clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Apex Legends guide: Vantage tips and tricks

Here are suggestions on how to play the newest character in Apex Legends

Vantage stands with her bat friend Echo in Apex Legends Image: Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts
Ryan Gilliam (he/him) has worked at Polygon for nearly seven years. He primarily spends his time writing guides for massively popular games like Diablo 4 & Destiny 2.

Apex Legends’ latest character, Vantage (and her bat friend Echo), are finally here alongside the new Hunted season. She’s a recon character and a capable sniper with an interesting kit that keeps her mobile, despite her proclivity for long-range engagements.

Since Hunted’s release, we’ve spent quite a few games as Vantage, flying through the air with the help of Echo and sniping our enemies from ridges. In this guide, we’re going to go over some tips for using Vantage’s abilities, as well as offer some initial impressions to help you decide if she’s worth your hard-earned Apex Coins.

Using Vantage

Vantage holding her sniper standing next to Mirage in Apex Legends Image: Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts

When playing Vantage, you’ll be using her ultimate more frequently than with a typical Legend, so let’s talk about it first:

Sniper’s Mark: Over time you’ll load bullets into your custom sniper rifle, which you can fire by activating your ultimate. (As soon as you have at least one bullet loaded, your ultimate will be available.) Hitting enemies does damage and marks them, giving a damage boost for the rest of your team.

Because you have a sniper rifle at all times (which is constantly regenerating ammo), you have a bit of freedom when picking up other weapons for your loadout. If you want to pick up a shotgun and an SMG, you’ll still be able to occasionally engage in long-range combat with Vantage’s ultimate.

However, Vantage is at her best when far away from her foes, using Sniper’s Mark to shoot targets and then swapping to a real rifle to deal big damage. This is partially due to her passive ability:

Spotter’s Lens: Aim down sights when unarmed or while using a mid- to long-range scope to see a bullet drop indicator when looking at targets, which shows where your shot will hit based on the target’s distance.

Hitting enemies from far away is much easier with Vantage than other characters, so finding a good rifle and a good scope is paramount. If you’re playing with teammates who know you want to snipe — rather than randoms who will probably take all the good loot for themselves first — you’ll have a much easier time feeding into Vantage’s strengths.

Once you’re kitted out and ready to shoot, you can start really taking advantage of Vantage's tactical ability as well:

Echo Relocation: Vantage sends out her bat, Echo, to hover over an area. Vantage can hold the tactical button to jump to Echo’s location, or tap it to move him to a new area.

Echo Relocation is a great movement tool early in the game, but it really sings when you’re sniping. You can use Echo as a powerful repositioning tool. By moving him between two locations, you can shoot from one vantage point, jump to the next to take a shot, and then jump back. When used effectively, you can really pin down an opposing squad from all angles.

Echo Relocation also makes for a really great escape tool (although you’re pretty vulnerable to enemy fire while you’re flying through the air). If you’re taking a risky position, you can simply station Echo a few meters away and jump to him when things get hairy.

Should you buy Vantage?

Vantage holding her sniping  with an explosion in the background Image: Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts

Vantage’s entire identity is as a sniper, and that’s the playstyle at which she excels. If you love sniping, she’s obviously going to be a worthwhile pickup for you.

But what’s interesting about Vantage is she’s actually a great character for non-snipers or sniping dabblers as well. Vantage’s passive, Spotter’s Lens, makes shooting targets from long distances really easy, as it shows you exactly where your bullet will fall. It’s a great convenience feature for players who already excel at long-distance engagements, but it’s also an excellent crutch and teaching tool for players who typically like to get up close and personal.

Her ultimate, Sniper’s Mark, plays into that idea as well. Vantage is great when she has multiple rifles, but her ultimate means that she’s always equipped for long-range damage. If you’re a player who typically goes for short-range weapons, you can use the ultimate to help support your team in scouting engagements while using Echo to move against enemies really aggressively.

For how pigeonholed it seems like Vantage is — forced to snipe unless you want her kit to go to waste — she’s actually quite versatile. If you want to play into her sniper identity, you’ll be rewarded with big damage and a lot of tools to keep you safe and be even more effective. But pushing against that identity allows you to essentially carry a third weapon with you wherever you go.

As someone who typically enjoys playing tankier characters in Apex, and who doesn’t like long-range engagements, I was really impressed with how Vantage helped me adapt to a playstyle I wasn’t used to. Even better, I was always having fun with Vantage, even when I was out of my comfort zone.

The next level of puzzles.

Take a break from your day by playing a puzzle or two! We’ve got SpellTower, Typeshift, crosswords, and more.

news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news