Apex is a telescoping sniper: three barrels stacked on one line that fire one after another. Press Q and they fire together instead, stacking three shots into one hit.
| Tier | 4 |
| Unlock level | 45 |
| Upgrades from | Sighthound |
| Barrels | 3 stacked on one line, longest first |
| Reload (0 points) | 2.0 s per barrel, fired one at a time: a shot every 0.67 s (1.5 shots/s) |
| Burst mode (Q) | all three fire together every 2.0 s |
| Bullet speed | 882 px/s (×2.4) |
| Bullet range | about 794 px |
| Bullet damage | 14.4 per shot (×1.8), 43.2 per full cycle |
| Penetration | 4 (base 2 plus 2) |
| Bullet size | radius 8.5, then 11.5, then 14.5; spread ±0.4° |
| Recoil | 0.3 of a Recruit's kick per shot |
| Health / movement | ×1.027 / ×1 |
Every number here is at 0 stat points, before the per-level health bonus and the per-level speed penalty that every tank gets. The automatic balancer can nudge a class's damage and health over time, so treat these as the roster's base values.
Apex has three barrels on the same line, drawn as a telescope. By default they fire one at a time, starting with the longest, thinnest barrel: a radius 8.5 shot, then 11.5, then 14.5, one every 0.67 seconds. Each barrel then waits its full 2 second reload before its turn comes round again. The result is a steady rhythm of sniper shots, about 22 damage per second at 0 points, at 794 px of range.
Press Q to switch to burst mode. Now all three barrels fire at the same moment, once every 2 seconds. The damage per second doesn't change, because each barrel still waits for its own reload. What changes is delivery: three bullets land together, 43.2 damage in one hit. Burst is for targets you only get a moment to hit, such as someone peeking out from behind a shape cluster. Staggered fire is for sustained pressure and for tracking a target that dodges, since three separate shots are three chances.
The recoil is light, 0.3 of a Recruit's kick per shot, so Apex barely moves when it fires, even in burst. You won't be pushed out of position, and you won't get a free escape jump from your own shots either.
Apex beats short-range classes from outside their reach, like its sniper relatives, and its damage per second is higher than Horizon's (about 12). Its big shots are good against drones: a single 14.4 damage bullet does double damage to a drone, which kills a standard 25 HP drone outright.
It's outranged by Horizon (926 px) and by the accelerating missiles of Bombardier and Sailfin. Anything fast that commits to closing, like Afterburner or Interceptor, has two thirds of a second between each of your shots, which is enough to cover real ground. A cloaked Nightveil can hit you without you finding it. At 4 penetration, any enemy bullet doing 4 or more damage that crosses your shot's path erases it, so a light stream can screen a target from you.
A 33-point build: Bullet Damage 7, Reload 7, Bullet Penetration 6, Movement Speed 5, Bullet Speed 4, Max Health 4.
Sighthound leads to Apex and Cascade. Both are telescoping snipers with a Q burst toggle.
Apex fires three heavy shots per cycle with 4 penetration. Cascade fires five small bullets of 2.8 damage each, ten a second. At 0 points Cascade's total, about 28 damage per second, is a little above your 22, but it arrives as many tiny hits that each do almost nothing to a big health pool and need five bullets to kill a drone. Apex is the better choice when each hit needs to matter: against high-health tanks, against drones, and when you get one clear look at a target. Cascade is the better choice for steady pressure and for screening yourself with a constant stream.