As an Apex Legends player with over 500 hours of experience, I’ve learned that mastering melee attacks is an essential part of dominating close quarters combat. Executing a well-timed and accurate melee attack can mean the difference between victory and defeat. In this comprehensive guide, I’ll provide tips on how to perform melee attacks more effectively and dish out maximum damage.
Table of Contents
How to Initiate a Melee Attack
The first step is knowing how to actually execute a melee attack in Apex Legends.
- On PC: Press the “V” key
- On Controller: Click the right analog stick
This will cause your character to punch in front of them. Timing is critical when initiating a melee attack. Wait until the enemy is very close before attacking.
Movement and Melee
Your movement directly impacts melee attack effectiveness. Sliding, jumping, or falling into an enemy hitbox increases melee damage and makes your strike harder to avoid.
Some effective movement + melee attack combos:
- Slide jump into a punch
- Drop down from above onto an enemy while kicking
- Grapple towards enemies as Pathfinder and punch
Work on incorporating smooth slides, jumps, and grapples leading into your melee attacks. The added momentum multiplied your damage.
Abusing Melee Invincibility Frames
An advanced melee attack technique is chaining together melee strikes while abusing i-frames (invincibility frames during melee animations). Rapidly melee to avoid incoming damage between punches. The timing can be tricky but pays off.
Legend Ability Synergies
Certain legend abilities strongly complement melee playstyles:
- Pathfinder: Grapple towards enemies to quickly close gaps then punch
- Octane: Stim for a speed boost before meleeing
- Bangalore: Pop smoke on enemies then beat them down
- Revenant: Silence enemies then quickly melee while their abilities are disabled
- Ash: Use ultimate to dash up close then melee priority targets
Experiment with different legends and ability timing to enhance your melee attacks.
Weapon Compatibility
While melee is powerful, also carry a suitable weapon for follow up shots after punching:
- Shotguns: Finish weakened enemies after melee
- SMGs: Quickly shred opponents who survive your punch
- Pistols: Easy weapon swap into melee and back
I recommend the Eva-8, R99, or RE45 as excellent pairings with melee focused play.
Movement Legends for Engaging/Disengaging
Use movement based legends like Pathfinder, Horizon and Valkyrie to quickly engage enemies with melee attacks and disengage. Their mobility makes getting in and out a breeze.
Grapple above the enemy, punch down, then grapple out as Pathfinder. Horizon can strafe lift then drop down onto a target. Lots of high IQ plays to be made.
When to Avoid Melee
While melee is powerful in Apex Legends, some situations make it a poor option:
- Enemies with shotguns up close
- Fighting multiple opponents at once
- Trying to melee Gibraltar or Caustic who have arm shields and fortified perks
Use discretion and only melee when conditions are favorable.
Evolving Your Melee Skills
It takes practice, but mastering melee attack timing, movement, and pairing melee with weapons/abilities is extremely satisfying. Work on your skills in the firing range before taking high level melee techniques into regular matches.
Get out there, evolve your melee skills, and start dominating close quarters combat! Let me know in the comments if this guide helped you execute better melee attacks in Apex Legends.
