Cover-Credits:
Apex Legends originally launched in February 2019 with eight playable characters namely Bangalore, Bloodhound, Gibraltar, Lifeline, Pathfinder, Wraith, Caustic, and Mirage. Today Apex Legends has over twenty characters to choose from. Each Legend has unique abilities which gives them a certain advantage in the game. Despite new releases, the original roster of legends remains quite popular with the playerbase. Apex Legends Status shows the pick rates of various legends in the game. We look at which legends are popular with the playerbase and which don’t get as much love. According to the most recent Apex pick rates, newer legends like Maggie and Newcastle remain among the least popular with Mad Maggie sitting at a 1.9% and Newcastle at 1.6%. However, Valkyrie remains quite popular, being the second most picked legend at 10%.
Apex Legends pick rates over the seasons
If we look at the top five most picked legends, four of the five have an emphasis on mobility. This isn’t surprising, given that Apex Legends is a fast paced shooter. Getting across the map and repositioning for and between fights is a major factor that influences their Apex pick rates. Bloodhound remains a popular pick (especially among new players) due to their tactical and ultimate ability which helps enemies stand out in the rather noisy backdrops of Apex’s maps.
Seer is considered to be an inferior version of Bloodhound and doesn’t have as high of a pick rate. However in the last two months, Seer’s popularity has gone up from 1.9% to 4.4% in thanks partly to the ALGS Championship which saw teams playing the Seer-Maggie combo. Seer also sees a lot of play at higher ranks coupled with Horizon.
Newer legends aren’t as popular
The newer legends with the exception of Valkyrie have not been very popular among players. Valkyrie’s popularity can be attributed to her unique vertical mobility and her ultimate’s rotation potential. Ash’s ultimate ability gives her similar mobility to Wraith but her tactical falls short, giving her the perception of being the inferior Wraith among players. Mad Maggie and Newcastle have consistently seen lower pick rates in Apex ranked. In general fortified legends like Newcastle and Caustic have seen the lower end of pick rates in ranked play, due to their lower mobility. However, Gibraltar and Caustic remain some of the highest picked in ALGS matches.
Gibraltar’s passive and tactical keeps him a top tier legend in terms of utility despite being a fortified legend, keeping him a popular pick in ALGS matches. According to Raynday Gaming, while Newcastle’s ultimate initially seems to be a great defensive tool, it doesn’t block out major abilities like Gibraltar’s dome does and can’t be an effective replacement for what Gibralatar does for his team. Newcastle’s ultimate is still vulnerable to a number of abilities like Caustic’s Nox Gas Grenade, Horizon’s tactical and both Bangalore and Gibraltar’s ultimate.
Wasn’t Newcastle supposed to be the lifeline killer?
When Newcastle was first released, it seemed like Respawn had given his passive and tactical a modified version of the utlity the developer took away from Lifeline. When he was released he had a pick rate of 9.9% which eventually slipped to 6.7% and then to a low of 1.6%. Lifeline remains a popular pick because she’s great for new players starting out in the game. Her passive combat revive also revives her teammates while leaving her free to defend and shoot back. While Newcastle can drag downed allies to safety while reviving them, it keeps him busy and leaves your team with two players unable to fight back.
What about the new legend Vantage?
Vantage may be able to break this low pick rate curse for new legends thanks to her tactical Echo Launch, which launches her towards her winged companion, Echo. This ability gives her a bit of mobility. However, she may end up going the Loba route, landing somewhere in the middle of the pick rate charts. Loba’s tactical gives her some mobility but her ultimate loses utility as the game progresses with end game zones. If leaks are to be believed, Vantage’s ultimate will be great for long distance sniping, but it is still unclear how it would fair in close quarters end zone fights.
