Respawn made game-changing alterations to Apex Legends by introducing EVO Armor skill upgrades. Legends can improve their abilities depending on their Armor Level. These changes will significantly impact how well characters perform in fights and other situations. With all these changes in Apex Season 20, which Legends will top the meta?
S Tier
Bangalore
Bangalore skyrocketed to the top after the EVO shield progression. Her EVO 2’s Ultimate Artillery upgrade allows her to use the artillery barrage frequently, providing good offensive openings or defensive cover when retreating. Banga’s EVO 3 improvements make her truly shine in many aspects. Cover Me allows the team to spot enemies who trigger Double Time, which helps them focus their attention in the right direction. Meanwhile, Refuge’s HP regen gives Bangalore more passive recovery and functionality during fights.
Horizon
Horizon has always been on S-Tier due to how easily you can use her in fights and how well she synergizes with other Legends. However, her recent EVO 3 upgrades cement her place at the top even more. Tactical Upgrade reduces her Tac CD by 5, which lets her spam her Gravity ability for quick repositioning. Ultimate Upgrade reduces her Ult CD by 14%, which makes her even more annoying to face in successive team fights.
Lifeline
They just made Lifeline even better with the recent armor progression. Her EVO 2 options are increased reviving speed or –10 CD on her Tac, which made her even more reliable in offensive and defensive situations. However, her EVO 4 Last Stand makes her even more unbeatable by giving her a self-revive. If you are more team-oriented, you can opt for the Allied Support option to get a Supply Drop instead of the standard Care Package.
Wattson
The electrifying inventor just became one of the strongest defensive Legends in the game. She would dominate the meta if she only got an upgrade to her tactical. Instead, her armor level perks focus on her ULT, which made her Pylon even more reliable. EVO 2 Amped Revive is the only non-Ultimate-oriented upgrade since it only allows 50HP recovery to revived allies. EVO 2 Renewable Energy transforms intercepted projectiles into usable Arc Stars, which gives teams a reliable source of ordinances. It can be hard to choose between EVO 3 Power Pylon and Full Coverage because the former increases the Ult’s HP and armor recovery capacity, and the latter adds another charge of the Pylon but with less healing efficacy. EVO 3 Full Coverage also speeds up the process of consuming an Accelerant.
Wraith
Our favorite phase walker’s kit has always been reliable for solo and team play, but they became even more efficient with the new upgrades. EVO 2 Tactical Upgrade’s -5s to the Tac cooldown ensures that players can use her Phase Shift sooner, while EVO 2 Sixth Sense increases teams’ awareness by triggering when Squad Count increases. Both are viable options, depending on what you need. EVO 3 Ultimate Upgrade reduces the CD of the Teleport by 20%, which doesn’t need further explanation on why it's good. Meanwhile, EVO 3 Quick Shift reduces the wind-up time by 20%, which lets you enter the void much faster.
A Tier
Bloodhound
The only reason why BH is on A Tier is because his EVO 2 upgrades are lackluster. Players can still reliably use their kit at maximum efficiency without any enhancements. His EVO 2 improvements offer a –5s Tac cooldown or increased Ult charged when using a White Raven. Most of the time, these options don’t seem that useful because you don’t like spamming your Tac to avoid detection, and White Raven requires specific conditions to appear. However, EVO 3 options are top-tier upgrades because you can get 25HP recovery on knocks. At the same time, the ULT is active or increases the duration of Double Tac full-body scan, which are both incredible in fights.
Catalyst
Catalyst's improved kit lands her a spot on A tier due to her increased offensive capabilities. Her EVO 2’s Prolific Piercings is the most notable blue upgrade because it increases her active spikes, which enhances her defensive power. The real icing on the cake is her EVO 3 options: No Show and Long Form. The former increases the lifetime of her ult by 20%, while her latter extends the debuff duration. These upgrades give Catalyst more flexibility on either offense or defense.
Caustic
If we can rank Caustic based purely on his defensive capabilities, he would undeniably already be on S-Tier. His Evo 2’s Diffuse increases the radius of his Ult by 20%. Meanwhile, his EVO 3 options, Residual Toxins and Breathe It In, make him a menace in his domain. The former extends the duration of his Nox Vision, while the latter gives him HP regen while inside his Nox Gas. All these improvements significantly improve his standing as one of the best controllers in the game.
Gibraltar
Gibby gets more love from the recent changes as the armor upgrades make him one of the better Support Legends in the game. You can go for a more offensive style with his Killer Handling auto-reload shotgun ammo on knocks or for increased support capabilities with Bigs Up, which gives allies 50HP when revived. EVO 4 Baby Purple and Bubble Bunker increases the efficiency of his dome to create more breathing space for the time. The former increases the size and reduces the CD of his Tac, while the latter extends its duration by 4s.
