Apex Legends is known as a Battle Royale...but there's actually a ton of different modes you can play. Here's a guide to the games modes in Apex Legends.
Apex Legends is a Battle Royale. Everyone knows that. You drop in, you try to wipe the other teams, and if you're the last left standing then you win. But is this all that Apex Legends has to offer? Absolutely not. Limited-Time-Modes are regularly introduced as part of seasonal events, and besides these, we have permanent access to a number of PVP, training and ranked modes, separate from the classic BR. What are all these modes, though? And, how do they work?
What Modes Can You Play In Apex Legends?
Training
Let's start with the mode you need to play before you can play any other: Training. We won't need to spend much time here, this is the kind of classic 15-minute tutorial that every Battle Royale game feels it's necessary to produce. They don't really go into enough depth to properly prepare you for success, but you learn the basics. In Apex Legends, the tutorial asks you to jump through the usual hoops: learn how to move, use equipment, revive teammates and call in support. All said and done, it takes about 20 minutes of playtime to complete the tutorial, and then you're allowed to play other modes.
Firing Range
Besides basic training, you always have access to the firing range if you want to test out different weapons or just get some aim-training in before the match. It's a firing range, there's nothing exciting or new that makes this different to other firing ranges, but that's fine. It does the job it's intended for. And that's more than can be said for some of Apex's competitors, which (weirdly) still don't have firing ranges.
Battle Royale
Okay, now we get to the core mode of Apex Legends: Battle Royale. In Apex Legends, Battle Royale starts with 60 players, and works as usual: as the playable area of the map gets smaller, you have to find loot and use it to wipe each other out - last team standing wins. You can play Battle Royale in duos or trios, and you can play on the following four maps right now:
- Kings Canyon
- World's Edge
- Olympus
- Storm Point
Arena
The Arena is Apex Legends' round-based PVP mode. It's very well-thought-out, and plays like CS:GO, Valorant, or Vanguard's Champion Hill. Basically, in Arena, you have no respawns and must eliminate the other team to win a round, but over the rounds you accumulate points with which you can buy new weapons and equipment with. So you start with pistols in the "econ round" and then build up your points, buy an AR or an SMG and get more deadly as the rounds go on. In Arena, you need to win 3 rounds to be victorious (but you have to be two clear points ahead of your opponent to win). This is a 3v3 mode, and it's available on the following maps:
- Habitat
- Encore
- Overflow
- Party Crasher
- Phase Runner
Ranked Battle Royale
Ranked Battle Royale is pretty self-explanatory, it uses the same rules as Battle Royale, but you have a rank which goes up or down after each match depending on how well you performed. Your rank is dependent on how many RP or ranked points you have. If you come first then you get 125 RP, but if you get 14th or worse, then you gain no RP. And just entering matches costs RP, this is why only the best players can rise through the ranks and continue to grow their RP.
The ranks go Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master, Apex Predator. But if you want to get all the way to Apex Predator, you're going to need to pull out moves like this:
Ranked Arenas
Ranked Arenas plays exactly as the normal Arena mode does, but you have a rank which goes up or down depending on your performance. The same ranks apply as in Ranked Battle Royale, but the ELO system is much simpler and less complicated. It's as simple as this - you go up in overall ranking when your team wins, you go down when your team loses.
Will Apex Legends Get A Solo Mode?
Apex Legends might get a dedicated solo Battle Royale mode, because they've already had solos as a limited-time mode in the past, but they haven't said anything about making it permanent. So yes, they obviously could make a solo mode, but for now, at least, it seems like solo BR will only come back occasionally as part of events. As soon as we hear anything about a solo mode becoming permanent, we'll update this article, but until then, if you're just looking for good single-player fun, why not try the 2022 game of the year?
If you're looking for a great single-player game, then maybe we can interest you in this cozy little RPG, coming soon:
Does Apex Legends Have PVE?
No, Apex Legends does not have a dedicated PVE mode like a campaign or a co-op horde mode. That said, there are elements of PVE in the Storm Point Battle Royale map. Basically there are neutral A.I. enemies, Spiders and Prowlers, that will try to attack any players who get too close to them. So Apex is only really as PVE as a game like Fortnite is; there are bots on the map, but you can't play exclusively against those bots in a dedicated mode.