Apex Legends tier list in 2025: Who’s best in Season 25?

Season 25 just arrived, so it’s time for a new Apex Legends tier list to determine who the best legends in Apex are to rank up and get the win. This season not only has a new character debuted, but important balance updates in the Legends department shook the competitive meta with new arrivals in the S tier and some notable departures.

After consulting the latest Apex Legends’ patch notes, it’s evident where the developers wanted to take the game for its next cycle. Less hunkering down, less static plays with more movement and more exchanges between teams; all while avoiding the “third party” phenomenon where, while two teams are clashing, a third one comes in, swooping both of them. 

So, without further ado, here are the best Apex Legends characters in 2025. 

Our Apex Legends ranking is based on personal testing during preview periods and at release, as well as community testing and sentiment from casual and professional players. 

As Apex Legends is a Battle Royale, our main parameter is not just win rate because ranks are determined considering the overall placement in a game, not just who wins and who loses. That’s why some characters are better to climb, thanks to their consistency, and some are better for pivotal promotion matches. 

To create this Apex Legends tier list, we’re using the tried-and-true SABC tier system, so defining an S-Tier character and what makes it so is essential.

In summary, the best Legends to play in Season 25 are Alter, Ballistic, Bangalore, Sparrow and Lifeline. We’re awarding a special mention to Catalyst for this overview to have a Legend for each Class, but with the latest changes, she went down to A tier as her ultimate lost some value due to recent nerfs.

Our Apex Legends tier list begins with Alter, one of the most versatile Legends on the field. She has everything in her kit: movement, damage and even invulnerability frames. The main problem with her is that she’s extremely team dependent, so most of her value is lost without a three-stack with comms. Ballistic, thanks to his ability to slingshot care package weapons, is of great support to a team and is great for solo players. At the same time, Sparrow, the newest addition to the Apex Legends roster, has quickly become the best recon hero in the game thanks to his low-skill, high-output in information gathering.

Bangalore remains at the top of the tier lists because she is the most adaptable legend in the roster. There’s no situation (push, rush, flank or high-risk rez) where she cannot help her teammates through her kit, so those who master her have an amazing chance at the win. Lifeline rounds up the S-Tier Apex Legends because her flash heals are invaluable between heated exchanges of bullets, and her recent rework only solidified her position as the best combat medic in Apex Legends.

Pathfinder rose to the A-Tier thanks to its recent buff in Apex Legends Season 25. His mobility is unmatched and excellent for solo players, as his utilities are understandable and easy to play around with. Catalyst gets the title of best controller in Apex as her ability to lock doors and block sightlines is great in certain maps. She struggles, however, in fast-paced exchanges.

Ash remains an extremely solid pick for pure damage dealing and movement enjoyers because she can close distances fast and rewards aggressive play. She is also very fun to play and can create bridgeheads with the right team like almost no other character. Bloodhound is an A-Tier character because he has the best beginner-friendly to team utility ratio in Apex Legends. This means that even a new player can get a lot of solo value to his team with this Legend, who’s also very easy to learn and to use in battle.

When looking at this season’s B-Tier Apex Legends characters, it’s evident that they all have better alternatives in the previous tiers, but those who are masters of them can still get some value on the battlefield if their opponents are not 100% lasered in. Newcastle, for example, has a lot of counterplay to his ultimate, but his shields are still powerful, especially to hunker down and revive an ally. The same can be said for Valkyrie: she’s unmatched in rotation speed but can be easily outplayed.

Wraith is in the B-Tier because, between Ash and Alter, the alternatives to her playstyle are abundant. Many, however, have been mastering her for some time now, so if you are skilled enough, you can measure yourself against more meta characters. Maggie is another enjoyable character who still knows how to deal damage and help her team, but she is outmatched in manoeuvring and rotations.

Octane, Rampart, Gibraltar and Caustic all had their moment in the spotlight during the past few seasons, so it’s no surprise to find them down here. Octane used to dominate solo lobbies, Rampart was the most picked Legend of the Sapporo ALGS finals, Gibraltar was the second most picked Legend at that event, and Caustic dominated the entirety of 2023 in Respawn’s Battle Royale. 

These legends are not very viable, but those expert enough can still get something out of them. However, playing against three stacks of S-Tier Apex Legends characters is almost a guaranteed defeat.

The first thing to consider when deciding which Legend to play is their role on the battlefield. There are five classes to choose from: Assault Legends focus on dps and mid combat support; Skirmisher Legends are for movement lovers and flankers; Recon Legends are expected to provide intel on enemy position and resources; Controller Legends manipulate the battlefield to their advantage and Support Legends heal, shield and take care of their teammates.

Inside each class there are different playstyles available so choose carefully among the available legends reading not only their abilities (passive, tactical and ultimate) but also their perks: during each game, you’ll be able to choose between various upgrades that change a Legend’s behaviour and tactics so hop into the firing range and get to testing. Also, don’t forget that aesthetics and personality also play a big part in having fun in a video game: if you’re vibing with a character but you don’t’ like their playstyle, try using them anyway in unranked games, they might grow on you!

If you’re looking for the best Apex Legends characters to play in Season 25, the answer is Alter in the Skirmisher class, Ballistic Bangalore in the Assault Class, Sparrow in the Recon Class and Lifeline in the Support Class. Catalyst’s best controller remains, but her viability is not as it used to be. Beginners should stay with Bloodhound for their ease of use and team value, while Ash and Pathfinder both enjoy their recent buffs and are now extremely viable.