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Apex Legends

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
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Although this product has been released, it remains under active development - information may change frequently and could be outdated or irrelevant.
Apex Legends
Apex Legends cover
Developers
Respawn Entertainment
Publishers
Electronic Arts
Engines
Source
Release dates
Windows February 4, 2019
Reception
Metacritic 88
OpenCritic 81
IGDB 88
Taxonomy
Monetization Free-to-play
Microtransactions Boost, Cosmetic, Infinite spend, Loot box, Free-to-grind, Unlock, Currency, Time-limited
Modes Multiplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives First-person
Controls Direct control
Genres Action, Battle royale, FPS
Art styles Stylized
Themes Sci-fi
Series Titanfall
Apex Legends on HowLongToBeat
Apex Legends on IGDB
Apex Legends guide on StrategyWiki
Apex Legends on MobyGames
Apex Legends on Wikipedia
Titanfall
Titanfall 2014
Titanfall 2 2016
Apex Legends 2019

Warnings

This game requires a constant internet connection for all game modes.

Apex Legends is an online multiplayer battle royale FPS game developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts. It is set in the Titanfall universe and uses the same Source engine as used in Titanfall and Titanfall 2.[1]

Apex Legends released on Origin on February 4, 2019. At launch, many players experienced issues with crash to desktop at random intervals, which appears to have been fixed for many PC players in a stability patch on March 22, 2019.[2] The game is one of the most popular online PC games, reaching a reported 70 million players (on all platforms) on October 29, 2019,[3] although this figure does not reflect concurrent players or PC-only players.

As of May 2020, the game remains very popular and is regularly updated with new free content as well as microtransactions and a new Season Pass approximately every 3 months,[4] and has a very active playerbase worldwide. Season 5: Fortune's Favor, a content update, was released May 12, 2020.[5] Following the announcement of a partnership between EA and Valve on October 29, 2019, Apex Legends was released on Steam on November 5, 2020, supporting cross-platform play with Origin.[6]

General information

Official forum
Official Discord
/r/apexlegends subreddit
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Origin
Always online (requires a constant internet connection to play)
Origin code only, no disc. Available in Bloodhound Edition or Lifeline Edition.
Windows
Origin
Origin
Always online (requires a constant internet connection to play)
[7]
Manual link for EA App download.
Windows
Steam
Icon overlay.png
Always online (requires a constant internet connection to play)
Windows
All versions require an EA account and a constant internet connection for all game modes.

Version differences

Champion Edition

Unavailable since January 27th, 2023.[8][9] Included 3 exclusive skins for both weapons and Legends, 1000 Apex Coins and Legend unlocks from release (Caustic, Mirage) up to Season 7 (Horizon).

Lifeline/Bloodhound Edition

Unavailable digitally, but may be available physically. Both editions include exclusive cosmetics (depending on edition) and 1000 Apex Coins.

Founders Pack

Was available only until Season 1. Included 3 exclusive skins for both weapons and Legends and 2000 Apex Coins.

Monetization

Type Notes
Free-to-play Game is free-to-play and microtransactions are heavily promoted in-game.

Microtransactions

Type Notes
Boost Every Season (every few months), a new Battle Pass is released which temporarily boosts the speed at which these currencies and cosmetics are gained. The Battle Pass can be purchased using Apex Coins.
Currency Apex Coins are a real money purchase. Apex Coins can be used to purchase cosmetics and unlock characters, which are frequently added into the game at regular intervals.
Free-to-grind It is possible to unlock every character within a reasonable playtime without spending real money by earning Legend Tokens after competing in games. However the purchase of the Battle Pass, Apex Coins and Apex Packs allows users to skip the grind.
Infinite spend No practical limit to how much real money can be spent in the game.
Loot box Apex Coins can be spent on Apex Packs which are loot boxes that drop cosmetics which do not duplicate, and guarantees a Legendary quality cosmetic every 30 packs.[10] Apex Packs also have a very small chance to award 'heirloom shards' currency which is used to purchase 'heirloom' quality cosmetics, and are guaranteed every 500 packs.[11]
Time-limited A pack including 600 Apex Coins and a skin for a Legend is released every Season for its' duration, after which the packs are made unavailable for purchase.

