How to avoid heatwaves in Apex Legends
Learn how to beat the heat in the limited-time Heatwave mode.
Heatwave in Apex Legends is a limited-time mode introduced as part of the Sun Squad Collection event. Similar in layout to trios, you now have to worry about a new enemy that can seek you out if you are outdoors and absolutely obliterate your health in no time at all. This time, it's your squad vs the Sun.
As part of the latest Apex Legends collection event, the heatwaves in this mode are designed to make your match a lot harder. They can make you instantly vulnerable to other attacks, force you into small spaces with other squads, or even kill you if you're out in it for too long.
Don't worry, we're here to show you how to avoid heatwaves in Apex Legends and we're going to explain a bit more about this mode, as well as it's estimated end date.
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Apex Legends Heatwave limited-time mode explained
Heatwave is a limited-time mode in Apex Legends where, as well as enemy squads and the ring, you now have heatwaves to worry about. Yes, the Sun in this mode has moments where it is deadly and you need to do everything you can to avoid it.
The mode runs exactly like the original Trios mode, but it has added the threat of heatwaves on top. When you enter a match, there will be an extra bar at the top of your screen. The bar itself is showing you how long you have until the next heatwave appears.
However, the smiley face underneath the bar is an extremely important thing to pay attention to. The face will change to indicate one of three things:
- Blue and Happy - This face appears when you are somewhere that shelters you from the sun/heatwave. If you have this on your screen, wherever you are standing is a safe place to be.
- Yellow and Unimpressed - This face appears when you are in the sunlight, but not the deadly kind. This shows that you will be exposed when the heatwave hits and you have the potential to become toast.
- Red and Dead - When this face appears, you are being damaged by the heatwave and you are in danger of being killed by it. When this appears, panic and find a way to get out of harms way.
The heatwaves themselves are usually the strongest near the edge of the ring, but heat will completely ignore any shields you have and go straight to damaging your own health, so avoiding it is the best option.
How to avoid heatwaves in Apex Legends
The heatwaves in this mode can cause serious damage and make you vulnerable, especially if your health has already been depleted by other players.
There are several different ways that you can avoid heat damage from the heatwaves in this mode, but the thing to remember with all of these methods is that there are other people who are probably trying to do the same thing. This means that hiding spots can become very crowded and a bit of a kill zone, so keep your guard up.
Hide in buildings
If you're already in a building when a heatwave hits then you have nothing to worry about, you're already protected. However, if you are near a building when a wave begins then it's a good idea to drop anything you were doing and run for the nearest one.
The only downside to avoiding the heat this way is that buildings are easy to spot and often have several entrances, so if another squad enters the same building you probably won't know until you are face to face with them.
To give you the best chance of survival possible within a building, we strongly advise making sure your shields and health are fully charged as soon as you get inside. Then, keep your weapon ready to battle any intruders.
Loot a Care Package
Throughout the event, Care Packages can contain Sunglasses that you can loot and equip to your Legend to increase their resistance to the heat damage dealt by a heatwave. They are not guaranteed to spawn in every care package, so loot as many as you can to increase your chances of finding a pair.
Take cover
Hiding under objects in Apex is not a new concept, but the heatwaves give you even more of a reason to do this. When a heatwave hits, you can avoid taking damage from it by hiding under an object so it doesn't hit you directly.
We found it effective to hide underneath the walkways that connect some smaller buildings and inside open shipping containers (if you are on a map that has them).
Use heatshields
Heatshields are often used to protect yourself or your team if you are caught out in the Ring. While you can still do this in the heatwave mode, you can also deploy a heatshield to protect yourself from being damaged by a wave.
Respawn were kind enough to increase the size of the heatshields so you can get your entire team under there comfortably, but there's a catch. The shields themselves are less durable if they are deployed anywhere other than the Ring, so they will only protect you for a short amount of time.
Slide, Slide, and Slide
If all else fails and you are far away from cover, a building, a heatshield, or a care package then you can slide around. Sliding is a good way of getting around Apex quickly (and for pulling off some cool finishing moves if you time it right), but in the heatwave mode this traversal option gains more meaning.
Sliding around while you are caught in a heatwave will 'cool' you down, meaning that moving in this way will reduce the amount of damage you get from the heat. We advise that you combine this with one of the other methods above to give yourself the best chance of survival.
Want to know the best Legend for this Season? Check out our Apex Legends Season 16 Legend Tier List that details who's the best for Revelry and why. Our other guides can show you how to make a Private Match and explain what Ring Consoles are. Also, take a look at our Veiled collection event page to learn about the latest limited-time event.
Apex Legends Heatwave limited-time mode end date
The heatwave limited-time mode in Apex Legends is due to end on Tuesday, 11th April alongside the Sun Squad Collection event.
Now you know how to avoid the heat, you can surf into Heatwave mode and battle it out to become Apex Champion.