Loba
The game’s professional thief was already a valuable team member due to her ultimate ability, and she just became even more efficient at her job. EVO 2 Market Expansion increases the range of her tac by 25%, which means teams gain more options on which things to take. If you are a solo player, you would appreciate Shopping Spree more because it allows Loba to take one extra item. On top of these upgrades, her EVO 4 improvements make her an even better escape artist, as she can either choose to decrease the cooldown of her tac or extend its range and height.
Newcastle
It's an excellent time for support mains as Newcastle enters the higher tiers with his improved kit. His Mobile Shield just became more resilient with the EVO 2 options. Resilient Support increases the shield HP by 250, while Mobile Support increases its travel speed. These choices can alter Newcastle’s playstyle to be more offensive or defensive. EVO 3 Revive Master provides allies with 75 HP on revive, while EVO 3 Stronghold increases the ULT HP by 250 and extends its energized barrier by 2 mins. While most of these improvements focus on maximizing his role as a supporting character, they are flexible enough for offensive purposes in high-level plays.
Pathfinder
Pathy's kit gets significant boosts with the recent Apex Legends Season 20 update, and his upgrades are effective in low and high Elo lobbies. EVO 2 allows players to access Survey Beacons or Ring Consoles. While these perks might seem less valuable, they might be good when you lack a Recon or Controller legend. What makes Pathfinder shine this season is his EVO 3 upgrades. Death Grapple resets his Tac on knock, and Zipline Zen provides a 25% damage reduction for a short time after the initial installation of the Zipline. These perks considerably boost Pathy’s maneuverability and durability while moving.
Revenant
The assassin’s kit terrifies most opponents already, so improving his abilities would surely boost his efficiency. While his upgrades focus solely on his Tac, these enhancements make him incredibly mobile, which makes him both a threat and a hard target. EVO 2 Tactical Upgrade reduces his essential ability’s CD by 5s, which is helpful for traversal. Meanwhile, EVO 3 Full Send decreases the time needed to charge up by 20%, which lets him Revenant travel further with less prep. EVO 3 Kill Thrill refreshes his Tac every time he knocks someone down, which allows him to keep jumping around during fights. His increased mobility made him even more threatening in team fights.
Valkyrie
Players have always found Valk an annoying enemy due to her mobility, and now, she becomes even more mobile with her armor upgrades. EVO 2 Aerial Experts increases her Tac’s horizontal speed and acceleration, which allows her to reach new heights. Meanwhile, EVO 2 Extra Thrusters increases the height reach of her Ult by 15%, so her team can travel further and easily bypass terrain. Her EVO 4 Full Coverage and Fuel Depot make Valk even more competitive. The former changes the pattern of her Missile Swarm to cover more area in terms of length to improve their accuracy. The latter adds more fuel to her Jetpack by 25%, giving her more horizontal mobility for extended periods.
B Tier
Ash
The graceful murder machine stands at B-tier with her improved kit. Most of the armor upgrades focus on her passive and Arc Snare. Unfortunately, only the latter are useful in actual combat, and these snares require extreme accuracy and timing for practical usage. The improved passive allows players to be more offensive because it enables them to hunt down nearby enemy squads, but you can only do so after a squad wipe or fight, which isn’t ideal for many teams.
Ballistic
The veteran soldier sits comfortably on this tier with minor improvements to his abilities. There aren’t any notable applications for Ammuvision and Care Package Insight other than resource management. His EVO 3 upgrade focuses on the Smart Bullet, where you can choose an additional charge or increased duration. His Tac requires good game sense and accuracy to be correctly utilized, which undermines its effectiveness for many players. However, Ballistic’s overall kit still allows more aggressive gameplay for teams with his ult.
Conduit
Conduit's improvements aren’t bad. It’s just that there are better options with stronger upgrades, especially if you are playing solo. However, this Legend becomes invaluable in coordinated team-play with her new armor progression. EVO 2 Shield Inclined lets her quickly locate Shield Batteries, which is helpful in many situations. Her Access Denied option can be beneficial due to the increased radius of her Ult, but it requires good game sense for practical usage. Her EVO 3 upgrades are good because you can gain an additional Tac charge with less efficiency or increased Tac range, which further cements her as a reliable support Legends.