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Use the -dev command line argument[12]
Rename or remove respawn.bik located in <path-to-game>\Media\[13]
This method prevents the long menu load times on NVIDIA cards and the HUD flicker/disappearing issue caused by using command line arguments.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\Respawn\Apex\local\videoconfig.txt
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/1172470/pfx/[Note 1]
Locale is saved in %PROGRAMDATA%\Origin\LocalContent\Apex\Origin.OFR.50.0002694.dat

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
Origin
Steam Cloud

Video

Video settings
Video settings
In-game 5760x1080 Nvidia Surround
In-game 5760x1080 Nvidia Surround

Graphics feature State Notes
Widescreen resolution
Minimum window height must be 720 pixels.
Multi-monitor
Detects multi-monitor resolutions, however, loading menu, character selection, legends introduction is stretched across all displays. HUD is optimised for multi-monitor resolution.
Ultra-widescreen
Some of the UI doesn't scale correctly and menu doesn't extend to 32:9.
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Between 70º and 110º, with the default being 90º. As with other Source games, this is the horizontal FOV for a 4:3 screen, making it equivalent to 74º vertical. Precise calculation for different aspect ratios can be made with the help of this web tool.
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Up to 16 samples.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
TSAA.[14]
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS
120+ FPS
Up to 144 FPS by default. Unlocked with +fps_max unlimited. Lobby screen is capped to 60 FPS.
High dynamic range display (HDR)
Console-exclusive feature. Windows 11 AutoHDR supported.
Color blind mode

Input

In-game input settings
In-game input settings
In-game controller settings
In-game controller settings

Keyboard and mouse State Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Aim assist can be toggled on and off but it is not as strong as it is on console.
Full controller support
Controller remapping
Comes with a few button presets.
Controller sensitivity
Very Low, Low, Default, High, Very High, Super High, Ultra High, Insane presets.
Controller Y-axis inversion
Controller types
XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Uses Xbox One button prompts.
Impulse Trigger vibration
PlayStation controllers
DualShock 4, DualSense, DualSense Edge
PlayStation button prompts
Light bar support
Adaptive trigger support
Works over Bluetooth. Added in the Breakout update.[15]
DualSense haptic feedback support
Wired only. Added in the Breakout update.[15]
Connection modes Wired, Wireless (Bluetooth), Wireless (DualShock 4 USB Wireless Adapter)
Generic/other controllers
Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M
Introduces mouse lag and sensitivity issues while moving with a joystick.

Audio

Audio settings
Audio settings

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Master, Sound Effects, Dialogue, Music, Lobby Music.
Surround sound
5.1, 7.1. Is detected automatically, to set manually see Command line arguments.
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Polish
Brazilian Portuguese
Russian
Spanish

Network

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
Local play
LAN play
Online play
60 Versus
20 squads of 3 or 30 squads of 2 against each other.[16]
Supports crossplay with Xbox One, PS4, Switch.
Asynchronous multiplayer

Connection types

Issues unresolved

Shader compilation stutter

While the game offers compiling shaders when starting it for the first time, not all shaders are compiled, this can be seen in lobby when changing game modes which will result in stutter. This issue occurs everytime when a new season comes out.[17][18]
The game suffers from shader compilation related stutters during gameplay, this occurs whenever a new effect is displayed and thus whenever a new shader has to be compiled.[19][20]

Party Not Ready

When pressing Ready, the game states Party Not Ready, even when playing alone.
Close and open the game, or enter then leave training mode[citation needed]

Crash to desktop

There have been numerous reports of crash to desktop on both Nvidia and AMD GPUs.[21][citation needed]
Upgrading to Nvidia driver version 419.35 is known to fix the issue[citation needed]

Issues fixed

Low FPS/stuttering on Nvidia Optimus platforms

Some Nvidia drivers might not properly detect Apex Legends as a game and automatically select and make use of the Nvidia discrete GPU to render the game on Nvidia Optimus platforms, instead it will default to using the integrated GPU that resides in the CPU (Intel-based GPU).
Configure the Nvidia display drivers to make use of the high-performance Nvidia graphics card for the game[22]
  1. Open the NVIDIA Control Panel.
  2. Under Manage 3d settings, open the Program Settings tab.
  3. Add a profile for Apex Legends (r5apex.exe).
  4. Change Select the preferred graphics processor for this program to High-performance NVIDIA processor.

