Apex Legends Season 26 Tier List: Best Legends and Comps

In Apex Legends Season 26, Showdown, balance is finally becoming a major component in how ranked plays. With random POI drops, KP capped to 10, and Evo Harvesters cut in half, there’s a greater emphasis now on surviving to the very end, and snatching that champion title off your opponent. Some legends have finally received a buff that should have come seasons ago, but a handful remain in the Apex Legends‘ archive, collecting dust and waiting for their moment to become meta once more. The usual suspects sit at the top of the pack, but Caustic has flown to the top with his new and improved kit. Playing edge just got a whole lot harder, but now there’s strategy to picking your comp based on where you’re going to land and where the zone pulls.

New faces join the meta, and while ranked feels very different from Season 25, you’ll notice some familiar names remain top dogs.

Apex Legends Season 26 Tier List

Legends

Tier	Legends
S
A+
A
B+
B
C
D

S Tier

1) Alter

A tougher kit to master than Ash’s, Alter remains the strongest legend in Apex. Her much-needed balance changes came from removing the Support perks off her Evo upgrade, but this doesn’t lessen Alter’s impact. She now acts as a rotational device to move her team around the map and to avoid third-parties. The perfect entry fragger, Alter moves the tides in her favor every single time as she dictates when to push and leave, whether the fight is going your way or not. Her ability to reach high ground with her portals as a team, alongside dipping out of a battle by phasing to another floor, is still the most effective way to move in a fight. This, alongside punishing anyone behind cover by kidnapping them, makes Alter the top legend to choose in Apex ranked.

2) Ash

Ash is super balanced now that she can no longer double dash and the move of her Arc Snares upgrades down to purple armor is incredibly helpful to those facing her. Purple shields takes longer to get so it’ll feel more fair versing an Ash now than it did last season. She’s also been moved to Skirmisher, which means her dash is the only speed boost she can get now. Ash is still an incredibly strong character to choose in every match, capable of defensive and offensive plays, moving her team around the map with high rotate potential, and still provides pressure with her Arc Snares.

A+ Tier

3) Lifeline

Still the strongest Support legend in Apex, Lifeline is the best combat medic that’s helpful in all situations. Unless you’re versing opponents who throw impeccable sky nades into your Halo, there’s not much people can do when you’re rezzing them inside Life’s ultimate. She can get good movement from gliding with D.O.C., provide healing from afar during a fight, and shoot while rezzing. What’s not to like? She’s the best Support pick for your team if you’re looking to reach Masters this season.

4) Bangalore

Bangalore is back to being part of the meta as her Smoke Launcher can destroy enemy util, making her the ultimate counter legend. The one downside is that her smokes can destroy teammates’ deployables too, which risks putting the team in a vulnerable position. She still has that Support potential with her smokes, alongside that much-needed versatility to play defensively or aggressively. Her ultimate is really strong right now, but we recommend picking self-heal over 100 damage smokes when you’re solo queueing, as you cannot communicate with randoms as effectively as three-stacking.

5) Caustic

The man, the myth, the legend has moved from our D tier, all the way into S. Now able to get all four of his Evo upgrades every match (something no other legend can do), Caustic is incredibly strong in building fights and holding space. While he doesn’t do much in open areas, he’s helpful in fortifying whatever space his teammates have created. Caustic’s mass quantity of Nox Gas, plus the ability to see through it, means Caustic is finally a viable pick this season.

6) Sparrow

Now more than ever, it’s imperative you scan Survey Beacons to see where people are going and to understand which fights you should and shouldn’t take. Getting to the endgame is top priority, but we all still want to fight. Using Survey Beacons is essential so you’re not accidentally starting a third-party situation. Sparrow’s ability to scan these from afar (just like Crypto) means he’s staying safe, but is also able to scan as many beacons as he’d like, making him incredibly strong for rotates. Sparrow is also a fantastic pick when it comes to tracking enemies during a fight, and his ultimate is incredibly strong (so long as there’s no Bangalore around).

A Tier

7) Wraith

Wraith is still an excellent pick for both defensive and offensive plays, having high survivability value both for herself and her team. She’s great paired with a Conduit or Lifeline who can heal her if she ever overextends or pushes solo. The only real issue with her is that Ash and Alter are overall stronger characters, making Wraith the third pick out of these void-shifting legends.

8) Wattson

Wattson has become one of the best Support legends this season and that’s because she’s been given Support perks while remaining a Controller character. Her Pylons can counter Fuse and ordnances, giving her time to rez teammates simply by standing next to her ultimate. Her Fences are stronger than ever as they electrify doors, negate Sparrow and Ash’s movement passives, and create makeshift cover/fortify space to make it difficult to push. She’s a fantastic defensive legend that just got stronger because of her Evo upgrade changes.

