Gear

Gear slots in the inventory. Left to right: Helmet, Armor, Knockdown Shield, Backpack, and Survival.

Gear have their own slots in the inventory. There are four types of equippable gear: Helmets, Armor, Knockdown Shields, and Backpacks.

Gear comes in different levels, each with a different rarity. Level 4 gear has the same stats as Level 3 gear, but they grant the player perks.

Level 1 is Common.
Level 2 is Rare.
Level 3 is Epic.
Level 4 is Legendary.
Level 5 is Mythic.

The game prevents players from swapping gear with gear of equal or lower level. However, players can swap armor for one of an equal or lower level if their current armor has fewer shields. Also, players can swap between the two armor types— Body Shield and Evo Shield—regardless of levels or shields, but they must hold if the other armor is weaker.

In addition to equippable gear, there are also deployable gear known as Survival items.

As part of the Starter Kit for Battle Royale, each Legend drops with a Level 1 Helmet, a Level 1 Evo Shield, and a Level 1 Knockdown Shield (alongside 2 Syringes and 2 Shield Cells). Level 1 Helmets and Knockdown Shields cannot be found as loot, unless a player drops them for a better Helmet or Knockdown Shield.

Helmet[]

Helmets decrease damage from headshots.

LV. 1 Helmet

	Helmet
	Type	Defense
	Time to use	?
	Description	Minor headshot damage reduction.

Reduces the extra damage from headshots by 20%. The expression is where is the base damage and is the headshot multiplier.
- For example, if the base damage is 100 and the headshot multiplier is 2, the equation is $100(0.2+0.8*2)=180$ .

LV. 2 Helmet

	Helmet
	Type	Defense
	Time to use	?
	Description	Moderate headshot damage reduction.

Reduces the extra damage from headshots by 50%. The expression is where is the base damage and is the headshot multiplier.
- For example, if the base damage is 100 and the headshot multiplier is 2, the equation is $100(0.5+0.5*2)=150$ .

LV. 3 Helmet

	Helmet
	Type	Defense
	Time to use	?
	Description	Maximum headshot damage reduction.

Reduces the extra damage from headshots by 65%. The expression is where is the base damage and is the headshot multiplier.
- For example, if the base damage is 100 and the headshot multiplier is 2, the equation is $100(0.65+0.35*2)=135$ .

LV. 4 Helmet

	Helmet
	Type	Defense
	Time to use	?
	Description	Maximum headshot damage reduction. [FAST CHARGE]: Reduces Tactical & Ultimate recharge time.

Reduces the extra damage from headshots by 65%. The expression is where is the base damage and is the headshot multiplier.
- For example, if the base damage is 100 and the headshot multiplier is 2, the equation is $100(0.65+0.35*2)=135$ .
Reduces Tactical & Ultimate recharge time by 20%.

It is not very necessary to use it while playing Octane (unless all other teammates have one already) since his stim's cooldown is only reduced by half a second and his jump pad already charges quickly. In Mirage's case, his ultimate will simply charge up quicker than Octane's jump pad. Also, Horizon's tactical ability charges 10 seconds slower than Mirage's, so it is not that necessary to have it unless everyone else's abilities recharge at a moderate speed.

Try to find it while playing as (or give it to) support and defensive characters, such as Lifeline or Gibraltar, so they can set out traps and airstrikes more often, and send care packages at a faster rate.

Armor[]

Armor grants the player shields. The shields can be recharged using Shield Cells, Shield Batteries, or Phoenix Kits; or by completing a finisher. The shields are also restored when the player dies, allowing other players to loot the Death Box for armor.

There are two types of armor: Body Shields and Evo Shields.

Body Shield[]

LV. 1 Body Shield

	Body Shield
	Type	Defense
	Time to use	?
	Description	Absorbs 50 damage.

Level 1 is no longer available. See Level 2 or Level 3 for Arenas, or Level 4 for Battle Royale.

LV. 2 Body Shield

	Body Shield
	Type	Defense
	Time to use	?
	Description	Absorbs 75 damage.

Level 2 is no longer available for Battle Royale. See Level 4.

LV. 3 Body Shield

	Body Shield
	Type	Defense
	Time to use	?
	Description	Absorbs 100 damage.