Notes

The Select the preferred graphics processor for this program option is only available on Nvidia Optimus platforms that uses switchable graphics cards, such as laptops and console-sized PCs. If this option is not available then either the system is not an Nvidia Optimus platform, or incorrect iGPU and dGPU drivers are installed. Refer to your system manual and OEM drivers section to locate the proper Intel and Nvidia drivers to use.

Frametime inconsistencies and microstutter at high FPS

The game can feel stuttery even at higher frame rates which is most likely caused by inconsistent frametimes.
Disable the ingame FPS limiter by adding +fps_max unlimited as a launch command, then use RTSS or AMD/Nvidia Control Panel to limit the ingame FPS.

Cannot look around in-game

Disable Origin In-Game Overlay
  1. Locate game in Origin Library.
  2. Open game Properties Page.
  3. Uncheck 'Enable Origin In Game'.

Notes

This is usually caused by a conflict of another overlay, i.e. disable Discord's overlay.

Mouse stuttering

Lower mouse polling rate
  1. Open your mouse specific settings.
  2. Check if polling rate is high.
  3. Lower polling rate to 500 or below.

Notes

Lowering polling rates reduces the rate of mouse updates to the PC.

Geometry pop-in/Low Level-of-Detail(LOD)

Tweaking "Model Detail" adds considerable amounts of detail to cliffs, rocks, trees, and other game elements. In addition, higher detail levels will reduce the degree of pop-in as you move quickly through a level, increasing image quality and immersion.
Edit Config File to increase Model Detail[23]
  1. Find and open %USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\Respawn\Apex\local\videoconfig.txt in your text editor.
  2. Find and modify setting.r_lod_switch_scale from 1 to 2, 3, or 4 for better visual quality.
  3. Save the file and make it read-only.

Notes

Don't open in-game "Settings", doing so will revert "Model Detail" to "1".
There are diminishing returns past "2", which is a massive jump up from "1"(the in-game maximum applied by the "High" setting). "Model Detail" has a minimal impact on modern GPUs, "2" will set you back 3 FPS, "3" 2.1 FPS, and "4" 1.3 FPS.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 11, 12 D3D12 accessed via the -eac_launcher_settings SettingsDX12.json launch option. *This requires a tweak to /Apex Legends/EasyAntiCheat/Launcher/SettingsDX12.json after the 2024-01-09 title update; set the value for executable from r5apex.exe to r5apex_dx12.exe
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Cutscenes Bink Video
Anti-cheat Easy Anti-Cheat [24]

Command line arguments

View this Steam Support Article regarding launch options as well as the relevant Valve Developer wiki page for further information and a list of useful Source engine launch options.
These arguments can be set in Steam, Origin or in the shortcut for the game executable.
-high can cause an issue where the Apex client believes there is an Origin update. Remove -high if you have this problem. Example screenshot here.
NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency requires a Geforce GTX 9xx GPU at minimum, and graphics drivers of version 456.71 or higher.
Flag Description
-dev Used to skip intro videos/logos since -novid doesn't work for this game. Can cause HUD flicker issues and long menu load times on NVIDIA cards, see Skip intro videos section for an alternative method that avoids these issues.
-high Forces the game to launch as a high priority process. Can cause a login server issue, see note above.
-fullscreen Launches the game in exclusive fullscreen mode.
-window Launches the game in windowed mode. Use with -noborder to launch the game in borderless fullscreen.
-noborder Launches the game in borderless mode. Use with -window to launch the game in borderless fullscreen.
+cl_showfps 1 or 4 Displays FPS/Network information in the top-right corner (1) or top-left corner (4).
+cl_showpos 1 Displays information of the player's position/velocity at the top-left corner.
+fps_max 0 Uncaps the FPS.
+miles_channels X Sets the number of audio channels to Integer X. For example, 2 results in stereo sound.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 10
Processor (CPU) AMD-FX 4350
Intel Core i3-6300
System memory (RAM) 6 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 75 GB (~3.8GB for 1 localized language)
Video card (GPU) AMD Radeon HD 7730
Nvidia GeForce GT 640
DirectX 11 compatible
A 64-bit operating system is required.
The game requires CPU with SSSE3 and POPCNT instructions.[25][26] Pre-Nehalem/Silvermont and pre-Bulldozer/Bobcat chips are unsupported.