9) Revenant

Similar to Conduit, the importance of having shields is at its highest this season. Revenant having extra shields, much like a Controller legend, means he is at an advantage when stepping into a fight. He has a higher survivability than most legends simply for the fact that he gets these extra shields during his ultimate. This means getting one-clipped is far less likely. He’s a safer pick than Pathfinder and works well at all ranges, even if he can only do the occasional leap onto a low-health enemy or to evade incoming fire/enemy ultimates.

10) Conduit

Conduit is a great Support legend whose impact matters more and more with every Apex Evo update. Most fights will likely take place pitting blue shields against the others, meaning you want to have whatever you can use as an advantage against your opponent. In this case, Conduit provides shields that would have depleted from a single Peacekeeper pump or an R-99 and RE-45 spray. Her usefulness is becoming more evident, but she still isn’t as strong as Lifeline.

11) Pathfinder

Still the most entertaining legend to move around the map with, Pathfinder is great for solo queue or to play with the team. Able to play at any range, Path is the perfect entry damage legend that can reposition or coax enemies to waste their util. His downside is (as always) his massive hitbox, which is an absolute pain to deal with. With TTK getting quicker and quicker, surviving as a Path feels less and less likely. His huge hitbox means he’ll be brought down in an instant from the meta weapons this season, making him only an amazing pick with those who have mastered him.

B+ Tier

12) Newcastle

A difficult legend to master, Newcastle is a great pick if there’s no Bangalore in the lobby. Newcastle is a more situational character to choose as you don’t know who’ll be in the game with you and Bang isn’t a guarantee when Wattson, Lifeline, and Caustic are great too. Newcastle still has impressive resetting abilities and excels at holding space, but he doesn’t suit fighting against legends like Gibraltar, Watton, or Caustic. He more so punishes opponents overextending, which may not be as viable now that farming shields isn’t a guarantee.

13) Mirage

Mirage is a decent Support, but only if you’re being third-partied. It’s a bit of a weird one but the more hectic things get, the more likely Mirage can successfully reset your team. But I’ve found that the lower the shields, the higher the chance a team with Lifeline on it will outlive a Mirage team. There’s nothing overtly bad about Mirage, but Life is a far safer bet when it comes to your team’s survival. He has great ratting potential, unlike Life, but his usefulness really ends there.

14) Ballistic

Ballistic isn’t the obvious meta pick this season because his ultimate no longer helps the team. It still provides the unlimited ammo, but only Ballistic will get that speed boost. This, plus the fact that you can pick up an Amp that gives you unlimited ammo sort of makes Ballistic redundant. If you love rocking the Devotion, then Ballistic can still put that in his sling to get Turbocharger. Ballistic is more balanced now, but he was an absolute menace before as he stopped opponents from being able to fight back. His Whistler reduction means there’s now more strategy and timing to his kit.

15) Loba

Loba remains on the higher end of the scale as she’s a very balanced legend. Her usefulness is slightly lower now that Amps are in the game, meaning you may not need her Black Market as much this season. Her Bracelet still provides multiple ways to move around the map, be it to dart around a player in front of her, or to escape when she’s last alive. She’s on the weaker side for Support when compared to Mirage, Lifeline, Conduit, and Wattson because she’s vulnerable to incoming damage when rezzing her teammates.

B Tier

16) Vantage

Having a smaller hitbox than she used to, Vantage is stronger than ever, but she doesn’t suit every player. She’s meant to look for entry damage with her sniper ultimate, which is super strong now that there are fewer Evo Harvesters in the game. She’s harder to kill than Pathfinder, which is nice, but her movement still feels slow (especially on controller). There’s other legends that can move around quicker than her, plus her bat jump doesn’t help the team at all. At least Pathfinder has a way to move the entire team around for a rotation. Vantage is, however, a good pick for solo queue.

17) Fuse

Fuse can be great, but not in everyone’s hands. He only really works when countering a handful of legends, but with Wattson, Ash, and Alter being around, Fuse loses a lot of his impact. His Knuckle Clusters only act as an annoyance if you’re trapped in a building, waiting for the final ring to close behind you. His ultimate doesn’t do much when every movement legend (particularly Ash and Alter) can just avoid it. Fuse is a situational pick whose impact is determined purely by which legends are in the lobby with him.

