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Apex Legends doesn’t necessarily function as a defensive-minded title, generally favoring mobility and fast reflexes over staying put for an extended period of time. But that hasn’t stopped Respawn from adding in a solid selection of well-rounded defensive legends with varied kits that keep things interesting. One such character, Rampart, has long remained one of the game’s least popular legends since her launch back in Season 6, largely due to the fact that she requires a good bit of setup time and is required to stay within a limited area to make the most of her extremely defensive kit–or at least that’s what is often assumed.
Following a string of buffs to her minigun ultimate ability and her deployable walls, Rampart has slowly morphed into an underrated pick. While she may not possess the mobility options needed to place her in the meta, she’s nevertheless a force to be reckoned with for anyone who grasps the intricacies of her defensive kit. In this guide, we’ll take a look at some of the ways in which Rampart can provide exceptional utility to your team.
Abilities that prioritize defense
Rampart’s abilities have a heavy focus on defensive play, but that doesn’t mean she’s incapable of being played in a more mobile fashion. Let’s take a look at what she brings to the table.
Modded Loader is Rampart’s passive ability, and it’s also one of her most controversial. It increases her magazine size by 15% and reload speed by 25% exclusively when using an LMG. This makes her extra deadly when she’s got a Rampage or Spitfire, for instance, but it also means that she essentially doesn’t have a passive ability when she’s not wielding one of these large and powerful guns.
Rampart’s tactical ability Amped Cover allows her to place up to five walls on the ground at a time, with each one blocking incoming bullets while providing the ability to deal extra gun damage when shooting through them. The walls are destroyed relatively easily, however, making strategic placement extremely important. We’ll get to that in a bit.
Lastly, Rampart’s ultimate ability is Mobile Minigun Sheila, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. When used, you pull out a massive minigun that takes a moment to wind up before rapidly unloading bullets into your enemies. You move quite a bit slower while wielding the minigun, making it best used on unsuspecting enemies or from more fortified positions. When placed down it can no longer be picked up and used while moving, but it gains unlimited ammo and can be used by your teammates. Also, you’ll get another one as soon as your ultimate recharges.
But defensive offense is the name of the game
Rampart is undoubtedly built for defense, and her amped walls can most certainly be used to fortify locations. But that doesn’t mean they can’t also be used in a more aggressive manner. As a matter of fact, Rampart is perhaps at her best when played as a defensive aggressor–meaning using her walls to close in on enemy positions.
If you’re attempting to push a team, Amped Cover can be used to extend your protected area and help you move to new pieces of existing cover. Even more, when used strategically–such as when enemies are reloading or focused on your teammates–you can use the walls in the open to help you move straight forward while having a bit of extra protection from any enemies who happen to want to disrupt your push.
Opposing teams will almost always focus their shots on your walls as they’re being built, though, so you generally don’t want to build walls directly in front of enemies that are already firing at you. When you’re already in close-quarters showdowns, try to place walls in ways that inconvenience anyone pushing you, such as on doors or as extensions of larger cover that will make enemies have to fan out to get around them. This can force them into a worse position while you’re taking a better one.
You’re generally useless in a corner, buddy
Sticking with the theme of defensive aggression, always remember that you’re at a significant disadvantage when you pin yourself in a corner. It may seem smart to back up to a wall and place some Amped Cover in front of you, but smart players will quickly rush around or over your walls or overwhelm you with grenades, leaving you little room to move around and respond to their invasion.
In other words, never build a tight square of walls or enclose yourself in tight places. Instead, use them in areas that leave you an escape in at least one or two directions. A good rule is to place three walls in front of you in a half-hexagon formation, allowing you plenty of forward-facing defense and a bit of cover from the sides without sacrificing your ability to retreat.
Additionally, if you’re playing in a position with teams behind you and in front of you, you’re likely already in a bad position, and trying to stay put is only going to make things worse for you. Try to get out and set up some Amped Cover in a new position that gives you space to adapt to enemy movements.
Double up those walls
Sometimes you’ll have to hunker down for a bit, though, such as when you’re sniping at a distance or in a heavily contested area. You’ll want to rapidly make use of this nifty trick in these situations: When an enemy destroys the top of your wall (the blue part that protects you and increases your damage), quickly deploy another wall directly behind the remaining lower half. Doing so keeps your foe from being able to destroy the new wall as it’s being built, allowing you to refortify the section and show them that you’re not willing to back down.
Grenades ain’t got nothing on you
One thing many players don’t realize is that Rampart’s Amped Cover can be used to block incoming grenade damage–but only when the grenade is blocked from the front. To do this, quickly set a wall directly in front of you while facing the grenade. It will absorb the explosion and likely save your life. The same goes for any walls you’ve already deployed, so long as you’re behind the wall and the explosion goes off on the other side.
Rampart, The Doormaster
Rampart is a master of doors for multiple reasons. First of all, one of the most fun things you can do with this legend is pop Sheila out to fire upon any door and quickly destroy it. This is immensely useful when an enemy tries to pop a heal behind a closed door. If you’re fast enough, you can rapidly pull out your minigun and catch them off guard, blasting the door down and decimating their remaining health. Rad.
Secondly, Rampart can also be a major annoyance for enemy teams trying to push or leave a room. By setting Amped Cover on doors, you can effectively trap enemies in a room or provide an extra hurdle for them to overcome if they wish to enter a room you’re currently occupying. They can destroy the walls or climb over them, but any time and ammo spent on doing so is not spent on shooting you, giving you ample time to try to put the pressure on from a different angle.
An uncharged ultimate is disappointment manifest
Sheila is an incredibly destructive weapon to have at your disposal, and it can be holstered and pulled back out at will any time your ultimate is charged up. However, few things suck worse than when you pull it out and realize that you’ve already used up most of your ammo in a previous engagement. To avoid this disappointment, try to remember to place your ultimate on cooldown rather than holstering it when you don’t expect to need it for a bit. This will make the minigun unavailable until your ultimate is fully recharged, but it will keep you from being embarrassed by bringing an empty clip to a gunfight.
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