After a prolonged absence, the Armed and Dangerous limited-time mode is finally returning to Apex Legends as part of the Gaiden event. The rules of the mode will be familiar to anyone who’s ever played a shotguns-and-snipers mode in another FPS: in Armed and Dangerous, the only available weapons are shotguns and sniper rifles. The loot pool is also extremely limited, meaning players will have to conserve supplies to keep themselves going.
Armed and Dangerous was last present in the game in season six as part of the September Soirée event. Since then, a massive number of new legends have been added to the game, indirectly making the mode much more complex than it was before. There are also new maps in play: during the event, the Armed and Dangerous map rotation will be World’s Edge, Olympus, and Storm Point. Thanks to these updates, players will need to think hard about which characters work best with the mode’s weapons if they want to take home the gold.
Here are the best legends for Apex’s Armed and Dangerous mode.
Mad Maggie
Mad Maggie is the obvious choice for any shotgun-themed mode. Her passive, Warlord’s Ire, allows her to maintain her usual movement speed when holding and aiming down sights with a shotgun. While other legends are busy trying to aim, Maggie can rip past them and take out opponents quickly. If enemies run behind cover, Warlord’s Ire also shows her where they are for a second after they leave her line of sight, allowing her to pursue them. Don’t bother picking up sniper rifles as Maggie in Armed and Dangerous—shotguns are where she excels.
Octane
Like Maggie, Octane’s speed is what sets him apart in Armed and Dangerous. He can use his Stim tactical to either run into or out of a fight, which gives him a lot of potential with shotguns. Traditionally, the closer you are to your enemy, the better shotguns work. Octane’s high velocity can get him closer to enemies in less time, allowing him to quickly line up shots and bail his slower teammates out of trouble. His jump pad can also be used to help sniper teammates get to better vantage points, making him both a good solo legend and a good team player.
Loba
As explained in the introduction, loot is at a premium in Armed and Dangerous. It’s more difficult to find attachments, healing items, and ammo. If you’re concerned about not being kitted enough for fights, Loba would make an excellent addition to your team. Her Eye For Quality passive allows her and her team to make a beeline for good loot before everyone else can find it, and her Black Market Boutique can snatch powerful items from a long distance away. In the late game, Loba may mean the difference between life and death for your squad.
Fuse
If you’re looking to snipe, Fuse is a great legend choice. While he doesn’t receive any direct benefits or buffs from using sniper rifles, his Grenadier passive and Knuckle Cluster tactical work very well in tandem with snipers’ long range. Both abilities allow him to lob explosives much farther and more accurately than other legends, which is a great way to flush an enemy out of a hiding spot to then snipe them or deal finishing damage to an enemy you’ve already shot. When paired with a shotgun-favoring legend like Mad Maggie or Octane, Fuse gives the team some range and plenty of additional damage.
Ash
Like Fuse, Ash is also a great character for would-be snipers. Most of her sniper power rests in her ultimate, Phase Breach, which paves a one-way path for her and her teammates to another location. While Wraith can do something similar with her Dimensional Rift, she can’t go straight up in the air like Ash can, giving Ash the advantage when it comes to sniper positioning. Ash can also hunt down enemies via her Marked For Death death box-scanning passive: after scanning a group of boxes, her team can pursue an enemy squad to get the best possible vantage point.
Armed and Dangerous is back for the Gaiden event, but there’s no telling when it will come back afterward. Make sure to get your kicks in before the event ends on Aug. 2.
