UNOFFICIAL

GUIDES
21st Century Skills INNOVATION LIBRARY

Apex Legends:
Beginner’s Guide

by Josh Gregory
 UNOFFICIAL

21st Century Skills INNOVATION LIBRARY GUIDES

Apex Legends:
Beginner’s Guide

CHERRY LAKE PUBLISHING • ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN by Josh Gregory

Published in the United States of America by Cherry Lake Publishing
Ann Arbor, Michigan
www.cherrylakepublishing.com

Reading Adviser: Marla Conn MS, Ed., Literacy specialist, Read-Ability, Inc.

Copyright ©2020 by Cherry Lake Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any
form or by any means without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Gregory, Josh, author.
Title: Apex legends : beginner’s guide / Josh Gregory.
Description: Ann Arbor, Michigan : Cherry Lake Publishing, 2020. | Series:
21st century skills innovation library | Includes bibliographical
references and index. | Audience: Grades 4-6 | Summary: “In 2019, the
surprise launch of Apex Legends took the gaming world by storm. Offering
a fast-paced, team-based twist on the battle royale style of gameplay
popularized by titles such as Fortnite, it caught the attention of more
than 50 million players within the first month of its release. In this
book, readers will find out everything they need to know to get started
and outdo their competitors in Apex Legends. Includes table of contents,
author biography, sidebars, glossary, index, and informative
backmatter”-- Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019024704 | ISBN 9781534159679 (library binding) | ISBN
9781534161979 (paperback) | ISBN 9781534160828 (pdf) | ISBN
9781534163126 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Video games—Juvenile literature. | Apex Legends (Video
game)
Classification: LCC GV1469.3 .G735 2020 | DDC 794.8—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019024704

Cherry Lake Publishing would like to acknowledge the work of the Partnership
for 21st Century Learning, a Network of Battelle for Kids. Please visit
http://www.battelleforkids.org/networks/p21 for more information.

Printed in the United States of America

Corporate Graphics
21st Century Skills INNOVATION LIBRARY

Contents
Chapter 1 The Battle Begins 4

Chapter 2 Meet the Legends 10

Chapter 3 Welcome to Kings Canyon 18

Chapter 4 Staying Alive 24

Glossary 30
Find Out More 31
Index 32
About the Author 32
 UNOFFICIAL GUIDES

Chapter 1

The Battle Begins

I
f you’re interested in video games, you’ve
probably heard about Apex Legends. Maybe
you’ve even played this fast-paced and excit-
ing game yourself. With tens of millions of players,
it is one of the most popular online multiplayer
games in the world. It combines elements of many
other popular game styles to create a completely

Apex Legends takes place in a huge world that is

packed with things to see and areas to explore.

4
 If you have played Fortnite before, you should
have no trouble getting started with Apex
Legends.

unique experience. Apex follows the basic battle

royale structure of popular hits like Fortnite and
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. It has class-based
hero characters like those in Overwatch or Rainbow
Six Siege. It also has the first-person perspective
and fast player movement of series such as Call of
Duty or Destiny.
At the beginning of 2019, the only people who had
ever heard of Apex Legends were the game’s creators.
Unlike most video games, Apex was made in complete
secrecy. There were no trailers or announcements to

5
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get fans excited before the game’s release. No maga-

zines or websites posted previews or showed off
screenshots. Instead, the game came as a total sur-
prise when it launched on February 4, 2019.
Apex was released as a free download for
PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC. The game
was a huge hit almost right away. As word quickly
spread about the exciting new game, millions of

Apex Legends has realistic graphics that are among

the best of the major battle royale games.

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 APEX LEGENDS: Beginner’s Guide

There are huge amounts of weapons and

other tools you can use to battle other players
in Apex Legends.

people rushed to give it a try. Within three days of

Apex’s release, more than 10 million players had
downloaded the game. That number rose to 25 mil-
lion within the week and 50 million in less than
a month. More than one million players could be
found battling online at any given time. At the same
time, hundreds of thousands of people were watch-
ing streams of the game on Twitch. A new game
hadn’t captured so much attention since Fortnite first
released in 2017.

