Apex Legends: Everything you need to know about weapons and attachments

Since Apex Legends is a floor loot-based battle royale game, you never know what weapons you’ll end up with until you’re in the thick of the action. However, knowing how different weapons function and which are best for your preferred playstyle is an essential element for securing victory.

In this guide, we’ll break down all of Apex Legends’ available weapons and attachments, explaining what their strengths and weaknesses are. When appropriate, we’ll also note if certain weapons are ideal for specific legend characters and their unique abilities.

A Weapon And Attachment Primer

There are six weapon groups in Apex Legends: assault rifles, SMG’s, light machine guns, shotguns, sniper rifles, and pistols. Within those broad groups there are also several specific weapons per category, each of which has its own functionality and stats.

As for attachments, they too have several broader categories, but not every attachment can be applied to every weapon type. The different attachment categories include stocks (which enable quicker weapon-swapping and reduce aiming sway), barrels (which reduce recoil), magazines (increasing ammo capacity), optics (scopes with varying levels of zoom and tracking), and weapon-specific attachments. That last category applies to very specific attachments which can only be applied to equally specific weapons.

Like equipment, attachments are also available in different rarity colors (white, blue, purple, etc.). The rarer the attachment, the bigger the benefits are for equipping it.

Weapons

Assault Rifles

Assault rifles are good all-around weapons for close and medium-range engagements. Their versatility and stopping power make them solid choices for skirmish-based legends like Bloodhound, Bangalore, and Mirage.

VK-47 Flatline

The VK-47 Flatline can fire either in full-auto or single-shot mode. It utilizes heavy ammunition and can equip all standard attachment types aside from barrels. In terms of performance, it has the highest recoil of all the assault rifles and the second-highest damage.

Hemlok Burst AR

Unlike the other two assault rifle weapons, the Hemlock fires in three-round bursts (it also has a single-shot option). It uses heavy ammunition and is compatible with all standard attachments. Its burst-style firing pattern can take some getting used to, but the Hemlock also has the highest damage output of all the assault rifles.

R-301 Carbine

Much like the VK-47 Flatline, the R-301 Carbine can fire in full-auto or single-shot and is compatible with all standard attachments. However, unlike the Flatline and Hemlok, the R-301 uses light ammunition. The R-301’s excellent recoil control is counterbalanced by the fact that it has the lowest damage output of the three available assault rifles.

SMG’s

SMG’s are light, agile weapons which shine in close quarters. They perfectly compliment legends who can easily flank their opponents like Wraith, Bloodhound, Mirage, or really anyone who enjoys storming into an enemy position guns blazing.

Alternator

The Alternator is a good mid-range SMG. It has the second-highest damage output of the entire SMG weapon group and it also has pretty solid recoil control. The Alternator uses light ammo and is compatible with all standard weapon attachments. However, the weapon’s one noticeable drawback is that it has the smallest clip size of the three available SMG’s.

R-99

Similar to the Alternator, the R-99 is a decent newbie-friendly weapon thanks to its low recoil, fast fire rate, and universal standard attachment compatibility. The only major disadvantage to using the R-99 is that it has the lowest damage output of the SMG weapon group. The R-99 also fires light ammunition.                         

Prowler Burst PDW

As its name implies, the Prowler Burst PDW fires in five-round bursts, and there’s no single-shot mode to switch to. Along with heavy ammunition and standard attachments (aside from barrels), players can also find a unique ‘Selectfire Receiver’ attachment for the Prowler which enables full-auto firing capabilities. The Prowler has the highest damage output for the SMG weapon group.

Light Machine Guns

Light machine guns may look big and unwieldy, but if you don’t want to worry about constantly reloading they are the weapon group for you. Legends who can use their abilities to lay down suppressing fire like Gibraltar, Bangalore, and Caustic benefit the most from LMG’s.

Devotion

The Devotion utilizes energy ammo and a fire rate which actually speeds up the longer you hold down the trigger. However, that increased fire rate also means you’re dealing with high recoil. Along with standard attachments (aside from magazines), players can also equip the Devotion with a unique ‘Turbocharger’ attachment to noticeably reduce its recoil.

Spitfire

The Spitfire LMG outpaces the Devotion in terms of damage but it also has a slower firing rate. The Spitfire’s recoil control also isn’t much better than the Devotion’s but since it can utilize all standard attachment types, you can equip a barrel attachment to offset the recoil spread. Also unlike the Devotion, the Spitfire uses heavy ammunition.

Shotguns

The ultimate close-quarters-combat weapon, shotguns can put enemies down with as little as 1-2 direct blasts. Again, players who favor close-quarters engagements should strongly consider shotguns, especially if they enjoy playing as legends like Gibraltar, Bloodhound, Wraith, Caustic or Mirage. With the exception of the Mastiff (as we’ll explain shortly), all shotguns utilize shotgun ammunition.

