Many factors contribute to Apex Legends' fast-paced gameplay. Fights are started when enemy squads come into contact with one another - a byproduct of the game's map design, legend movement abilities, and traversal mechanics such as Jump Towers, Tridents, and Gravity Cannons. In the midst of these fights, the fast time-to-kill (TTK) is a result of weapons, grenades, and legend abilities whittling down players' shields and health. The general basics of combat are explained in Apex Legends' tutorials, but for players to truly be good at the game, they must play matches.
Trios, Duos, Arenas - these staple game modes will teach players the layout of each map, how legend abilities are used, and most important of all, how to fight other players. It can be a daunting experience to enter a match where the majority of the lobby wants to kill the player but over time, this fear will eventually be replaced by a desire to become a better player. There are lots of hidden mechanics in Apex Legends that players can learn so that they can get the upper hand on their opponents; one of which is the often unspoken act of armor swapping.
What Is Armor Swapping?
Put simply, armor swapping is the act of picking up an Evo Shield off the ground or a Deathbox. If the Evo Shield in question isn't broken, players can quickly replenish their Evo Shield reserves by donning it. This bypasses the need to use precious Shield Cells, Shield Batteries, or Phoenix Kits - items that take 3, 5, and 10 seconds respectively to utilize. Armor Swapping is slightly buggy when players are using a Level 4 Body Shield but for the most part, as long as the Evo Shield that players want to pick up has a higher number of hit points than the Evo Shield they are wearing, the game will intuitively allow them to swap to said armor by interacting with it.
What Are The Benefits of Armor Swapping?
The seconds it takes to use a Shield Cell, Shield Battery, or Phoenix Kit may not seem like much, but in a game as fast-paced as Apex Legends, every bit of time counts. A couple of seconds spent charging shields could be better used to aid squadmates who are in a fight. To this end, any method that helps bypass a time-consuming mechanic such as shield charging is much welcome.
This is why seasoned players always make it a point to armor swap when their shields are low. It doesn't matter if the Evo Shield they are swapping to is of a lower level or has had less progression to its next stage. For them, the moment-to-moment need to survive is much more important. Pro Apex Legends players who are holding a position will normally fill their makeshift fort with as many Evo Shields as they can. This is to make armor swapping easier and will give them an advantage in case they need to enter a quick fight.
Armor Swapping In Day-To-Day Matches
While not everyone plays at the highest level, it pays to know just how useful armor swapping can be. Players who find themselves with a broken shield should bear in mind that they can get a quick boost by armor swapping. Scouring the surrounding area for an Evo Shield is a great way to avoid enemy fire while acquiring a fresh shield to use. If players are in an area with a lot of Death Boxes, chances are one of these dead players will have an unbroken Evo Shield for them to use.
Once players keep this mechanic to heart, they will find that they can survive a lot more firefights than they initially could. By swapping Evo Shields during combat, players are essentially giving themselves a health pick-me-up. And considering how shields form half of a player's overall hit points, this goes a long way to surviving more matches and improving one's skills.
Apex Legends is available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.