18) Mad Maggie

Mad Maggie is like Fuse, a bit of a nuisance pick to pull people out from cover. She’s helpful against a Gibraltar or Lifeline, but there are stronger picks for aggressive characters. Legends like Ash, Pathfinder, Revenant, and Alter can avoid her ultimate completely and her team can easily be knocked and taken out of the fight if she’s using her Wrecking Ball to rotate. Ash, Alter, and Wraith have faster and safer ways to move around the map. Maggie relies on aggressively pushing a team that’s holding a building or space, but there are more viable legends compared to her.

19) Crypto

Crypto is the strongest scanning legend and has been for some time now. He pairs super well with Alter, but his kit is the hardest to master in Apex. His ability to break shields is incredibly important and powerful this season because it takes longer to get purple armor. But the issue with Crypto is that you cannot spend all match hiding away in your Drone, invisible to the world. Solo queueing with this legend won’t get you far as your team moves without you. But he’s a great pick if you’re three-stacking, especially in higher-ranked lobbies.

C Tier

20) Gibraltar

Gibby could work this season because his counters aren’t really around. If he’s the only Gibraltar in the lobby and reaches the endgame, which happens to have an open zone to end the match on, then his Bubble and ultimate will guarantee a victory. The problem with Gibby is that you have to play as a team, meaning he’s an impossible pick if you’re solo queueing. Communication is super important and his rezzing style isn’t nearly as strong as Lifeline’s. Life can rez and look to protect by covering the person being revived. Gibby can’t do this. Gibby’s usefulness lowers if everyone is W-keying because he (like Newcastle) relies heavily on timing his util.

21) Horizon

Horizon keeps getting battered with each season. Her upgrades leave little to be desired and she’s easier than ever to shoot off her Gravity Lift. But the real problem comes from which legends are picked most in a match. Wattson Pylons will eat the Black Hole ultimate, Bangalore can destroy it completely, and Alter can move herself and the team back to the Void Nexus, retreating from the fighting and wasting Horizon’s util. She’s a stronger pick than Octane, but there are way better options when it comes to movement and vertical fighting.

22) Seer

Seer’s an interesting one because I’ve found he does slow down the play, but this is unhelpful in the current climate where TTK is at its lowest it’s ever been and people are desperate for any KP they can get. It’s harder than ever to get purple shields and as zone playstyle has become more of a priority, it means there are more people alive throughout a match. This is great, but Seer’s slower-paced gameplay means a third-, fourth-, even fifth-party feels inevitable. Unless you’re going to play him aggressively, Seer’s kit doesn’t really suit Season 26.

23) Catalyst

Catalyst is a great legend, but she doesn’t fit into this meta. Our reasoning is because Caustic is simply way stronger and a more viable pick for building plays. While she’s good at holding space and decent at rotations or cutting the battlefield in half for endgames, Catalyst can’t do much against the main fighting legends: Bangalore, Ash, and Alter. Bangalore can destroy Cat’s fortified doors, even Caustic can deal persistent ticking damage with his gas, which is more of a nuisance to deal with than Cat’s Spikes. There’s just more benefit to picking Caustic this season than Catalyst.

24) Rampart

Because Caustic is significantly stronger than he was last season, and Newcastle is still a great pick for those who have mastered his challenging kit, Rampart could fit into a composition. But her usefulness is weighed down by Bangalore’s smokes that destroy her Amped Cover and Lifeline’s Halo that blocks every Sheila shot. She still has one of the fastest TTK weapons with her ultimate, but she’s not as helpful as a Caustic, Wattson, or Newcastle when it comes to holding space, especially as Alter can phase through any surface to negate Rampart’s Amped Cover outward damage.

D Tier

25) Valkyrie

Valkyrie is becoming less and less important with every big change Respawn makes. Now that Evo Harvester’s spawn rate is cut in half, you’re more likely to get shot out of the sky. Controller legends scanning Ring Consoles erect an Evac Tower that’s taller than a Jump Tower. Her movement is useful in building fights, but there are multiple viable legends that achieve the same playstyle at a faster rate (e.g., Pathfinder, Vantage, Ash, Revenant, Sparrow, even Alter). Her tactical is helpful to some degree, but is more situational. Bangalore can easily replace it with her smokes as it can break doors and deployables or provide cover to heal and rez.

26) Octane

Octane needs a completely new kit as his is rather outdated when so many better movement characters exist. This legend offers very little to help his teammates out. Even for solo queue experience, choosing a Wraith so you can play a hybrid of aggressive and defensive plays makes more sense than picking Octane. There’s no reason to pick him when there are many options on the table for fun movement and aggressive playstyles. Most legends can get some kind of speed boost now (e.g., Assault class, Ballistic ult, Sparrow trackers, and Mad Maggie’s Wrecking Ball). Octane needs a new kit if he’s ever going to be meta again.

