A new season in Apex Legends means a new Legend is joining the roster and hopefully making a strong mark on the game’s meta. With Season 8 came Fuse, an Australian-accented old dog who loves a grenade or two.
Along with Fuse making his explosive arrival in Kings Canyon, the Legend also introduced the classic 30-30 Repeater lever-action rifle from his homeworld of Salvo. This weapon is tricky to master but can be very potent at medium ranges in the right hands.
Given Fuse’s affinity for all things explosive, his abilities revolve around causing a lot of destruction – a lot more so than any of the other Legends so far. His passive and tactical abilities work very well together, ensuring enemies are always pinned down or blown up by volleys of grenades. Meanwhile, his ultimate, a giant firebomb called The Motherlode, is very versatile, allowing competent players to create space to protect themselves or engulf enemies in flames.
Grenadier – Passive ability:
Any long-time Apex Legends players will appreciate one aspect of Fuse’s Grenadier passive ability as it was a standard rule in Apex Legends. Fuse can hold double the number of grenades as he can carry an extra one per inventory slot. This means that Fuse players can bombard enemy teams with plenty of firepower in the form of Arc Stars, Frags, and Thermites to cause some serious damage.
Furthermore, Fuse also uses his grenade catapult on his arm to launch all grenades much farther, faster, and more accurately, allowing skilled players to launch multiple grenades in rapid succession at long range to soften up an enemy team. Arc Stars can be launched extremely far compared to the other grenade types, and the added accuracy also makes sticking enemy players easier. Frag grenades also gain an extra trajectory path to show where a Frag will bounce to if it hits a surface first. Players should use this to accurately bounce grenades off walls to catch out enemies behind cover.
This passive ability really sets Fuse above the other Legends in some ways as it allows players to put so much pressure on enemy teams by constantly forcing them to reposition to escape grenades. Fuse players should carry an array of all three types of grenades - if they have the inventory space - as they can all be very useful. Frags are a great general-purpose grenade that deals strong damage to anyone caught in the blast, while Arc Stars are excellent for slowing down enemies, making them far easier to hit.
Coordinating with teammates to fire several Thermite grenades into a building can easily fry a team if they get hit, but the long duration of Thermites also makes them great at area denial and trapping enemies inside. Following up with even more grenades through windows and doorways can further help to secure those eliminations.
To lean into this grenade-heavy playstyle, Fuse players may need to consider sacrificing ammunition or healing items to make space for grenades. Another thing to be aware of is that Fuse’s grenade-spamming abilities make Wattson and her Interception Pylon a great counter to him as the Pylon will just destroy any grenades that get thrown its way. Fuse players should pace their grenade throws to ensure they do not waste them all by throwing them at a Pylon.
Knuckle Cluster – Tactical Ability:
The Knuckle Cluster is a helpful and deadly tactical ability as it is one of the few tactical abilities in Apex Legends that deals noticeable damage. As with his passive ability, Fuse will load up his arm-mounted grenade catapult with a special Knuckle Cluster grenade that can be launched far and travels very quickly. Tapping the tactical ability button will fire the Knuckle Cluster very quickly, which can be useful if players find themselves torn between reloading their gun and trying to quickly finish off a weakened enemy. Although, by holding the tactical button, players can also accurately aim where the Knuckle Cluster will go using the trajectory path exactly like throwing a grenade.
Once a Knuckle Cluster has been launched, it will stick to any surface, including enemies, and begin releasing a series of small explosions over a couple of seconds that deal low damage in a wide area. Sticking an enemy with the Knuckle Cluster will also deal 10 damage. From testing, it seems the most damage a Knuckle Cluster grenade can deal to an enemy is a little under 50 damage, assuming they stand completely still inside the explosions. It is important to note that the Knuckle Cluster’s explosions do not travel with the grenade, so if a Fuse player sticks an enemy, the enemy can avoid some of the damage by running away from where they were stuck.
Another excellent aspect of Knuckle Cluster grenades is that they can destroy doors. If an enemy is standing behind a door to hold it closed, a Fuse player can simply fire a Knuckle Cluster onto the door to blow it up and expose the player inside, possibly dealing some damage to them if they were standing too close.