Fuse
The beloved demolition experts lowers the skill required to play him with the recent changes, which makes him more accessible to newer players. However, they don’t significantly improve his efficiency in high-level gameplay. EVO 2 Walk It Off reduces the damage taken and slows down the effect on Fuse when affected by his ULT, which shouldn’t be happening in the first place. EVO 3 Wreckless reduces the explosive damage you take by 25%, which is more likely to occur in closed-quarter fights while you chuck out all the nades in your bag. EVO 3 Explosive is probably his most delightful upgrade because you gain a short speed burst when successfully landing the Knuckle Cluster.
Maggie
The Rebel Warlord got even more menacing with her new perks. Despite being in B-Tier, her upgrades make her outstanding in higher-level gameplay. EVO 2 options can provide Maggie with one more charge of Riot drill or increase its size and depth, making her Tac more threatening. Her most significant upgrade is her EVO 3 Fireball, which adds a thermite fire on detonation. Her ULT can turn the tides in her team’s favor when used correctly.
Mirage
As a solo Legend, Mirage’s upgrades give him more fighting capabilities due to how annoying his Decoys are. Still, he lacks any significant boosts to his kit as a Support Legend. The only Support-oriented option he gained is Revive Master, which gives allies 75 HP on revive. EVO 2 More of Me adds one more Ult Decoy and reduces its CD by 30s. However, his most significant upgrades are the EVO 3 options, Me Two, and Bamboozle Bonus. The former adds one more charge of Decoy and allows two of them to be active simultaneously, while the latter Refreshes the Tac when someone shoots the clones. Mirage is only on B-tier because his kit doesn’t help him become a better Support Legend but a master deceiver.
Octane
Our beloved Daredevil stays in the lower tiers due to the high skill needed to use him effectively. Despite his upgrades, players must still be good at movement in Apex Legends to utilize the perks. EVO 2 Thick Skin is the only option good at Level 2 Armor. For EVO 3, we can either go for Aerial Agility, which allows quick direction change after double-jumping with the Ult pad, or Mad Hops, which provides another charge of Launch Pad. These perks might seem lackluster, but high-skilled players can find ways to put them to good use in many situations.
C Tier
Crypto
The Korean Hacker receives lackluster upgrade options, which lands him on C-Tier. EVO 2 Recovery Protocol reduces the tac cooldown by 10 seconds, which shouldn’t matter because you don’t want the drone to get destroyed in any given situation. EVO 2 Ultimate Upgrade does increase his offensive capabilities because it reduces the cooldown by 20%, which allows for more frequent usage. EVO 3 Wider Network is the best purple upgrade because it increases the range of Neurolink and EMP range. Satellite Ping has less practicality. It only calls out squads in the area when deploying the drone. Overall, these improvements are decent at best, but they are completely outclassed by most EVO options by other Legends.
Rampart
Rampart comes to C-tier because her upgrades focus too much on her Ultimate rather than making her better all-around. EVO 2 Ultimate Upgrade reduces Sheila's Cooldown by 20%, the only relevant improvement for this level. EVO 2 Bandolier allows Rampart to carry extra ammo per stack, which is typical for many Assault Legends and doesn’t synergize with the rest of her upgrades. You can choose to either go for EVO 4 Running Hot or Amped Reloads, which increases Sheila's handling and spinup time by 20%, or her reload speed with her minigun and other guns when behind cover, respectively. These improvements are too Sheila-centric, so they lose their usefulness when not using her Ult.
Seer
Seer’s upgrades don’t give him much of an edge over other Legends because they are pretty limited. EVO 2 upgrades focus too much on his passive and Tac range, which doesn’t translate well in fights. EVO 3 Eyes on Me, which increases his Tactical’s duration by 1.5 seconds, and Theatrical Projection, which increases his Ult’s radium by 20m, can be easily bypassed by enemies by simply being mobile or staying out of the effective range. However, these perks become more effective the smaller the zone gets, so high-level players can find ways to maximize their usage.
Vantage
Vantage is another Recon legend that falls off the mark regarding battle effectiveness. Her upgrades don’t cut it when her team gets embroiled in a fight. EVO 2 Insider Knowledge and Ultimate Efficiency only provide meager advantages like Access to Ring Consoles and +4 Ultimate Bullets when using Accelerants. Her only advantageous upgrades are EVO 4 Echo Assist and Sharpshooter. However, these perks become unreliable in a fight because the former only improves the double jump, and the latter resets the Tac when Sniper’s Mark successfully lands. They would help find better vantage points and repositioning but are ultimately useless in close proximity fights.
Note: This tier list is subject to the current version of the game and can change depending on any future reworks that Respawn may do on the Legends.
