Apex Legends Season 14 is here, bringing with it a bunch of changes to the meta, a record player count, and a new Legend, Vantage, who synergizes with that shift in the meta. This season, long-range fights are more important than ever, and you’re going to want a good Vantage on your team to take, ahem, advantage of that. With this guide, you could be that Vantage.
One of the major changes to the season initially seems like a minor one: the reappearance of the Skullpiercer Rifling hop-up. Used with certain sniper rifles and marksman weapons, this increases the damage done by headshots. Add onto that the return on the G7 Scout and Vantage’s debut, and you have a handful more reasons to pick people off at range – especially with the first Ranked map being the updated Kings Canyon, with its long sightlines and sneaky sniper perches. So grab a gun, attach a scope, and zoom in – we’ll make you a sniper yet.
Before we dive into the tips themselves, let’s lay out Vantage’s abilities.
Vantage abilities
- Passive: Spotter’s Lens.
Spotter’s Lens gives Vantage a bullet drop indicator on long-range scopes, allowing her to see exactly where the bullet will land when shooting from a distance. You’ll still have to lead your targets, but it’s handy for popping heads and punishing peekers. On top of that, Vantage’s eyepiece allows you to see what kind of equipment an enemy team is using, as well as how many are left alive.
- Tactical: Echo Relocation.
Vantage also comes equipped with a bat-like creature called Echo. Using her tactical, she can send it into position within a certain radius. Moving Echo around is free, but you can also jump to its location by holding down the tactical key, as long as you have line of sight. That, of course, is not free. Players can optionally double-jump at the end.
- Ultimate: Sniper’s Mark.
Vantage’s ultimate ability is a custom Sentinel sniper rifle that she can pull out even when it is partially charged. The rifle deals 50 damage with the first shot (more for a headshot) and 100 damage for any shot she lands quickly on the same target afterward. Each shot ‘marks’ a target, which causes them to take more damage from your conventional weapons, as well as attacks from your squadmates.
Vantage tips
Now we have the basics down, let’s dive in with some Vantage tips for Apex Legends.
Zoom without a weapon
Vantage’s passive ability allows her to zoom in without a weapon equipped. Hold down aim without a weapon out and you can freely scan the battlefield. This won’t trigger enemy Wraith players to call out someone aiming at them, which makes it ideal for ratting your way to a good spot when your teammates are dead. It’s also a good way to get an idea of where enemy teams are when you don’t have a scope. After all, you shouldn’t be using Sniper’s Mark to do that because…
Be careful of that laser sight
When you use Sniper’s Mark, a massive laser sight will give away your position. Good snipers will pull it out, take a few shots, and then reposition with Echo. If you’re hoping to see where enemies are, you’re better off using the above tip and zooming without a weapon, or using a normal sniper rifle with a long-range scope instead.
Use sniper rifles
It might seem tempting to just use your ultimate as your only sniper rifle – after all, that way you can carry a full auto weapon and a shotgun, too – but that’s a mistake. Vantage’s passive will give you a huge advantage when aiming with long-range weapons. Stick a 4×8 scope on a Sentinel and watch those damage numbers tick up as you land every shot.
Build those shields
It’s hard to get a team wipe by sniping alone since they’ll just keep reviving their teammates and you’re often too far away to press the advantage. However, it’s a good way to farm evo shield damage, upgrading your shields. If your party is all on blue shields and you’ve farmed your way up to purple, why not swap shields with a squadmate so you can boost theirs up too? Apex Legends is a team game, after all.
Use Ultimate Accelerants
You’re probably used to ignoring Ultimate Accelerants unless you’re a Wattson main, but you should always carry one with you as Vantage. Since her ultimate ability slowly builds up, ticking up the ammo count from one to five, and your first shot only does half damage, it makes sense to engage when you have at least a few shots ready to go. Ultimate Accelerants will help you get there more quickly or replenish missed shots in the middle of a hectic firefight.
Place Echo with intention
If you’re going to place your tactical, Echo, in the middle of a fight, you need to make sure it’s in a position that either allows you to escape or flank the enemy team, which requires some foresight. You should never just send him out for the sake of it. Sure, the bat can’t be hurt or killed, but it’ll give away your plans and tell the enemy team your general location. Not only that, but if you end up moving away from it, you might lose the line of sight and struggle to get away when you get jumped.
Always call Echo back to you
When you’re not using Echo, use the recall ability to call it back to you. Otherwise, you might find yourself trapped in a tight spot and unable to jump away since Echo has to actually travel to you before you can reposition it. Often, it’s best to not position Echo at all. Instead, hold the tactical button and you’ll throw him out towards where you’re aiming and you’ll begin jumping before Echo even reaches the spot. It’s fast, it’s less predictable, and it’ll save your backside in most situations.
Vantage best team composition
So, which other Legends work best with Vantage? Ideally, anyone who can support her with sniping, or anyone who can keep up with her agile – albeit selfish – tactical. Here are some of our favorite picks.
- Rampart.
Rampart’s shields make her a smart pairing for Vantage, buffing the damage on her ultimate sniper rifle while also keeping enemies at bay with her minigun. Just watch for those flanks.
- Octane.
While Vantage is soaring around the arena, most other legends are stuck to the ground. Octane can get himself and your other teammate up to whatever sniper perch Vantage soared to with his bounce pads.
- Pathfinder.
Pathfinder is another good pick for his movement abilities. Not only can he grapple up to where Vantage is, but he can use his zipline to get teammates up there as well.
- Horizon.
As well as being able to lift people up to where Vantage is, her black hole ultimate can pull enemies in for some devastating sniper shots.
- Valkyrie.
She might have been nerfed to death this season, but Valkyrie is still a great legend. She can keep up with Vantage with her personal jets, fly allies up to her, and she can stun-lock groups of enemies with her rocket swarm, setting them up for a lethal finish.
That’s it for Vantage tips for Apex Legends season 14. We’ll come back when she’s inevitably nerfed.
Written by Kirk McKeand on behalf of GLHF.