Level 3 is no longer available for Battle Royale. See Level 4.

LV. 4 Body Shield

	Body Shield
	Type	Defense
	Time to use	?
	Description	Absorbs 100 damage. [IMPROVED MINOR HEAL]: Syringes and Shield Cells have improved effects.

Syringes and Shield Cells heal 50 instead of 25.

The Level 4 Body Shield reduces the Sentinel's charge cost from 2 to 1

Shield Cell.

On intense firefights, it may be faster to switch to another body shield of the same or lower level instead of using

Shield Cells or

Shield Batteries, as all shields keep their health when dropped and all naturally spawned body shields always start with full health.

Completing a Finisher refills all Shield health.

Carrying more small heals, such as

Shield Cells and

Syringes rather than big heals, such as

Shield Batteries and

Med Kits will get the most use out of the [IMPROVED MINOR HEAL] Perk. Give your bigger health items to your teammates if possible.

Evo Shield[]

LV. 1 Evo Shield

	Evo Shield
	Type	Defense
	Time to use	?
	Description	Absorbs 50 damage. Gains strength when wearer inflicts damage.

Evolves to Level 2 after dealing at least 150 damage to enemies.
- Does not count downed enemies.
- Only 25% of damage to PvE enemies count for Evo Shields.
If dropped or if the wearer dies, progress towards the next level is saved for the next wearer.

Using 50

materials, a Replicator can reduce the points needed to evolve by 150, or craft a Level 2 Evo Shield if the points needed was already 150 or less.

Try to look for a used Evo Shield from other dead players so that you don’t have to deal as much damage for the max level.

Completing a Finisher refills all Shield health.

LV. 2 Evo Shield

	Evo Shield
	Type	Defense
	Time to use	?
	Description	Absorbs 75 damage. Gains strength when wearer inflicts damage.

Evolves to Level 3 after dealing at least 300 damage to enemies.
- Does not count downed enemies.
- Only 25% of damage to PvE enemies count for Evo Shields.
If dropped or if the wearer dies, progress towards the next level is saved for the next wearer.

Using 50

materials, a Replicator can reduce the points needed to evolve by 150, or craft a Level 3 Evo Shield if the points needed was already 150 or less.

Try to look for a used Evo Shield from other dead players so that you don’t have to deal as much damage for the max level.

Completing a Finisher refills all Shield health.

LV. 3 Evo Shield

	Evo Shield
	Type	Defense
	Time to use	?
	Description	Absorbs 100 damage. Gains strength when wearer inflicts damage.

Evolves to Level 5 after dealing at least 750 damage to enemies.
- Does not count downed enemies.
- Only 25% of damage to PvE enemies count for Evo Shields.
If dropped or if the wearer dies, progress towards the next level is saved for the next wearer.

Using 50

materials, a Replicator can reduce the points needed to evolve by 150, or craft a Level 5 Evo Shield if the points needed was already 150 or less.

Try to look for a used Evo Shield from other dead players so that you don’t have to deal as much damage for the max level.

Completing a Finisher refills all Shield health.

LV. 5 Evo Shield

	Evo Shield
	Type	Defense
	Time to use	?
	Description	Absorbs 125 damage. Fully evolved.

Does not spawn in Battle Royale.

Try to look for a used Evo Shield from other dead players.

While

Shield Cells still heal only 1 bar (25 health) with the Evo Shield equipped,

Shield Batteries can heal all 5 bars (125 health), making them even more valuable, so it's best to carry more of them than you usually would (e.g. three stacks/6)

Although it may come to preference, sometimes a Legendary Body Shield may still be more valuable than a Level 5 Evo Shield due to its [IMPROVED MINOR HEAL] passive, especially if you are running low on

Shield Batteries and

Med Kits, e.g. in the last few circles, when there probably is less loot available.

Completing a Finisher refills all Shield health.

Knockdown Shield[]

Knockdown Shields allow downed players to protect themselves. The shields are restored when the player is no longer down. Players can bypass Knockdown Shields with finishers.

LV. 1 Knockdown Shield

	Knockdown Shield
	Type	Gear
	Time to use	?
	Description	Directional damage protection while knocked down (Max: 200 Damage).

Reduces movement speed to 55%.

When used for

Retrieve the Wounded, it has 150 health.