Knuckle Cluster further adds to Fuse’s aggressive grenade-spam playstyle as it means Fuse players will always have a grenade to use, especially since the ability is only on a 25-second cooldown. However, players should take care when using Knuckle Clusters in tight spaces as it also deals self-damage. The ability can also be used defensively, like a Thermite grenade, to stall an enemy team that may be pushing forward. Quickly firing a Knuckle Cluster at the floor while running may give Fuse players and their teammates extra time to heal or reposition during a fight.
The Motherlode – Ultimate ability:
Using his giant handheld mortar cannon, Fuse can send out his ultimate explosive, The Motherlode. This bomb flies through the air and explodes above an area to rain down a ring of fire. Activating The Motherlode will initially cause Fuse to equip his mortar cannon. Players will be able to see a curved green line with a ring at the end which shows where the bomb will fly and where its ring of fire will land.
When Fuse players have the mortar cannon equipped, there will be a white ring on the right side of the screen which shows the maximum range of The Motherlode. The further away the player aims, the more filled the ring will be. If a player aims The Motherlode too far away, the green line will turn red, and the cannon cannot be fired.
Once Fuse players have chosen their desired spot and fired The Motherlode, the projectile will arc towards the target and explode, releasing its fire which stays on the ground for just under 20 seconds. Any enemies that walk through the fire will take 35 damage, followed by five ticks of eight damage – 12 damage per tick if they continue to stand on the fire ring – making Fuse’s ultimate ability quite powerful. Not only does it deal enough damage to take down a blue body shield, but it also causes burning players to suffer a slowing effect, much like the concussive effect from Bangalore’s Creeping Barrage.
The Motherlode is only on a two-minute cooldown too, so it can be used quite frequently, and most Fuse players should have it charged at least once per fight. It is a useful ability for starting fights, as the large ring of fire is great for trapping enemy teams in a small area, allowing Fuse players and their teammates to attack their opponents with grenades, forcing them to run through the fire and suffer its effects. It is also a good ultimate ability to use mid-fight to deny space to an enemy team. A well-placed ring of fire can narrow the battlefield to the player’s favor or can block a possible escape route for an enemy team.
While not the greatest strategy, The Motherlode can also be fired indoors to quickly fill a room with fire as the bomb will simply hit the ceiling and explode immediately. Players will know if The Motherlode is going to hit something as the green aiming line will turn orange. This can be an effective strategy in tight spaces such as Bunker in Kings Canyon, as it could cause some serious burning damage to enemies. Often, the fire will be packed too close together and will create a wall of fire which is still useful for creating space for a player and their team to escape and heal.
Fuse players should note that they will also take full burning damage from their own Motherlode too. If any players do fire The Motherlode inside, they should immediately start walking backwards to avoid getting set alight. However, if any player touches the fire from a Motherlode while it is falling, they will take a tiny amount of damage and not suffer any burning or slowing effects.
Another great aspect of The Motherlode is that it has a useful zoom feature that allows Fuse players to get a better view of faraway action. Not only does this help with precise, long-range aiming for The Motherlode, but it can also help with general scouting by zooming in to search for far-away teams. Players can also still move around normally while holding the cannon, so Fuse players can run around surveying the area for their team.
Fuse is quite a simple Legend to use with a kit that is focused solely on dealing damage. Both The Motherlode and Knuckle Cluster are very forgiving abilities due to their large areas-of-effect and relatively short cooldowns. Despite the all-out damage focus, Fuse is a great all-rounder Legend when it comes to varying playstyles.
Initiating an attack with a volley of grenades and a Knuckle Cluster, followed by storming a building guns blazing is one viable aggressive tactic, but the extreme range of Fuse’s ultimate and grenade-throwing abilities mean he can also rain down destruction from afar too. The simplicity of his kit also allows players to use his abilities in many ways and situations, meaning the most skilled Fuse players will be the ones getting creative with his arsenal of explosives.
Apex Legends is available now on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.