EVA-8 Auto

The drum-fed EVA-8 Auto can fire its nine-pellet rounds at a pretty steady clip. Just make sure you pace out your firings since the recoil can get pretty intense if you try to unload on your enemy as quickly as possible. Don’t fire too slowly though as the EVA also has the lowest damage output of any shotgun. The EVA can utilize all magazine and optic attachments.

Peacekeeper

The Peacekeeper is a lever-action shotgun with a decent damage output and pellet spread. However, it also has the slowest firing rate of all the shotguns. Along with magazine and optic attachments, the Peacekeeper is also compatible with the ‘Precision Choke’ attachment which allows for a smaller, more concentrated pellet spread.

Mastiff

The Mastiff is one of two ‘Legendary’ class weapons which can only be found in supply drops, you’ll never find it as a floor loot weapon or in standard loot containers. As such, the Mastiff can only fire non-replenishable legendary ammunition so make sure your shots count. Fortunately, the Mastiff also has the highest damage output of all the shotguns so if it hits it’s guaranteed to inflict some serious pain. The Mastiff isn’t compatible with any weapon attachments. 

Mozambique

The Mozambique may look cool and compact, but its overall poor performance has already made it something of a laughing stock within the larger Apex Legends community. Its damage is ok and it can utilize magazine and optic attachments like most other shotguns, but it also has to go through a long reload period after every three shots. Pair that with its short effective range and you can see why even the people who made Apex Legends are warning people away from the Mozambique.

Sniper Rifles

Whereas shotguns and SMG’s dominate the close-quarters game, sniper rifles are the unrivaled masters of long-range combat. Effective scout legends like Wraith, Pathfinder, Mirage, and Bloodhound can put sniper rifles to good use before making a speedy exit (or moving in for the cleanup kills).

G7 Scout

The G7 Scout is a decent starter sniper rifle, but you’ll likely want to upgrade to something with a bit more punch as soon as you’re able. Since it utilizes light ammunition, the G7 Scout has the lowest damage output of all the snipers. You can bolster it a bit by equipping any of the standard weapon attachments, but even then the Scout is easily outpaced by other snipers.

Longbow DMR

The Longbow DMR technically has a slower firing rate than the G7 Scout, but it also deals a lot more damage when it hits. In fact, unlike the G7 Scout, the Longbow DMR is guaranteed to down an unarmored enemy with a headshot thanks to its heavy ammunition. Along with standard attachments, the Longbow DMR is compatible with the unique ‘Skullpiercer Rifling’ attachment which boosts its headshot damage even more.

Triple Take

As its name suggests, the Triple Take actually fires three tightly-packed energy ammo rounds at once with each pull of the trigger. The three rounds have a bit of a horizontal spread, but you can reduce that spread by equipping the Precision Choke attachment (the Triple Take can also utilize standard stock and optic attachments). When firing the Triple Take, you’ll want to make sure multiple rounds from each shot hit your target since individual rounds actually do less damage than the G7 Scout’s shots.

Kraber .50 Caliber

This is the other Legendary weapon which, like the Mastiff shotgun, is only found in supply drops. Like the Mastiff the Kraber .50 Caliber has non-replenishable ammunition and can’t utilize any weapon attachments. However, it’s astronomically high damage output means that anyone you hit with a Kraber shot isn’t getting back up unless they’re wearing the toughest of armor.

Pistols

To be perfectly frank, pistols in Apex Legends are more weapons of convenience than practicality. Since you can only have a maximum of two weapons on your person, you’re almost always better off going with a non-pistol alternative. If a pistol is all you can find during the opening moments of a match, it’s certainly better than trying to punch your opponents to death. There’s really no reason to hang onto a pistol once you find something better though.

P2020

The light ammo-firing P2020 has okay damage output and low recoil, making it a surprisingly effective newbie-friendly weapon. It can also be tricked out with optic and magazine attachments, the latter of which can shore up its 10-round clip.

RE-45 Auto

True to its name, the RE-45 Auto fires light ammunition in a full-auto fashion. Its 15-round clip is slightly bigger than the P2020’s but it also deals less damager per round so make sure you’re landing multiple hits with each pull of the trigger. The RE-45 also has some noticeable recoil but that can be tempered with a barrel attachment (the weapon is compatible with magazine and optic attachments as well).

Wingman

The Wingman single-shot revolver can actually be pretty deadly when it’s properly tricked out thanks to its high damage output. The heavy ammo-firing weapon is compatible with optic and magazine attachments as well as the Skullpiercer Rifling attachment which enables one-hit K.O. headshots. Just note that it fires pretty slowly and its recoil pattern requires that you readjust your aim after each shot.