Apex Legends was one of the most popular games of 2019, a surprise release from developer Respawn, creators of the popular Titanfall franchise. Though Apex Legends is one of those games that’s better played in a team, there’s plenty of users looking to check out a solo mode. Unfortunately, even if your team is new to the game and relatively unskilled, an extra gun or two can make a real difference in becoming an Apex Champion. In fact, you can get in-game XP bonuses for recruiting friends before entering a match, making it a no-brainer to focus on team composition instead of playing solo.
There isn’t an official permanent solo mode in Apex Legends yet, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have options. Let’s take a look at how to play solo in Apex Legends.
Iron Crown Collection Event
There was a limited solos event between August 13th and August 27th 2019. As part of the Iron Crown Collection Event, players enjoyed two weeks of the then, brand-new, solo mode in Apex Legends. Though the trailer posted to the Apex Legends Twitter account didn’t make it clear what the actual event will contained, it did show Bangalore and Bloodhound standing alone. Upon the release of the event, developers noticed that characters with a teamplay role became pretty much useless in the solos event. Since the event there have been no signs of a solo mode being added to the game.
Playing Apex Legends Solo
While we wait for a permanent addition of solo mode in Apex Legends, there are some other ways to treat it like a solo game anyway. You don’t have to talk, aren’t tied to your team and can go your own way whenever you like. While you drop as a team, you can separate from them and jump alone and make your own way across the map. Selecting your character to balance the others during the match preview with your two random teammates is a big part of the game. As is the ping system, guided drops with the Jumpmaster and the ability to coordinate without ever saying a word to your teammates.
You will see your team on the map, hear their pings and voiceovers and hear any voice comms if you haven’t muted them. It isn’t the best way to play by any stretch and arguably, teamplay is one of the things that makes Apex Legends different to PUBG or Fortnite, but it’s your game so you can play it your way.
The upside of solo play in Apex Legends
If you prefer to play solo, you can select your own drop point, keep all the loot you find and stalk your way across the map as a true hunter. You will still be paired with two other players at launch unless there aren’t enough for a full team, which has happened to me quite a lot.
All you need to do is drop, separate from your team during the drop and go your own way. Try to travel far from your team to avoid confusion and ignore pings, calls or any questions that may come from them. It’s a harsh way to play but it’s the only way to play solo right now.
You’re on your own but also not dependent on two random players whose ability may not be even close to yours. You may know the prime drop points, how to drop faster and how to get purple items quickly. If you don’t want to be slowed down by others, solo is the way to go.
The downside of solo play in Apex Legends
While there are advantages to only depending on yourself, there are also downsides. At its core, Apex Legends is a team game built around team play. There is usually enough loot to go around and cooperative teams are usually worth more than the sum of their parts. The main downsides of solo play in Apex Legends is that you will almost always be outnumbered, you won’t have two other pairs of eyes looking for loot or enemies and you will have nobody around to revive you. If you go down, your match is over. While that can add an enjoyable edge to matches, it can also lead to some very short ones!
The other downside to solo play is in the characters. Each Legend has strengths and weaknesses and there is no one character rounded enough to play solo. Gibraltar may be the strongest but he can be clunky, playing Lifeline or Wraith might be fun but they are both quite squishy. Bangalore is fairly rounded as long as you find lots of medpacks and armor but isn’t perfect. Bloodhound or Pathfinder don’t hit hard enough to play solo either. Respawn have said new Legends will be introduced during the first year so perhaps more solo-friendly characters will be available then.
I’m certainly not going to tell you how to play but I would suggest Apex Legends is better as a team game. PUBG and Fortnite are ideal for lone wolves but this game makes teamplay so easy and so intuitive that it seems a shame not to play it that way.
What do you think? Do you like playing Apex Legends solo or as a team? Tell us about it below!