27) Bloodhound

As Assault characters still get that speed boost after cracking an enemy shield, plus Ballistic is still a strong pick for ranked play, Bloodhound leaves little to be desired for your team comp. While Crypto is the hardest legend to effectively use (especially in solo queue), this legend is significantly stronger than Bloodhound because of his continual UAV to highlight enemies, their deployables, and break Wattson fences (which are incredibly useful this season as her pick-rate will surely be higher than last). Bloodhound doesn’t suit this meta when Crypto pairs better with Alter.

Best Team Compositions

1) Alter / Ash / Lifeline

Evo Upgrade

Tier	Alter	Ash	Lifeline
Blue	Eye to Another World	Dual Breach	Extended Flight
Purple	Void Breacher	Greedy Snare	Enhanced Radio

Weapons

Primary	30-30 Repeater Nemesis Hemlok	G7 Scout 30-30 Repeater	30-30 Repeater Spitfire Bocek
Secondary	Peacekeeper RE-45 R-99	RE-45 R-99 Volt	Peacekeeper RE-45

2) Ash / Bangalore / Caustic

Evo Upgrade

Tier	Ash	Bangalore	Caustic
Blue	Dual Breach	Electric Smoke	Breathe It In
Purple	Greedy Snare	ECM Payload	Gas Fighter

Weapons

Primary	G7 Scout 30-30 Repeater	30-30 Repeater G7 Scout Nemesis	30-30 Repeater G7 Scout Spitfire R-301 Carbine
Secondary	RE-45 R-99 Volt	RE-45 R-99 Peacekeeper Prowler Volt	Peacekeeper R-99 Mozambique Prowler

3) Bangalore / Mirage / Sparrow

Evo Upgrade

Tier	Bangalore	Mirage	Sparrow
Blue	Electric Smoke	Renaissance Man	Hunt Target
Purple	ECM Payload	Me Two	Alternate Mode

Weapons

Primary	30-30 Repeater G7 Scout Nemesis	G7 Scout 30-30 Repeater Bocek R-301 Carbine Flatline	Bocek Nemesis Hemlok 30-30 Repeater G7 Scout R-301 Carbine
Secondary	RE-45 R-99 Peacekeeper Prowler Volt	R-99 Peacekeeper Mozambique Prowler Volt	Peacekeeper Mastiff Volt RE-45 Prowler

4) Alter / Bangalore / Lifeline

Evo Upgrade

Tier	Alter	Bangalore	Lifeline
Blue	Eye to Another World	Electric Smoke	Extended Flight
Purple	Void Breacher	ECM Payload	Tactical Cooldown+

Weapons

Primary	30-30 Repeater Nemesis Hemlok	30-30 Repeater G7 Scout Nemesis	30-30 Repeater Spitfire Bocek R-301 Carbine
Secondary	Peacekeeper R-99 RE-45	RE-45 R-99 Peacekeeper Prowler Volt	Peacekeeper RE-45

5) Ash / Lifeline / Sparrow

Evo Upgrade

Tier	Ash	Lifeline	Sparrow
Blue	Dual Breach	Extended Flight	Hunt Target
Purple	Greedy Snare	Enhanced Radio	Alternate Mode

Weapons

Primary	G7 Scout 30-30 Repeater	30-30 Repeater Spitfire Bocek R-301 Carbine	Bocek Nemesis Hemlok 30-30 Repeater G7 Scout R-301 Carbine
Secondary	RE-45 R-99 Volt	Peacekeeper RE-45	Peacekeeper Mastiff Volt RE-45 Prowler

6) Revenant / Sparrow / Wattson

Evo Upgrade

Tier	Revenant	Sparrow	Wattson
Blue	Ultimate Cooldown	Hunt Target	Help is Here
Purple	Agile Assassin	Alternate Mode	Power Pylon

Weapons

Primary	Devotion 30-30 Repeater Flatline	Bocek Nemesis Hemlok 30-30 Repeater G7 Scout R-301 Carbine	G7 Scout 30-30 Repeater Nemesis Hemlok
Secondary	RE-45 Peacekeeper Mozambique Havoc R-99	Peacekeeper Mastiff Volt RE-45 Prowler	R-99 RE-45 Peacekeeper

Apex Legends Weapon Tier List (Season 26)

The post Apex Legends Season 26 Tier List: Best Legends and Comps appeared first on ComicBook.com.