LV. 2 Knockdown Shield

	Knockdown Shield
	Type	Gear
	Time to use	?
	Description	Directional damage protection while knocked down (Max: 450 Damage).

Reduces movement speed to 55%.

When used for

Retrieve the Wounded, it has 250 health.

Consider prioritizing Newcastle for Knockdown Shield as it helps his passive

Retrieve the Wounded

LV. 3 Knockdown Shield

	Knockdown Shield
	Type	Gear
	Time to use	?
	Description	Directional damage protection while knocked down (Max: 750 Damage).

Reduces movement speed to 55%.

When used for

Retrieve the Wounded, it has 500 health.

Consider prioritizing Newcastle for Knockdown Shield as it helps his passive

Retrieve the Wounded

LV. 4 Knockdown Shield

	Knockdown Shield
	Type	Gear
	Time to use	?
	Description	Directional damage protection while knocked down (Max: 750 Damage). [RESURRECTION]: Can self-resurrect once. Ability consumed upon use.

Not available in custom lobbies, including tournament matches.
Reduces movement speed to 55%.
The perk of this knockdown shield is the only way for a player to revive without the assistance of a squad member. However, it takes twice as long (12 seconds).
If a member of a squad has a Legendary knockdown shield equipped, the squad may stay active in the match until that player is killed (even if all squad members are downed, or killed).
The shield reverts to an Epic Knockdown shield when [RESURRECTION] is consumed.

When used for

Retrieve the Wounded, it has 500 health.

Stay in cover and have your back against a wall while self-reviving since the hitbox moves behind the player slightly.

Even if you have teammates who can revive you, using your [RESURRECTION] perk early can be beneficial, as it leaves your team free to fight, or revive one another.

If one of your teammates is down, try using one of their knockdown shields as cover while reviving, since you are vulnerable while doing so.

Consider prioritizing Newcastle for Knockdown Shields as it helps his passive

Retrieve the Wounded.

Backpack[]

Backpacks increase inventory size.

LV. 1 Backpack

	Backpack
	Type	Gear
	Time to use	?
	Description	Carry 2 more items.

Gives the player 12 inventory slots.

LV. 2 Backpack

	Backpack
	Type	Gear
	Time to use	?
	Description	Carry 4 more items.

Gives the player 14 inventory slots.

LV. 3 Backpack

	Backpack
	Type	Gear
	Time to use	?
	Description	Carry 6 more items.

Gives the player 16 inventory slots.

LV. 4 Backpack

	Backpack
	Type	Gear
	Time to use	?
	Description	Carry 6 more items. [GUARDIAN ANGEL]: You revive squadmates with bonus shields and health.

Gives the player 16 inventory slots.
Restores 50 shields and 50 health, in addition to the 20 health restored by the revive. In other words, the revived player will have 50 shields and 70 health.
The UI for the Gold Backpack has a Gold Bar to better convey to the player when they are using or being revived with the perk.
While a player is being revived with a gold backpack, there is a slight "charged" effect and a special sound effect to indicate the gold backpack is being used. After the player is revived, they will momentarily glow in the color of their shield to indicate that a Guardian Angel revive occurred.

There are 4 legends you must prioritize with a gold backpack: 1, Gibraltar, 2, Lifeline, 3, Mirage, and 4, Newcastle as their revives can be augmented with their abilities. Make sure to give this backpack to these four legends to ensure a better chance at survival when you’re revived. If none of these legends are on your squad, consider giving the gold bags to legends like Caustic or Bangalore who can provide artificial cover with gas/smoke, or Wraith who can use her portal to provide a safer revive.

If you have the Level 4 Knockdown Shield and manage to successfully self-resurrect yourself while having this backpack, you'll trigger Guardian Angel's healing effect on yourself, giving you 50 shields and 70 health.

Survival[]

Survival items are deployable items that are situational but they provide immense utility. There are two survival items: the Heat Shield and the Mobile Respawn Beacon. As there is only 1 Survival Slot, players cannot carry them both, but they can still swap survival items by holding.

Heat Shield[]

	Heat Shield
	Type	Survival
	Time to use	?
	Description	Ring damage protection in an area. Increases speed of revives outside the ring by 25%.

