legends, a poor choice for team comp or being too niche for a wide scope of situations.

C-tier

C-tier legends can be useful situationally, and can make a difference in a few niche situations. These legends often have high skill ceilings, which can make it a challenge to master. When mastered, these legends perform great in their specific niches. There are often better choices for less experienced players.

D-tier

D-tier legends are poor choices and don’t work well in most situations. These legends have abilities that can be ignored or easily countered. They offer little utility for your team and are overshadowed by better legends.

Thanks for checking out our list of the best characters in Apex Legends. Be sure to also check out all our other Mobalytics tier lists.