Choose your Legend and fight for survival in the Apex Games. The new battle royale experience from the makers of Titanfall 2 launches today.

Apex Legends is a free-to-play battle royale game where legendary competitors fight for glory, fame, and fortune on the fringes of the Frontier. To win in the Apex Games you’ll need to stay sharp, use your wits, and keep your friends close. But victory also favors the prepared, and a few helpful tips in your pocket can be the difference between defeat and sweet, sweet triumph.

Check out these critical tips and tricks to help you kickstart your career in the Apex Games.

Choose the Legend Who Matches Your Playstyle

In the Apex Arena, all competitors are equals, and the Legends are evenly matched in terms of strength, speed, and firepower. It’s their abilities that set them apart, so you’ll want to pick the Legend that matches your preferred playstyle and complements your squad.

Want to be the shield between your team and opponents? Jump into the arena as the hearty Gibraltar. How about helping your squad travel long distances to take your enemies by surprise? Pathfinder, with his trusty grappling hook, is your perfect pick. Figure out what role you like to play and try different Legends to see which fits you best.

Stay Close to Your Squad

Squadplay is critical to success in Apex Legends, where you jump into the arena with two teammates at your side. Working together, you can keep each other safe and outplay your opponents by combining your abilities. A well-placed Dimensional Rift by Wraith, for example, can put her team right on top of unsuspecting opponents, while Caustic can protect teammates by using Nox gas to drive away enemies.

Try to strike out on your own, and you’ll be up against other teams who can easily overwhelm you. Stick close to your squad, and you’ll have a greater chance at success.

Use Smart Comms to Keep in Touch with Your Teammates

You can give your teammates critical information — and vice versa — through an in-game system that lets you ping useful items and locations on their screens.

You can pinpoint the position of gear pieces (and what they are), highlight threats, and tell your teammates which direction you’re going before you’ve even plugged in a microphone. Use this to your advantage to make sure your teammates see what you see and always have the latest intel.

Get Familiar with the Arena

Kings Canyon — the map where all Apex Matches take place — is a deadly playground full of abandoned military installations and encroaching nature. Learning how to maneuver, where the hotspots of activity are, and where to find the best loot are all important nuggets of knowledge.

The arena is surrounded by a giant Ring that shrinks at regular intervals throughout the match, and you’ll receive damage every second you spend outside its perimeter. Knowing your surroundings will help you make decisions faster and maneuver more effectively to avoid getting stuck outside it.

Go for the Good Stuff, But Be Careful

Different sections of the map spawn different tiers of loot — the higher your weapon or armor piece’s tier, the stronger it is. Some locations on the map are consistently full of high-tier loot, which means everyone will want to get to these spots first. The true motherlode comes packed inside dropships that land at random spots on the map, rewarding anyone who can claim them with the most powerful loot in the game.

You start each match with no weapons or armor, so you and your squad will have to decide if these high-tier caches are worth the risk each time you play. As for where they are? We’ll let you figure that out on your own.

Revive and Respawn Your Teammates

After your health is depleted, you’ll go into a downed state where you’re still alive, but slow and in need of medical attention. If you die before your teammates can help, they have one last shot to save you.

Every Legend carries a Legend Banner that they drop when they die. Only their teammates can pick these up, and taking one to a Respawn Beacon will bring that Legend back to life. Pulling off a successful resurrection can bring a team back from the brink of defeat, so don’t let the opportunity slip by.

Use Jump Towers, Hot Zones, and Other Features to Your Advantage

Kings Canyon is full of semi-permanent map objects you can use to get a leg up on your opponents. Jump Towers allow you to fly into the air and skydive back down to the ground. Hot Zones give you access to higher-tier loot on a random portion of the map if you can get there first. Respawn Beacons can bring downed teammates back to life.

Whether you use them to get out of a hairy situation or take your enemies by surprise, learning how to use these features adds another layer to your team’s strategy. That’s as good as another gun in your arsenal.

Don’t Let Anything Go to Waste

Body armor, weapon attachments, and other helpful pieces of gear are all hidden across the arena for you to grab. The inventory system will automatically tell you if a weapon or piece of gear is better than what you already have and keep you from grabbing lower-tier loot. That way, you won’t risk snatching something you can’t use in a panic.

You and your teammates can help each other by calling out item locations as you spot them. The tagging system also notes an item’s rarity level, so you can snag a higher-level piece of gear that you might’ve missed otherwise. Also make sure to loot fallen enemies — they’ll drop a cache when you take them out, and often have some of the best loot. Always keep an eye out, because you never know when a single piece of armor is going to save you in the end.

Play Apex Legends for free now on PlayStation 4, and we’ll see you in the arena.