After only a week, Apex Legends is already making waves in the battle royale market, earning great reviews and managing to pull in more than 25 million players in its first week. But as with any battle royale game like Fortnite or PUBG, the most important thing for players is to survive and be the last one standing victorious.
Though tactical play and good teamwork are crucial for getting to the endgame, the quality of your gear goes a long way in determining if you get killed quickly or make it all the way to the end.
You may have already noticed that when you walk into a new area in King’s Canyon, the loot quality is listed just below the name of that location. If it isn’t listed, you’ll just be getting common (white) loot in that area. But if you see mid-tier (blue), your chances for better gear improve, and high-tier (purple) is even better than that. If you’re really lucky, you’ll come upon legendary gear (yellow), but we’ll get to that later. For now, you need to know some things about tier levels and where you should land on the map.
Named locations are your friend
If you think certain locations in Apex Legends tend to have better loot than others, you’re not wrong. Though Respawn has yet to confirm exactly how its loot distribution works, diligent players are mapping out their own experiences by voting on the loot they see at each location. The idea is as more information rolls in, we’ll have a better understanding of where the best loot is. Check out the interactive map by vjoeys, where you can add your own experiences. Here’s a screenshot of the map:
As you can see, it appears named locations will give you pretty good loot, but you’re better off landing on the coastal locations (with a couple of exceptions) for a better chance at high-tier loot. The best spot to land at this time appears to be Relay with 96 percent of respondents saying they found high-tier loot there. Second place is Thunderdome at 95 percent and third is Repulsor with 94 percent. Before seeing this map, I’d already assumed The Bunker and The Pit usually had good loot based on experience, but you can see how this map is an eye-opener.
One thing that Apex Legends has in common with Fortnite, from experience, is that people tend to jump out as soon as possible. If you use this map, then head to a location that’s toward the end of the line, you’ll have the best chance for good loot with the least amount of people to compete with.
Now you know where to land, but there are a couple other loot locations to know about for the best gear.
The Hot Zone
If you’re ready to fight for the best loot, you’ll want to land in the Hot Zone. This is a random location that shows up as a blue circle on the map when you first drop in. You can also see it as you’re flying in because it has a blue beam of light leading down to it. Though you’ll be guaranteed good weapons and gear if you land there, you’re going to have a lot of competition because everyone can see the Hot Zone as they fly in.
If you’ve played Fortnite, think of the Hot Zone as Apex Legends’ Tilted Towers. You know there’s tons of stuff there, but you also know it’s where a lot of people will land, so you’re in for a battle.
Find the Supply Ship
Another place to find premium loot is on the Supply Ship. It flies in at the beginning of the game and if you spot it, you can land right on it, but it will also come to a stop where it will drop ziplines so people can get to it from ground level. Like the Hot Zone, it’s a magnet for other players, but it’s also guaranteed to have great gear.
Your best bet with the Supply Ship is if it flies in far from the the beginning of your flight path. As we already know, people like to drop early and the farther away you fly, the less you’ll see people. Still, be aware that other players will be thinking the same thing, so it’s unlikely you’ll be the only squad to land there.
Watch for supply drops
Supply drops are another option for good loot (and possibly even great loot). People who have played Fortnite or PUBG will be familiar with timed supply drops and they work similarly in Apex Legends. Your character will say something to alert you that a supply drop is incoming, and all you have to do is check the map and look for the moving blue circles. Obviously, everyone else will get the same notification as well, so it’s best to hang back to see if anyone else is waiting.
What’s unique about supply drops is that you have the opportunity to get the game’s legendary weapons (yellow), the Mastiff shotgun and the Kraber .50 caliber sniper rifle, both of which are potent enough to make the competition to snag them worthwhile, but you’ll have to be careful.