Stuck? Frustrated? Hesitant? Our rank up guide will get you climbing the ranks in no time.
Ranked mode in Apex Legends is the most exhilarating mode to play. The feeling you get when you rank up and progress closer and closer to the coveted Apex Legends Predator rank is amongst the best in the entire game.
That said, reaching the highest ranks is very challenging. Apex Predator is restricted to only the best 750 players, with only 1.5% of players reaching that or the rank just below, Master. While Apex Legends Ranked is a fun time, if you aren't ranking up and making progress it can also feel just as frustrating.
That's why we've gathered everything you need to make progress through the ranks in Apex Legends. We can't promise a spot in the 750 Apex Predator ranks, but we can certainly help set you on the right path.
How does Apex Legends ranked work and how do you rank up?
To rank up in Apex Legends you need to get RP. You can get RP through two main methods. Either through your placement in the game, or through combat. You'll get RP for any kill your team gets, with extra if you get a kill or assist yourself. A kill and an assist are worth the same, so don't worry about having a kill stolen.
The points you can get from placement and from combat is as follows:
Placement | 16+ | 15–11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RP | 0 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 20 | 30 | 45 | 55 | 70 | 95 | 125 |
| Combat | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 22 | 26 |
What is important to notice is that each kill/assist is worth more the further into the game you make it. That means you are heavily rewarded for surviving longer. However, after you have more than 6 kills, the value of each kill, assist, and participation you make is halved.
You will also pay an entry fee as you progress through the ranks. This will get more and more expensive as you get closer to the highest rank in the game. The entry costs are as follows:
- Rookie/Bronze: 0 RP
- Silver: 20 RP
- Gold: 35 RP
- Platinum: 45 RP
- Diamond: 65 RP
- Master/Predator: 90 RP
That means once you hit Diamond, without kills/assists you can't even gain RP unless you are reaching 3rd place.
Best ways to gain RP in Apex Legends to rank up faster
As a result, you need a balanced playstyle to really rank up fast in Apex Legends. Simply hiding (known as ratting) until the final few teams will get you so far, but once you hit even Gold rank your gains will slow significantly.
The best strategy requires you to balance risk and reward. You need to gather some kills/assists but also progress through the match so you gain valuable placement points and make your kills/assists worth more points.
That means taking one or two fights earlier on in the game is sensible, then you can focus more on placement. Take a strong position in the later zones, and look to third party fights as teams get pushed together. With the cap of 6 kills/assists before the value is reduced, racking up countless kills isn't that helpful anyway.
Additionally you can chase kills/assists too aggressively early on and it can backfire. If you get a bunch of kills on the board but get third partied and die in 11th, that might not be enough to gain you any RP at all, or at least hardly any. Think about when and where in the game you take your fights and don't be afraid to pass something by if there are too many teams in the area.
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Using the right Legend
Just gaming the system isn't enough if you want to rank up fast in Apex Legends. How many fights to take is all well and good but if you aren't getting the fundamentals right you'll find winning those fights a lot harder.
One of the most important decisions in Apex Legends is what Legend to use. Both for yourself and your own playstyle, and also for your team and to synergise with what they bring to the table. There are three main rules to consider:
- Using Legends that suit your playstyle is important. If you are a very aggressive player then playing Wattson or Caustic is just going to do you more harm than good regardless of if those Legends are powerful or not in any given meta.
- If you are a solo queue player, consider a Legend with an escape ability like Wraith, Pathfinder or Octane. You will no doubt experience varying degrees of teammates and being able to escape a tricky situation and rack up extra placement can stem losses or turn a small gain into a big gain. Maybe send bad teammates our guide!
- Try not to have Legends from the same class. Each Class has a range of Class Perks, and these add extra power to your team. Having a variety classes on your team gives you access to a lot more of what Apex Legends has to offer. This could be Ring Consoles, Survey Beacons, Support or Assault bins or more. Of course, this is easier when stacked.
Specific Legends get buffed and nerfed over time. Check an up to date Legend Tier List to see what the state of play is in Apex Legends's latest season.
Using the right Weapons
Of course, Legends are only half the equation when you want to rank up fast in Apex Legends. You'll need to be using the right weapons.
Just like Legends, it is okay to have a favourite few weapons even if they aren't the absolute best on paper. Understanding things like the weapons recoil patterns is more important than using a slightly better weapon so focus on what your comfortable with.
Otherwise, the most important consideration is what each weapon brings to the table in terms of utility. Each different set of weapons has its pros and cons. The main one to focus on is the range the weapon is best suited too. Snipers are obviously best at long range, while Shotguns dominate in close quarters. You want to have two weapons that excel at different ranges.
Snipers Long range | Marksman Rifles Long to medium range | Assault Rifles Medium range | Pistols Close range (besides the Wingman) | SMG's Close range | LMG's Medium range | Shotguns Close range |
Winning fights is key to Apex Legends ranked matches, and if you want to rank up you'll need to win a lot of fights. Try not to use weapons that suit the same range. That means don't pair an Assault Rifle with an LMG. Nor a Shotgun with an SMG.
Most players use an Assault Rifle with a Shotgun or an SMG in Apex Legends at the moment. Like Legends, Weapons change in strength from season to season too so consult a Weapon Tier list too.
Other tips and tricks to rank up in Apex Legends
Those are the main things to consider, but here are some other important tips and tricks to bear in mind when you dive into ranked:
- It is always easier to rank up in Apex Legends if you have a team. Communication, synergy and the ability to work together is crucial in a team game like this. Obviously that is not always possible, but we cannot pretend solo queue isn't a lot harder.
- Try not to get too caught up in the outcome of a match if it doesn't go your way. Like gambling, chasing losses can result in poor decisions. You can easily snowball and lose a lot of RP in the higher ranks if you die early back to back. Additionally, big losses will happen a lot faster than big gains, just because of how long each match of Apex takes.
- You can track your gains (or losses) across a session or a season with Apex Legends Status. This will show you a game by game breakdown, and track other stats like average match length, pick rate and even let you compare to previous splits and seasons.
With those tips in mind, good luck on your quest to rank up in Apex Legends. Don't forget, stay tuned to esports.gg for more Apex Legends coverage and esports news.