Notes

  1. File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/1172470/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (1172470) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References

  1. Apex Legends: the Titanfall 2 engine evolved? - last accessed on 2020-05-09
    ""Commonalities with Titanfall 2 extend beyond the setting - the highly modified Source engine used in Respawn's last title is rolled out once more for Apex Legends, with a number of tweaks - essentially, the inclusion of necessary modifications required in order to deliver a large, expansive map with extensive draw distances.""
  2. Apex Legends crashes may soon become more rare - last accessed on 2020-05-07
    "According to Respawn, this patch introduces fixes for almost every common crash with the exception of a few rare problems and “out-of-memory” issue which is still pretty rare for most players."
  3. Apex Legends reaches 70 million players - last accessed on 2020-05-08
  4. Apex Legends Battle Pass: price, release date and roadmap - last accessed on 2020-05-09
    "Apex Legends Battle Pass seasons run for approximately three months."
  5. Apex Legends Season 5 Start Date--Loba Joins The Game Soon - last accessed on 2020-05-09
    "The Season 4 battle pass is scheduled to conclude on May 12 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 6 PM BST."
  6. EA AND VALVE PARTNERSHIP - last accessed on 2020-05-08
    ""Multiplayer games—like Apex Legends™, FIFA 20, and Battlefield™ V—will become available next year, and players on both Origin™ and Steam will have the ability to play together.""
  7. [Help] r5apex.exe - ida pro(important segment seems to be destroyed) - UnKnoWnCheaTs
  8. Changelist #17531628 - SteamDB - last accessed on 2023-02-15
  9. Verified by User:SargeCassidy on 2023-02-15
    Originally also available on Origin/EA app, it is now gone from there as well, though codes can still be redeemed.
  10. How Apex Legends’ Microtransactions Work - last accessed on 2020-04-17
    "Everyone is guaranteed at least one Legendary item every 30th loot box."
  11. Apex Legends: How to Get Heirloom Shards & What They Do - last accessed on 2020-04-17
    "You’ll be guaranteed to get an Heirloom Shard drop every 500 crates you open."
  12. Verified by User:Mrsnowman on February 11, 2019
  13. Verified by User:Jazztickets on 2023-08-08
  14. Titanfall 2 Graphics, Performance, & Tweaking Guide - last accessed on 2020-04-03
  15. 15.0 15.1 Apex Legends: Breakout Patch Notes - Apex Legends official site - last accessed on February 14, 2024
  16. Apex Legends Is a Surprising Threat to Fortnite's Dominance - last accessed on February 15, 2019
  17. Verified by User:Faust8 on 2024-02-07
    Checked with RTSS when changing game modes that resulted in stutter.
  18. lobby stuttering - last accessed on 2024-02-07
  19. Verified by User:Faust8 on 2024-02-07
    Checked with RTSS in BR mode.
  20. random stutters mid fights - last accessed on 2024-02-07
  21. Apex Crashing? Please Post Your Issues Here | March 16th Game Crash Megathread : apexlegends - Reddit - last accessed on 2019-03-17
  22. Solution for low fps on Apex Legends - last accessed on May 2023
  23. Titanfall 2 Graphics, Performance & Tweaking Guide - last accessed on May 2023
  24. Apex Legends FAQ - An Official EA Site
  25. Quick Update Before the Weekend : apexlegends - Reddit. Please note a typo on the side of the developer. Phenoms do have SSE3. It's SSSE3 that they lack.
  26. Cpu does not have POPCNT! help - Answer HQ - last accessed on May 2023