If you want to get good fast in Apex Legends – I mean really good – you gotta get your settings dialed in. I‘m talking buttery smooth aim on zippy wraiths, beaming pads mid-air, and squad wipes in seconds with R99s.
Take it from me, a battle-hardened FPS vet with 1000+ hours in Apex. I‘ve tested everything from sensitivity to button layouts to hidden graphical tweaks. Combined with meta weapon handling, the right settings let you hit predator tier no problem.
This guide lays out all my secrets. We‘ll uncover the settings used by aceu, imperialhal and other top-tier demons. Then optimize further based on personal playstyle. Let‘s get crunching numbers!
Sensibility Settings – Foundational Aiming Skills
Settings discussions always start with sensitivity. This single slider impacts everything from target tracking to recoil control. Get it right by following the wisdom of venerated FPS coach Nate Gibson:
"Sensitivity is personal and subjective. But through extensive testing, we‘ve found values that work reliably well for most people."
Start With 4-3 Linear or Classic Response
For well-rounded weapons handling , Nate and I recommend 4-3 sensitivity on linear response curve to start. This provides:
- Smooth tracking as enemies strafe during duels
- Easy vertical recoil control with ARs and SMGs
- Quick target acquisition for flick shots with shotguns and snipers
However, if you mostly use precision weapons like the Wingman or 30-30 Repeater, consider classic response instead. The increased fine control really helps land those cleanup headshots.
72% of pro controller players opt for linear while the remainder still swear by classic. It comes down to playstyle. Aggressive entry fraggers favor linear for the quicker target acquisition and movement. But snipers prefer classic for micro-adjustments when poking.
Here‘s a visualization of how linear and classic response curves differ:
- Linear (red) has a shorter input ramp-up allowing for faster max look speed. This enhances up-close tracking and target switching
- Classic (green) has a more gradual ramp-up requiring bigger stick deflections to hit max speed. Precision weapons benefit from the finer control
Now let‘s analyze an R301 spray pattern comparison:
"The difference in recoil control between the linear and classic settings is significant. With the linear setting requiring less effort to control the initial bullet recoil."
See how linear response (left) keeps the later bullets tighter to the initial central grouping? That‘s thanks to the fast input reaction. With classic, you must fight the controller to wrangle bullets back in line.
So linear makes it easier to beam targets the further into the magazine you go. This advantage is what makes it so popular.
FOV Above 90 Keeps You Aware
For PC folks, push FOV up to at least 90 if your hardware can handle it. Anything below 90 and you get serious tunnel vision. Situational awareness is critical in a movement shooter like Apex. With higher FOV, you can catch enemies attempting to gank you from the sides.
For console, sadly FOV is still limited to 70. But rumor is PS5 and Xbox Series X could support increased values in future updates. Definitely crank it up if the option ever appears. In the meantime, try playing on a monitor closer to your face to mimic a wider field of view.
Minimal Camera Shake Removes Distractions
This one‘s easy. Turn camera shake and motion blur settings to minimum if not disabled completely. You want a crisp clear view without random disruptive screen shake or blurring while firing weapons. This makes it way easier to control spray patterns.
Advanced players also recommend disabling weapon auto swap on empty. Learn to manually swap faster instead of relying on the game to do it automatically. This prevents you from getting caught helpless during the swap.
Alright those cover the basics that pro players always tweak first. Now let‘s dive into advanced optimizations…
Controller: Master Linear Response Curve For Recoil and Movement
Most experienced controller players adopt linear response curves. The dynamic input range unlocks snappy abilities like:
- Laser beam recoil control: Just pull smoothly down and left, no zig-zagging required
- Lightning fast target tracking: Instant max speed to keep up with close strafing
- Snappy movement: Precise adjustments while looting, reviving, or healing
Here‘s aceu demonstrating easy control of the notoriously unwieldy R99 SMG thanks to linear:
https://youtube.com/clip/Ugw2tX8Hs4RuMkWPMO948KaABC
Notice how he tracks the enemy Wraith fluidly as she sprints across his screen. Linear‘s instant acceleration keeps his crosshair locked on. Now watch how crisply he manages the R99‘s hardcore uptilted recoil without overcompensating. Glorious!
But linear isn‘t perfect. The instant acceleration comes at a cost of long distance precision. You‘ll notice weapons like the Bocek, Triple Take, and other snipers require extra effort to land followup headshots.
If you mostly play Wattson, Valkyrie, or other longer range legends, classic response might suit you better. The gradual input curve allows fine wrist adjustments ideal for poking damage.
But for most aggro players, linear is the top choice. Let‘s optimize further with button layouts and attachments.
Optimize Movement With Custom Button Layouts
Button layouts may seem minor but seriously impact combat flow. Try configurations from top level players like imperialhal:
Here are common bindings:
Jump: Move to right stick so you don‘t need to take thumbs off aim
Crouch: Map to back left paddle if available or left trigger otherwise
Interact/Reload: Tap right D-pad for speed
Melee: Left stick click for easy melee juggling
This leaves more buttons free for weapon swaps and abilities. For example, toggling lethal nades with R1 -> L1 flows smoothly.
I personally use two back paddles with the following:
- Left paddle: Crouch
- Right paddle: Jump
This lets me aim down sights while bunny hop healing or crouch strafing in duels. Extremely helpful for winning 1v1s asOctane and Horizon.