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UNOFFICIAL GUIDES

Apex Legends was created by a team of

developers at Respawn Entertainment. Respawn
was founded in 2010 by two of the original creators
of the successful and influential Call of Duty series.
The studio’s first game was Titanfall, released in 2014.
It also released a sequel, Titanfall 2, in 2016. Both
Titanfall games were first-person shooters with com-
petitive online modes. As they battled, players could
run up walls, zip across maps using grappling hooks,
and even pilot huge robots called Titans. These abili-
ties helped create a fast-paced style of movement that
set the Titanfall games apart from the competition.
Both Titanfall games sold well and were much-
loved by critics and players alike. However, they were
not massive hits. After the release of Titanfall 2, the
team at Respawn started thinking of ways to make a
third entry in the series stand out. One idea they tried
was to combine the basic controls and feel of Titanfall
with the battle royale game structure that was becom-
ing popular at the time. After changing a few things
from the Titanfall games, such as removing the giant
robots, they found that the combination worked very
well. However, they also realized that the project they

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 APEX LEGENDS: Beginner’s Guide

Battle of the Battle Royale Games

In recent years, battle royale games have become some of the most popular competitive
online games in the world. This game style has become such a big part of online gaming
that it’s hard to believe it was created fairly recently.
The first game to popularize the modern battle royale style was DayZ, released in
2013 as a mod for the game ARMA 2. The mod was soon spun off into a standalone
game, and other developers were inspired to create their own takes on the battle royale
formula. The biggest so far have been PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite.
Long-running series such as Call of Duty and Battlefield have also added battle royale
modes to recent entries. With so many battle royale options available, it takes a lot for a
new game to stand out. This makes the success of Apex Legends even more impressive!

were creating was very different from the previous

Titanfall games. They decided to spin it off into a new
series, and Apex Legends was born.
If you’ve played other battle royale games or first-
person shooters, Apex Legends will likely feel at least
somewhat familiar when you start playing it. However,
there is a lot to learn if you want to start making prog-
ress in the game and winning matches. Let’s jump in
and get started!

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Glossary
developers (dih-VEL-uh-purz) people who make video
games or other computer programs

influential (in-floo-EN-shuhl) introducing new ideas that

become popular in the future

microtransactions (MYE-kroh-trans-ak-shuhns) things that

can be purchased for a small amount of money within a video
game or other computer program

mod (MAHD) a fan-made addition to a video game

passive (PASS-iv) something that is always active without

requiring a player to do anything

respawn (REE-spawn) to reappear in a video game after

being defeated

skins (SKINZ) different appearances your character and

weapons can take on in Apex Legends

tactical (TAK-ti-kuhl) able to be used in a strategic way

30
Find Out More
BOOKS
Cunningham, Kevin. Video Game Designer. Ann Arbor,
Michigan: Cherry Lake Publishing, 2016.

Powell, Marie. Asking Questions About Video Games. Ann Arbor,

Michigan: Cherry Lake Publishing, 2016.

WEBSITES

Apex Legends
www.ea.com/games/apex-legends
Check out the official Apex Legends website.

Apex Legends Wiki

https://apexlegends.gamepedia.com/Apex_Legends_Wiki
This fan-made website offers up-to-date information on the
latest additions to Apex Legends.

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Index
ammo, 19, 21 jumpmaster, 15–16 safety, 27
attachments, 21, secrecy, 5–6
22–23 Kings Canyon, 15, 19 shields, 21, 23,
knockdowns, 27–29 28
backpacks, 21 knockdown shields, shotguns, 20–21, 22
banners, 14, 29 21, 23, 28 skins, 14
battle royale games, sniper rifles, 20, 22
5, 8, 9 landing areas, 15–17,
19 streaming, 7
communication, Legends, 11–17 supply bins, 19–20
25–27
microtransactions, 14 tactical abilities,
developers, 8–9 12–13
downloads, 7, 14 passive abilities, 11–12 teamwork, 24–29
dropship, 15 ping system, 25–27 Twitch, 7
grenades, 23 release, 6–7 ultimate abilities,
respawn beacons, 29 12–13
healing items, 21, 23
Respawn Entertain-
helmets, 21, 23
ment, 8–9, 14 weapons, 14, 18–19,
inventory, 21, 27 revives, 28 20–23, 26

About the Author

Josh Gregory is the author of more than 150 books for kids. He has
written about everything from animals to technology to history.
A graduate of the University of Missouri–Columbia, he currently lives
in Chicago, Illinois.

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21st Century Skills INNOVATION LIBRARY

UNOFFICIAL
GUIDES
In 2019, the surprise launch of Apex Legends took
the gaming world by storm. Offering a fast-paced,
team-based twist on the battle royale style of gameplay
popularized by titles such as Fortnite, it caught the
attention of more than 50 million players within the
first month of its release. In this book, readers will find
out everything they need to know to get started and
outdo their competitors in Apex Legends. Includes table
of contents, author biography, sidebars, glossary, index,
and informative backmatter.

Read all the Apex Legends titles in the Unofficial

Guides series:
The Making of Apex Legends
Apex Legends: Beginner’s Guide
Apex Legends: Characters
Apex Legends: Combat
Apex Legends: Equipment
Apex Legends: Guide to Kings Canyon
Apex Legends: Microtransactions
Apex Legends: Teamwork

GR: V