Vantage is no stranger to death. As a recon legend hailing from the wild and frozen planet of Págos, she’s used to marking and taking out targets to survive. In season 14 of Apex Legends, she made her debut in the Apex Games, taking her homemade sniper rifle and adorable bat Echo with her on her quest to clear her mother’s name.
If you’re looking to get more intel on the Outlands’ Survivalist Sniper, you’ve come to the right place. We’re breaking down what Vantage can do, how to play her with maximum efficiency, and the legends she pairs with best. Whether you’re climbing to the top of ranked Arenas or checking out the reforged Kings Canyon, here’s everything you need to know to play Vantage.
Vantage’s abilities
Like all other legends, Vantage has a passive, a tactical, and an ultimate. Her passive is called Spotter’s Lens, and it’s the primary reason behind her classification as a recon legend. Spotter’s Lens allows Vantage to aim down sights while unarmed or with a medium or long-range scope to gather information on enemies. It works with the 2x HCOG Bruiser and all higher-magnification optics. When zooming in on opposing players, you’ll be able to see what legend they are, what color their shield is (alongside the shield colors of their teammates), and how far away they are. Pinging them will communicate this information to your teammates.
Spotter’s Lens also gives Vantage a bullet drop indicator that shows where her shots will land at different distances. It’s a helpful tool when sniping or using mid-range guns, as it tells you how high you need to aim to hit your mark. The bullet drop indicator is also visible when using Vantage’s ultimate, which we’ll talk about below. Make sure you’re using Spotter’s Lens when rotating into a new POI, since you might be able to get the drop on a few enemies and land some shots before they even know where you are.
Vantage’s tactical is known as Echo Relocation, a fun portmanteau of echolocation. When activated, Vantage directs her bat Echo to a specific location within her line of sight, where he’ll wait for further direction. You can reposition him or recall him at any time. Once you have him where you want to, hold the tactical button again to rocket-jump to Echo’s location as long as you still have line of sight. Recalling Echo without jumping doesn’t put the ability on cooldown, so don’t be afraid to maneuver him a little bit to get him to exactly where you want to go. Calling the little bat back also doesn’t interrupt healing and it can be used while Vantage is down, but Echo can’t take damage, so there isn’t much use in doing it.
Echo Relocation is useful when you’re trying to get to a higher perch to see a wider swath of terrain; it works well when paired with her passive. Like Loba’s bracelet, it’s better when used outside of combat than in: Vantage’s jump isn’t instant and she can’t shoot while jumping, leaving her vulnerable to crossfire. It’s a proactive ability rather than a reactive one, unlike the abilities of, say, Wraith or Octane. Vantage can double jump when she takes the leap. Use the additional mobility to quickly change directions or reorient yourself after launching. After you jump, Echo remains where he is, so you can jump to him again if necessary.
Vantage’s ultimate, Sniper’s Mark, sees her pull out a custom Sentinel from her days on Págos. It stores up to five charges, each of which equates to a single shot. Enemies who are hit by its shots take 50 damage and are marked, meaning they take additional damage from both Vantage and her teammates. Vantage can use her ultimate with any number of charges in it; as long as it has at least one charge, she can fire a shot.
The gun itself feels steadier and smoother than other sniper rifles. It takes advantage of her bullet drop indicator and comes with an attached 3x-8x variable optic. It’s not a hitscan weapon, but it has a faster projectile speed and much less bullet drop than other snipers in Apex. When combined with the bullet drop indicator, it’s not hard at all to land shots. Its damage output is relatively low, but when you coordinate with your teammates—as any good sniper does—you can quickly gang up on marked enemies to take advantage of the increased damage.
Vantage pairs
Vantage isn’t as slow as some recon legends, like Crypto, but she’s meant to be played in a slower and more deliberate way than many damage and movement-based legends. She works best at mid- to long-range; after all, if you’re close enough to an enemy to see their shield color and what legend they are, her passive has been rendered mostly useless.
Vantage pairs best with defensive legends who can set up around her and give her a safe place to fire off sniper shots. Newcastle and Rampart immediately come to mind thanks to their ability to set up walls and physically block off shots. Gibraltar is also helpful, since he can use his shield to give Vantage a place to weave in and out of while sniping and his ultimate can flush out targets for her to hit at long range. Vantage also works well with other recons who can point out enemy locations for her, like Crypto and Seer.
Vantage doesn’t work as well with aggressive, high-mobility legends. Her mobility is a lot slower and more deliberate than other legends’, and most of her abilities become useless at close range. Legends like Octane, Wraith, and Bloodhound who can run in and deal a lot of damage quickly will often leave her in the dust. In a situation like that, she can’t make it in time to save them if they get picked off, and they can’t help her if she gets ambushed by a third party. If you want to play well with a Vantage, save the run-and-gun for another time and prepare to play tactically.
Vantage tips and tricks
While her ult uses a different charge system than most other legends’, Vantage can still take advantage of ultimate accelerants. If she already has at least one charge, ultimate accelerants will usually give her one or two additional charges. They’re great for quickly boosting the number of shots you can take on an enemy.
In most cases, you won’t want to bother with 1x optics while playing Vantage. She can’t take advantage of Spotter’s Lens while she’s using them, and she’s not great for close-quarters combat anyway. You’re better off using someone like Rampart or Mad Maggie, both of whom get specific bonuses for using more close-range weapons.
If you’re playing against a Vantage, don’t try to duel with them over a long range. They have every advantage on you and are likely feeding their teammates information on your shield and other squad members. Likewise, if you’re playing Vantage, do your best to fight from long ranges: it’s where all your skills and assets work best, and it’s where your abilities come into play. Make sure you’re communicating enemy locations to your teammates and letting them know which enemies have been marked so they can take advantage of the damage boost.
Vantage is for players who like to plan, rotate, and shoot carefully. She’s more of a niche legend, but she fills the sniper role extremely well and is very useful when scouting on huge maps like Storm Point and when making rotations through potentially congested areas. She isn’t enough to make the game’s meta swing fully into sniper territory, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Vantage is a breath of fresh air in Apex, and she’s absolutely worth trying out.
