One of Bloodhound's unlockable quips goes, "A bad beginning draws a bad end," and it's easy to take that little gem of conventional wisdom for granted. Making it to the endgame in a match of Apex Legends is a journey that you really want to start off on the right foot, and the dro🍨p is the first ste💜p towards it.
A good or bad landing is what sets those initial odds for or against your team, respectively, so it probably goes without saying that you want to put some planning into it. I know I've had my fair share of disasters and triumphs when it comes to skydiving over Kings Canyon, anyway. In fact, I've managed to have enough of both to feel dangerously close to having a few thoughts on the ma🦄tter.
Actually, why stop at a few? Why don't I have... I don't know, exactly twenty of them? Then I could organize them into some sort of itemized list and share them with strangers via the internet! Capital idea, if I don't say so myself. Anyway, let's quit wasting all this valuable time that w🐭e should be spending bringing home the wins and get into it. As always, share your own thoughts in the comments below!
20 The Angle Of Approach Matte𒉰rs 🦹
The dropship will start from ⭕a different side of the map every game. While this doesn't drastically alter the gameplay, it does impact which drop si🌳tes are easily accessible, and which ones aren't.
It may not be a conclusively determining factor when it comes to how the match will play out, it d♛oes mean that plans are going to change concerning where and when you'll make the jump, so leave the solid decisions off the table ꦆuntil you've got an idea of what you'll be working with.
19 🌱 Most Overlooked Location: Theꦐ Pit
If there's onᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚe thing I've noticed so far, it's that the Pit is probably one of the most underutilized drop locations in the game. This probably has to do with the fact that it looks more like sce🌳nery than a point of interest, being tucked away into a mountain towards the northeast of the map.
It's also a high tie❀r loot location, but the loot on-site isn't necessarily what makes it valuable.
The Pit's value is its central location, as practically every locale you'd rotate into from there is at least mid-tier, with all of them being very close by and easily accessible. You get a lot of options landing here and it's usually not too highly co𓆉ntested, making it a pretty solid call for teams with a "big picture" mentality.
18 Spreading Out & Ke♊eping Togetheඣr
You don't want to spread out too far from your mates, but geജtting a little breathing room is a step towards success regardless of drop conditions. Dropping clustered too close together isn't advantageous for anyone, causing you to compete for loot within your squad, thus♉ delaying everyone from getting totally kitted out. More importantly, it slows you from covering the area and moving on.
If you've managed an ideal, peaceful drop, then spreading out a little wider over a zone will allow your squad to coꩲver an area much faster, expediting your rotation to the next loot area or ring.
17 Guns Blaz⛄ing: The Hot Zone
The "Hot Zone" is a randomly selected point ꦐof interest that has its loot upgraded, easily recognized by a big, blue beacon and carrying a strong potential to find weapons that are already fully kitted out with maximum tier attachments.
Obviously, it's going to be a✱ hotly contested area. So if that's your go🐎al, expect heavy and immediate resistance. Hit it as early as humanly possible, keep your squad together despite the temptation to run wild, and consider the idea of looting and running over sticking around for the madness.
16 Landing On The Suꦫpply Ship ℱ
The supply ship is essentially a mobile hot zone minus꧅ the fully kitted weapons. It's loaded with all sorts of goodies, making it a tempting target as a drop location. It spawns randomly on the map, but its path wil❀l almost always intersect the dropship's at some point.
Keep in mind that while🙈 it's slow, it is still a moving target, so adjust your drop angle acco⭕rdingly and make sure to keep it high enough.
This one's going to be hit or miss. It's either going to be really hot and confined to very tight quarters, or it's going to bꦇe a breeze that leaves yo💧ur squad with a lot of advantageous equipment. The thing to keep in mind is that you can bail at any time if it looks like the situation is going sideways, and you're unlikely to be followed.
15 Location, Location, Lo꧟cation 💛
Naturally, every possible location is going to come with a set of advantages and disadvantages. The primary considerati🍌on is going to be loot, of course, and there's a handy reference guide for location loot tiers
In terms of popularity, you can usually expect more resistance in areas near the dropship's starting point and any location towards the centralized area of any quadrant on the map. Skulltown and Cascades, for instance, ar🙈e almost always a guaranteed fight from the second you touch down. The hot zone and supply ship come with their own considerations, which are addressed in their own entries.
14 𒐪 Plan Ahead
Don't just choose a drop location - choose a path to victory. If you're spreading out, ping your ind🤪ividual locations before you land. Talk about and choose your rotation options, preferably two. One as a primary, the other as 🐼a secondary if you're short on time or things go wrong.
Maybe even talk weapon preferences so your team has an idea of what to ping for one another – just don't get too caught💮 up on that during the loot scramble.
If your location's going to be hot, pick a rally point where your team can consolidate and cover one another after the initial loot scramble. One🌸 of the most common problems you'll experience in a hot zone is being able to get your team together during the chaos.
13 ꩲ The Need For Speed 𒊎
When dropping, there are a couple of gauges on either side of your screen. The one on the left-hand side tracks your velocity. You'll notice that it increases as you drop straight down, and slows down as 🐓you level out.
Getting onto the ground as soon as possible after jumping is of critical importance, so you'll want to pay attention to it. When dropping nearby, this isn't much of an issue, as dropping straight down easily hits the maximum speed rating of 150. If your destination is a little further out, alternate between leveling out towards your location and dropping s🃏traight down in a "stair step" pattern, with practice you should be able to maintain at least 140 comfortably.
12 🏅 Mind The Mountains 🏅
Approa🅘ching an area of incredibly high elevation could cause you to drop out of jump mode, so they're best given a pretty wide berth when closing in. Lan൲ding on them isn't likely to provide any real lasting advantage, as the greater majority of them are so tall that they count as "out of bounds."
It's obviously best to choose a path that won't put you at risk of an unexpected and risky shortfall, but if it's necessary, take great care to give yourself enough room to maneuver around those obstructions. The🦋 game will detect you as "landing" frꦑom an annoyingly generous distance away.
11 🏅Notice Tactical Advantages ⛄
You'll eventually learn ✨the layout of the map and all of the relevant points of interest, but until then it helps to study the location as you're hurtling towards it. This is of particular importance if you're expecting a messy bout of fighting shortly after you've touched down.
Dropping onto high ground or choice bits of cover in a contested location can give you the edg🐬e when it comes to making it out of th🐓ere alive, and dropping onto the bigger piles of loot will give you more options to defend yourself with during the ensuing melee.