In this article, we’ll go through every Skirmisher character in Apex Legends for Season 16 and rank them from worst to best.
Despite the surprise launch, Apex Legends managed to capture the attention of FPS and Battle Royale enthusiasts worldwide. Currently, it is a playground for more than 130 million players, and the player count keeps rising with every seasonal update.
However, Apex Legends hasn’t always been like this. The game has evolved a lot since its release, and Respawn continues to do so with every new season. For example, with the game’s release, the game only had one map named Kings Canyon. But, with time, Respawn introduced 4 new maps with unique features and layouts.
Similarly, upon the game’s initial release, Apex Legends only had 8 Legends. But, starting from Season 1, Respawn has added a bunch of new characters to the game. And every season except for Season 16 saw the debut of a new character with unique abilities.
Right now, there are 24 unique Legends in the game. Ballistic was the last character to take a spot in the Apex Legends roster. Every Legend in the game has different abilities and characteristics. Similarly, they have different roles to perform.
Although the game started with four classes: Assault, Recon, Support, and Defense, Respawn figured it was almost impossible to fit all the characters into these four groups. So, in Season 16, Apex Legends underwent a massive Legend-class rework across all Legend categories.
Read More:Â Apex Legends: Best Assault Legends in Season 17
New Legend Classes Explained
As mentioned earlier, there has been a massive Legend class overhaul in Season 16. Respawn introduced a new Legend class called Skirmisher. On the other hand, the developers changed the Defense class to Controller. In addition to that, Gibraltar and Newcastle now fall under the Support Legends class.
In Season 16, Respawn also added unique perks for all Legend categories. These perks will allow all Legends to have specific traits apart from their main three abilities. The perks are:
- Assault: More ammo/stack in the inventory. And they can access Red Supply Bins’ secret compartment, which will give them weapon attachment upgrades.
- Skirmisher: Reveals Care Package weapons upon looking at them.
- Recon: Survey Beacon scanning. Upon scanning the Beacon, the team can see all enemies’ locations on the radar for a brief period.
- Controller: Controller Legends can scan Ring Console. Upon scanning Ring Console, they can see the next circle.
- Support: Support Legends can now craft dead teammates’ Banners from a replicator. Additionally, all Support Legends can now open the secret compartment of the Red Supply Bins, which gives them extra health items.
What is Skirmisher Class Legends?
Skirmisher Legends are those types of characters who can get into a fight and, if needed, can get out of there using their abilities. These Legends are escape artists who specialize in mobility.
Moreover, Skirmisher Legends can scan Supply Drops or Care Packages, revealing the hidden weapons inside. This may seem an underwhelming perk compared to other classes; however, knowing the weapon inside the Care Package can help you and your team to win, especially in ranked matches.
How Many Skirmisher Legends are there in Apex Legends?
Currently, in Season 17, there are 5 Skirmisher Legends in the game. They are Wraith, Pathfinder, Octane, Horizon, and Valkyrie. Aside from the common Recon perk, each Skirmisher Legend has its own set of abilities.
All Skirmisher Legends Ranked
In this section, we’ll rank every Skirmisher Legend from worst to best. We’ll put these characters in order based on their popularity and effectiveness in the current meta of the Battle Royale environment.
Ranking Skirmisher Legends is a bit trickier than other characters. Most Skirmisher Legends are really good as a solo. However, Apex Legends is a team game, and you cannot always win as a solo. So, this Skirmisher Legends ranking will focus on their capability to provide for the team as well as their individual abilities.
5. Octane
Octane is an adrenaline junkie and a very fun Legend to use in casual matches. If you like tap-strafing and wall bouncing, playing with Octane can give you so much joy, thanks to his Stim and Launch Pad.
However, in ranked and competitive matches, Octane isn’t really valuable compared to the top Skirmisher Legends on our list. Octane is more of a solo character who is good on his own, but his abilities don’t provide much value in team composition.
4. Wraith
Before Wraith’s Tactical: Into the Void nerf, she was, hands down, the best Legend in the game. Wraith could enter any fight and use her phase as a jail-free card to escape any unpleasant situation. However, that was nerfed in the 5.1 patch.
Not only that, Wraith underwent several nerfs over the lifetime of Apex Legends, including a Hitbox size increase, Low profile damage, and Portal nerf. To add insult to injury, Respawn even nerfed her “Naruto run” animation in a later update.
However, Respawn realized that Wraith had been under fire for far too long, and it was time to show her some love. So, in Season 16, Respawn gave her some well-deserved buff to her Portal. Nonetheless, it is still insufficient to make her take the number 1 spot on the list. Regardless, she is still a solid pick in Season 17.
3. Pathfinder
Pathfinder is a “high-risk, high-reward” Legend in the game. The robot is arguably the best movement Legend Apex has to offer. A veteran Pathfinder main can play with his opponents. Whether you’re in a building or on plain ground, Pathfinder’s Grappling Hook can get you in or out of any fight and cover vast distances.
Yet, it is also a double-edged sword. A bad grapple can cost you and your team to lose a match. Not to mention, Pathfinder’s max Grappling Hook cooldown is 30 seconds. So, you are basically being punished for covering a long distance.
However, Pathfinder’s Zipline is currently powerful after the Season 16 update. Respawn has increased Pathfinder’s Zipline size to 200 meters. Moreover, you can now travel faster with the Zipline. You can also recharge your Ultimate just by scanning the Care Packages, which seems overpowered, considering you can even get three back-to-back Ziplines.
Considering Pathfinder’s overall abilities, he is still one of the best Skirmisher Legends in the game. However, his abilities are kind of hit or miss and not always beneficial for the whole team. As a result, Pathfinder is our number 3 Skirmisher Legend in Season 17.
2. Horizon
Although Horizon is a Skirmisher Legend, people use her as an offensive Legend to take the lead. Horizon’s Tactical: Gravity Lift can elevate her and her team to take any high ground. Moreover, it can be used to bring downed teammates back to a safer position.
Horizon can use her Gravity Lift and Black Hole to initiate a push. If the Ultimate is utilized properly, a tea with Horizon can win almost any 3v3 fight. Her Passive: Spacewalk is also pretty useful when using Gravity Cannon or jumping from high grounds.
All her abilities are helpful in most combat scenarios. Moreover, she is the perfect Legend who can serve as both Skirmisher and an Assault Legend. So, in Season 17, she holds a position in our top 2 Skirmisher Legends.
1. Valkyrie
Valkyrie joined the Apex games with the highly anticipated Legacy update. Superior mobility and repositioning capability have made her quite essential for most squads.
On top of that, her Passive highlights enemies from far distances. This ability can also work in conjunction with her Ultimate ability to enter the zone from far distances or fly over squads that are gatekeeping zones. In season 13, Respawn slightly changed her spinning ability during skyward diving. However, it did not have a major impact on her pick rate.
In Season 16, Valkyrie was put in the Skirmisher class. However, except for the ring scanning ability, nothing else has changed. So, she is still a must-pick Legend in Season 17.
Apex Legends: Best Recon Legends in Season 17
Final Verdict
Every character has unique and useful abilities in Apex Legends. If utilized properly, any Legend can lead you to a foolproof win. However, some Legends are always preferred over others for particular maps, game modes, and situations. This list is based on the Legend’s abilities and how well they fit in the current meta. So try them out, and see what works best for you.