Spawns in stacks of 2.
Up to 2 Heat Shields can be stacked in the Survival Slot.
Inside the Ring, the Heat Shield does nothing. It disappears if the Ring does not touch it within 45 seconds.
The shield starts at 100%; while absorbing ring damage, it takes damage every 1.5 seconds. The amount is based on the round.
- 5% for Rounds 1 and 2. (Maximum duration is 30 seconds.)
- 6% for Round 3. (Maximum duration is 25.5 seconds.)
- 8% for Round 4. (Maximum duration is 19.5 seconds.)
- 15% for Round 5. (Maximum duration is 10.5 seconds.)
- 25% for Round 6. (Maximum duration is 6 seconds.)
- 100% while Round 6 is closing. (Maximum duration is 1.5 seconds.)

Can be placed on the Trident.

It is best to use this when you are far away from the Ring, in the earlier rounds, or being pushed to the Ring by an enemy team, or trying to get out of cover, in the later rounds.

Mobile Respawn Beacon[]

	Mobile Respawn Beacon
	Type	Survival
	Time to use	?
	Description	Creates a respawn beacon at your position.

Deploys a small respawn beacon. Takes about 15 seconds to land.
Takes 7 seconds to use (instead of 5 like regular Respawn Beacons).
Each Mobile Respawn Beacon can only be used once, and once used it will be destroyed.

Mobile Respawn Beacons make a lot of noise when deploying and emit a bright green beam to the sky while deployed, so they can be very easily tracked by nearby squads.

Crypto is an excellent Legend to use with the Mobile Respawn Beacon as he can get his teammates' banners safely at a distance with his

Surveillance Drone.

Like a normal

Respawn Beacon, Mirage will become invisible while respawning his teammates. Also, mobile respawn beacons can be used as portable covers.

Due to their small size, you will be more exposed when using a Mobile Respawn Beacon as opposed to a normal

Respawn Beacon.

History[]

Patch notes

May 10, 2022 Patch

Increased Helmet headshot damage reduction from 40% to 50%.
Increased Helmet headshot damage reduction from 50% to 65%.

November 02, 2021 Patch

Damage to wildlife now counts for Evo Shields, but only 25%.

September 22, 2021 Patch

Players can once again swap an Evo Shield for a Body Shield of a lower level, by holding.

September 14, 2021 Patch

Armor health now shows up in Death Boxes.
Players no longer have to hold to swap an Evo Shield for a Body Shield of a lower level with more health. (However, players can no longer swap from an Evo Shield to a Body Shield of a lower level, unless that Body Shield has more health.)

August 03, 2021 Patch

Gold Backpack:
- Now has a unique sound when reviving.

May 04, 2021 Patch

Starter kit:
- Players will now start a match with a “Starter Kit” consisting of a Level 1 Evo Shield, Helmet, and Knockdown Shield, plus two Shield Cells and Syringes each.
- Helmets and Knockdown Shields have been removed from ground loot.
- Spawn chances for Evo Shields in the loot pool have been significantly reduced.
- Along with the lowered or removed spawn chances for these items, we’ve rebalanced the loot pool such that higher-level versions of these items will appear nearly the same as they do now, but other item types will appear more often (weapons, ordinance, health, ammo, etc.)

March 23, 2021 Patch

Added Heat Shields to all game modes.
Removed 50% faster healing item usage.

March 22, 2021 Patch

Added the ability to enable/disable the Survival Slot button on the settings. If disabled, the button will become an “Inspect Weapon” button.

March 15, 2021 Patch

Heat Shield
- Removed from the Crafting pool.
- Fixed an exploit allowing players to deploy infinite heat shields.
- Fixed an issue with the audio from it playing with no falloff.

March 12, 2021 Patch

Removed Heat Shields from Ranked Leagues and private matches until further notice.

March 09, 2021 Patch

Added the Survival Slot.
Added Heat Shields, initially only available in Ring Fury.
Reclassified the Mobile Respawn Beacon from Regen (Special) to Gear (Survival).
Gold Backpack: Players being revived by a gold backpack will have a crackle of energy—based on the tier of armor they wear—while the revive is taking place. They will also display the armor heal FX when the revive is finished.

