Apex Legends Season 12 Legends tier list - Every character ranked from best to worst

Apex Legends Season 12 Defiance has just landed alongside the big celebration event for the battle royale's third birthday.

There's an abundance of new content for fans to get their teeth into, and there are no doubts gamers will be all over it on Day One.

The first Apex Legends season of 2022 brings us Mad Maggie, a cutthroat warlord from Salvo and Apex Games' newest legend. Aside from Arenas and Battle Royale modes, players will also get a chance to try her out in a brand new limited-time mode, Control.

The Olympus map has received some significant changes, with a lot of new POIs and gameplay mechanics. Some balance changes are introduced for the Storm Point map as well.

That's just a shortlist of all the new content and balance changes added with the Season 12 update, but these are all important to know if you want to start the new season properly prepared.

And while there are no huge balance changes when it comes to Legends, aside from Crypto's Drone updates and Caustic's Nox Gas Traps nerfs, that doesn't mean that the meta will remain stale, on the contrary.

A new legend, changes for two maps, balance tweaks for weapons and legends... more than enough to shake things up in the Season 12 meta, and our tier list is here to help you decide which legends to play.

Apex Legends Season 12 Defiance Legends tier list

Before we start this tier list, there are two important factors to remember. First up, tier lists are not an exact science as there is a lot to take into account that's sometimes impossible to measure, such as your current rank, mechanical skill, personal preferences, and whether or not you communicate with your team.

Second, this tier list is specifically made for the battle royale mode and not the Arenas or Control game modes.

Description of the tiers

We have opted for a standard five-tier system, S to D.

• S-Tier: You simply can't go wrong with these Legends.
• A-Tier: Solid all-around choice that will benefit your team more than other Legends. 
• B-Tier: Serviceable Legends that can have an impact on a match if used correctly. 
• C-Tier: Choices that won’t have a large impact on whether your team wins a match or not. 
• D-Tier: Should only be picked if you need to complete a challenge.

Apex Legends Season 12 Legends tier list

S-Tier

• Ash: Introduced in Apex Legends Season 11 Escape, Ash is a well-rounded Legend capable of hunting down her targets swiftly and mercilessly. Her kit provides excellent mobility and vision tools, allowing her to always be one step ahead.
• Wraith: Wraith is considered the ultimate solo-queue Legend in Apex Legends and that remains true in Season 12 thanks to her kit which allows easy rotations and unhindered mobility.
• Bloodhound: For several seasons now Bloodhound firmly keeps their place in our S-Tier. His ability to track down opponents is unparalleled and Bloodhound is a must in any squad that wants to control the map and never be surprised.
• Gibraltar: One of the best "tank" Legends in the game whose Dome of Protection ability can win you matches with ease, but don't underestimate Defensive Bombardment, which is great for luring out enemies and zone control.

A-Tier

• Lifeline: Lifeline's rework in the Season 9 Legacy patch intrinsically altered how the character is played. At first, it was considered an outright downgrade, but in the meantime, players have learned how to play this new Lifeline. It's an excellent support Legend and players who know how to utilize her kit will be valuable teammates in your squad 
• Seer: When it was originally released, Seer was in his own Tier 0, as he was unbelievably strong, but after several nerfs, we think he fits right in our A-Tier. He is still a really strong intel-gathering Legend, and timely information is a first step towards outplaying your opponents.  
• Octane: Octane is a definition of a high-risk high-reward Legend, with his stims and Launch Pads. If you play aggressively alongside a coordinated team, you'll take a few squads by surprise, and if you are really proficient in playing him, you will easily wreak havoc among unsuspected enemies. His ability to quickly rotate will be especially useful on the new version of Olympus.
• Revenant: We refused for a long time to admit that Revenant has his place in the meta, but we admit - we were wrong.  His Death Totem is incredibly hard to deal with and it forces players to play out of their comfort zone if they want to find a solution for it. Together with his silence, he has options for some of the most aggressive and disruptive plays in the game.
• Valkyrie: Valkyrie is a character that you either love or hate. When she was introduced in Season 9 her kit initially seemed strong, but around mid-season 9 she became less popular as players thought she was figured out and easy to counter. But the verticality of the new Storm Point map is perfect for her and she's once again a formidable opponent, as her kit is simply incredible there.

B-Tier

• 

  Loba: Don't sleep on our thieving Legend here. Many consider her lacklustre because it's hard to evaluate her abilities easily and she is definitely not a straightforward Legend to master. But on the other hand, the enemies will be confused as well, leaving enough space for smart and unexpected moves that can quickly turn the tide in any match.
• Bangalore: If you are looking for your typical military shooter character, Bangalore is your pick. You have your smoke grenades, tactical missiles in the form of the Rolling Thunder ultimate, high overall damage... She might not be the most unique Legend in the game, but she will never be a wrong pick if you just want a reliable damage dealer with a few tricks up her sleeve.
• Pathfinder: As the name suggests, Pathfinder on paper should be one of the best mobility Legends in the game. And while he fell out of favour for a period of time due to the grappling hook nerfs, the introduction of Storm Point has put him in the spotlight once again, as his zipline is not only fun but also incredibly useful to quickly rotate and traverse to remote points.
• Horizon: Horizon has undergone a lot of changes in the past several seasons which have lowered her overall power level, thus pushing her to the bottom of our B-Tier, but she's still good enough if you are confident in your abilities to play her correctly.

C-Tier

• Wattson: Despite numerous buffs in Season 11, we are still struggling to find Wattson's role in the meta. That's not to say that she is a bad Legend, he is now much more reliable, but she's still a character that requires time spent on setup, and the payoff is simply not there.
• Crypto: Crypto's drones are incredibly useful tools, but they promote passive play which simply has no place in chaotic Apex Legends meta. Still, some quality of life changes and buffs for the Surveillance Drone are definitely a step in the right direction, but he will need more than that.
• Rampart: The main problem with Rampart is the fact that his abilities are only good in small, cramped areas where he can be good for pushing and crowd control. Unfortunately, her powerful but immobile turret is absolutely useless due to the importance of mobility in Apex Legends, and Amped Cover is great in Arenas, but not on huge and open battle royale maps.
• Caustic: Caustic's Nox Gas Traps has been nerfed again, as it seems that devs aren't exactly sure what to do with him. The nerf isn't too severe, but it's noticeable enough to push Caustic one tier below.

D-Tier

• Mirage: Sorry Mirage mains, but his holographic gimmicks are well known by Apex veterans and don't fool anyone. It's fun to play him casually but don't pick him if you want to win.
• Fuse: Even the Season 10 buffs didn't do any good for poor old Fuse, who is still sitting at the bottom of our tier list.

And there you have it, our Apex Legends Season 12 Legends tier list. You might have noticed that there's no Mad Maggie on the list, and that's intentional, as we want to test her properly before finding her place in the meta. For now, it is too early to come to any conclusions.

• Read more: Apex Legends Season 12 weapons tier list - Every gun ranked from best to worst

Go check out the rest of our dedicated Apex Legends page for all the latest content including Legends Tier Lists, weapons information, and much more.

Featured image courtesy of Respawn Entertainment and EA.