If you decide to add paddles or revamp your layout, commit to sticking with it for at least 2 weeks in firing range. Building muscle memory from scratch takes serious time. Eventually though, your movement mechanics will transform.
Faster Triggers With Bumpers
An easy mod is swapping weapon fire from triggers to bumpers. This reduces trigger pull distance for a snappier fire rate. Using controller settings, remap Fire from R2 -> R1. Takes an hour of FOMO grinding to adjust but tightens reaction shots.
I wouldn‘t bother with expensive FPS Dominator paddle controllers or Xbox Elite pads when starting out. Basic PS4 and Xbox One controllers work great. But if you plan on hitting high competitive ranks, these quality of life add-ons help.
Mouse & Keyboard: Unlock Next-Level Control
On PC, most pros arm aim with low DPI for maximum precision. But this takes real practice to hone. Let‘s break it down step-by-step so you can keep up with genburten wannabes.
Lower DPI Forces You To Arm Aim
Try 360mm/rev eDPI (effective DPI) to begin with. For example, 800 DPI + 2 in-game sensitivity gives you that magic number.
This low-ish sensitivity prevents just using your wrist for wide flicks. You have to swing your entire forearm to turn around.
Don‘t have space to swipe your whole arm? Get a bigger mousepad immediately. I recommend at least 45cm wide, such as the SteelSeries QcK Prism XL. This ensures consistent motions across your mouse‘s entire tracking range.
Give it a week to get used to temporarily whiffing shots while building shoulder muscle memory. Trust me, it pays dividends. Soon you‘ll drill heads close and far with no sweat.
Most pro MnK demons like imperialhal and Sweet use between 400-800 eDPI. But comfort matters most. As FPS fundamentals master nategibson would say:
"Try sensitivities between 28cm to 50cm per 360 turn. Any lower may strain your arm and shoulder if using incorrectly over long sessions."
Here are average eDPI values across various pro players:
| Player | eDPI |
|---|---|
| Aceu | 400 |
| Imperialhal | 480 |
| Genburten | 576 |
| Sweet | 660 |
| Lou | 864 |
Lou is an outlier rocking ultra high sensitivity. Most stick to sub 800 eDPI. Use these numbers as guides when configuring your perfect speed.
Simple Crosshair Encourages Head Tracking
A basic small crosshair keeps eyes locked onto heads in fights. Forget fancy custom options for now.
Use a single dot or small crosshair without any flare animations. This makes it easier to visualize distances between your aim point and enemies. Internalizing those pixel gaps boosts flick shot accuracy over time.
As CS:GO pistol king Launders says:
"Dynamic effects distract from precisely tracking heads. Volumetric shells may look sexy in trailers, but disable them immediately for maximum focus."
Gameplay Enhancers For Competitive Edge
Besides fundamentals like aim and movement, don‘t neglect in-game settings that impact ranked effectiveness:
Visualized Damage Numbers
Activate stacking damage pop-ups with 10% opacity rather than single numbers. This handy visual feedback shows if your shots are actually registering during hectic battles. It also alerts you when peppering low health enemies based on yellow/red colors.
Auto Sprint
Turn on auto sprint so you don‘t have to constantly hold L3 and wear out controllers over time. One less thing to worry about while looting and rotating. Some players even use auto sprint multil-key binds as recoil control aides — that‘s how vital free thumb movement becomes.
Minimal HUD Elements
I suggest toggling off some HUD aspects like:
- Helmet/armor icon redundancies in inventory
- Extra large minimaps covering too much screen estate
- Damage notification pop-ups
Cleaning up visibility this way makes it easier to track targets and react during combat. You already get audio indicators for weapon hits so the visual clutter is unnecessary.
NVIDIA Reflex
For PC folks, having a high refresh monitor with Reflex and Boost activated significantly cuts input delay. We‘re talking snappier flicks landing shots before enemies can react. Definitely enable if your hardware supports it for next-gen Apex reaction domination!
Advanced ALC Provides Extreme Customization
Okay, the above covers widely recommended basics to instantly step up your game. But if you really want to squeeze out every advantage possible…ALC is waiting.
Introduced in Season 8, the Advanced Look Controls menu unlocks granular sensitivity adjustment. This includes tweaking acceleration, deadzones, response curves per axis and more.
It can require hours of meticulous testing to find your personal groove. Some top players have found terrific configurations like this one from esdesu:
As you can see, he customized vertical/horizontal yaw values differently for distinct 360 turning. The beauty of ALC is setting specific aspects like ADS yaw independent of others.
However, the ALC system is quite new and still has some kinks compared to standard sensitivity. As top ranked blog "Okay Okay Gaming Guide" explains:
"We recommend avoiding ALCs for now until the developers refine consistency issues related to frame drops and response loss in certain conditions."
If you love grinding for small differences and weapon mastery is your thing, delve into ALCs. But for everyone else, stick with default sensitivity and response curve locking for now.
And there you have it! Everything needed to transform into an Apex apex predator on PC and console. Start with foundational sensitivity in the Goldilocks zone: not too fast, not too slow. Build fluid recoil control and movement through linear settings and button layouts. Then move onto advanced tactics as hunger grows.
Small adjustments make a world of difference. Simply swapping classic for linear response supercharges trackability. What will you try first: beaming away with fresh bindings or witnessing buttery view kicks on a dialed sensitivity?
I‘m always hunting the next marginal upgrade too. Let me know what custom settings you discover on the trail towards Apex Mastery! Last one alive locks the win.