November 04, 2020 Patch

Increased the damage requirement for the Evo Shield to evolve:
- Level 0 to Level 1: 50 to 100.
- Level 1 to Level 2: 125 to 150.
- Level 2 to Level 3: 250 to 300.
- Level 3 to Level 5: 500 to 750.

October 06, 2020 Patch

Players can now swap an Evo Shield for a Body Shield of a lower level.
Players can now swap their current Evo Shield for one of the same level with less HP if it is closer to evolving.
Loot prompts now show how much damage an Evo Shield has acquired, so players can make a better decision when switching.

September 10, 2020 Patch

Fixed cases where Knockdown Shields were not blocking shots.

September 03, 2020 Patch

Increased the shield values of all armor (except the Level 0 Evo Shield) by 25.

August 20, 2020 Patch

Reduced the number of Knockdown Shields, Helmets, and Backpacks that spawn in the world.

August 18, 2020 Patch

Introduced the Level 0 Evo Shield that is automatically equipped when the player drops.
Increased the damage requirement for the Evo Shield to evolve:
- Level 0 to Level 1: 50 (new).
- Level 1 to Level 2: 75 to 125.
- Level 2 to Level 3: 150 to 250.
- Level 3 to Level 5: 400 to 500.
Reduced the shield values of all armor except the Level 1 and Level 2 Evo Shields by 25.
Removed Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 Body Shields from the loot pool. Evo Shields of the same level spawn in their place.

July 07, 2020 Patch

Added Mobile Respawn Beacons to all game modes.

June 23, 2020 Patch

Added the Mobile Respawn Beacon, initially only available in the Armed and Dangerous Evolved gamemode.

June 15, 2020

Removed Knockdown Shield from custom lobbies.

May 12, 2020 Patch

Removed [Fast Use] perk from Level 4 Body Shield.
Added [Improved Minor Heal] perk to Level 4 Body Shield.

April 07, 2020 Patch

Reduced the amount of damage required for Evo Shields to evolve.
- Level 2: 100 to 75.
- Level 3: 300 to 150.
- Level 5: 500 to 400.

March 17, 2020

Added Evo Shields to all game modes' loot pools.

March 03, 2020 Patch

Added Evo Shields - initially available only in Déjà Loot
Base inventory slots increased from 8 to 10.
Common Backpack: expanded inventory to 12 slots.
Rare Backpack: expanded inventory to 14 slots.
Epic Backpack: expanded inventory to 16 slots.

February 04, 2020 Patch

Gold Backpack: UI update to better convey to the player when they are using or being revived with the perk.

December 03, 2019 Patch

Knockdown Shield protection now extends over and behind the player's head.
Level 1 Knockdown Shield HP increased from 100 to 200.
Level 2 Knockdown Shield HP increased from 250 to 450.
Movement speed while the knockdown shield is active decreased from 65% to 55%.

October 01, 2019 Patch

Removed [Executioner] perk from Level 4 Body Shield. (All finishers will restore shield health now)
Moved [Fast Use] perk from Level 4 Backpack to Level 4 Body Shield.
Added [Guardian Angel] perk to Level 4 Backpack, restoring extra health and shields to revived squadmates.

Trivia[]

Initially, all armor were Body Shields. The System Override event introduced Evo Shields as a high risk, high reward alternative that only spawned in Level 1. As of Season 6, Evo Shields replaced all Body Shields in Battle Royale (except Level 4).
- Because Body Shields were originally the default, if a player requests for armor by pinging the armor slot in the inventory, the Legend will ask for a Body Shield.
Despite being the fourth stage in evolution, red Evo Shields are actually Level 5.
Evo Shields also come in Level 0. They do not actually exist (they are treated as no armor), but they do evolve to Level 1 after doing 100 damage. They used to be equipped on the drop, until Starter Kits made them obsolete. It is still possible get a Level 0 Evo Shield by depositing the player's current armor into a Replicator.
Before the addition of the Survival Slot in the Chaos Theory event, the Mobile Respawn Beacon was stored in the regular inventory slots and was previously classified as a Regen item.

Apex Legends Wiki

Gear

Contents

Helmet[]

Armor[]

Body Shield[]

Evo Shield[]

Knockdown Shield[]

Backpack[]

Survival[]

Heat Shield[]

Mobile Respawn Beacon[]

History[]

Trivia[]

See also[]

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