Apex Legends Character Hitbox Explained (Complete Guide)

Ranked play is influenced by a plethora of variables ranging from personal skills to weapons, to character abilities and even map positioning. One widely talked about factor is character hitbox size. This article will explain everything there is to know about character hitboxes in Apex Legends and their impact on the game itself. With that being said, let's dive right into the details.

What Are Hitboxes in Apex Legends?

For those that may be unaware, character hitboxes are designated areas for each playable legend that define where each character can be shot at to receive incoming damage. These are usually unique to every character in Apex Legends, designed to fit each individual model.

Knowing how character hitboxes work in Apex Legends can help you get better at the game and gain that competitive edge you need to win more games.

How Do Hitboxes Affect Ranked Play?

Knowing exactly where to hit in Apex Legends can be the difference between a low-ranked player and a high-ranked player. Ranking up can be a daunting task that requires countless hours of practice and a good amount of knowledge about certain game mechanics.

Apex legend’s characters come in different shapes and sizes, making hitbox awareness a vital asset in your journey to gaining more experience points and as a result, higher ranks.

How Do Apex Legends’ Hitboxes Work?

Respawn Entertainment has provided minimal information about character hitboxes in Apex Legends and so most of the research is done by dedicated members of the community who have tested these out for themselves.

Apex Legends’ playable characters are divided into 3 different size categories, small, medium and large. These categories divide legends on the basis of hitbox size. Characters in the same category have almost identical hitboxes to give the game a sense of uniformity.

In the initial stages of the game, small characters with increased mobility were given a passive ability called the Low Profile Trait. This meant that smaller-sized characters with smaller hitboxes would take more incoming damage, an increase of up to 5% as compared to larger characters with larger hitboxes.

A similar trait calledFortified was assigned to larger characters with larger hitboxes which meant that they would take less incoming damage, a decrease of up to 15% and would not be slowed down by bullets, essentially making them harder to kill. This was Respawn’s initial attempt at balancing the vast difference in hitbox sizes for different legends.

In essence, hitboxes in Apex Legends operate on the basis of character models and are therefore subject to change depending on how the meta is evolving. Riot wants all characters to be viable regardless of their hitboxes. So, you'll always notice a few changes here and there made in accordance to how the professional and casual scene is tackling a Legend. 

Which Characters Come Into Which Category?

Legends such as Lifeline, Wattson and Wraith are considered small characters, with Wattson having the smallest hitbox, but in 2021 the Genesis update adjusted their small hitboxes, increasing them ever so slightly to put them closer to the medium-sized category of legends. Allowing for a more balanced experience and removing Low Profile all together.

Whereas legends such as Caustic, Gibraltar and the recent addition, Newcastle, are considered large-sized characters with considerably larger hitboxes. They are assigned the Fortified passive which counters their large hitboxes.

It is important to note that a larger hitbox isn't necessarily bad. Despite the apparent disadvantage of being slow and bulky, these legends can withstand a heavy beating without flinching at all. This is actually a play style that is adopted and preferred by many players of the game worldwide.

Certain characters such as Pathfinder and Revenant are two exceptions that have a custom hitbox size due to their unique shapes. All other legends are put into the medium-sized category and do not have special passive abilities to balance their sizes.

Do Skins Affect Hitbox Size In Apex Legends?

Character skins do not affect hitbox sizes in Apex Legends. Some skins such as Caustic’s Necrosis skin appear to alter, in this case, reduce hitbox sizes but this is nothing more than a visual illusion that makes the character appear smaller when in reality the character and their hitbox size are unchanged.

Do Hitboxes Affect Character Selection?

Although choosing which legend to play depends on a variety of factors, such as individual abilities and how they link with your play style, one can not ignore hitboxes when trying to perfect their competitive game and reach the highest rank in no time.

For players that prefer faster, smaller characters, choosing Wraith or Lifeline may be ideal, but for those that prefer to go in guns blazing with a tank of a character, they can select Gibraltar or Caustic. Varying play styles and preferences prove that hitboxes can influence character selection.

Apex Legends characters initially started with huge differences in hitbox sizes with some legends even having inaccurate sizes relative to their models. This extreme spectrum has been narrowed down over the course of many updates and quality-of-life improvements to add balance to the game and to reduce hitbox influence on legend selection.

What Is The Future Of Apex Legend’s Hitboxes?

Respawn has kept Apex players guessing future plans for character hitboxes, and many consider hitbox size to be a controversial game mechanic that needs further tweaking. But, it should be kept in mind that Respawn wants to incorporate an ideal solution to this mechanic to maintain balance and they often sneak out hitbox size adjustments during game updates.

A detailed analysis of the Apex Legends hitbox sizes can help you improve your knowledge and skills in-game. Bigger characters with a larger hitbox are slow but can withstand more damage and smaller characters with a small hitbox can move fast and are harder to target, making hitbox size an important factor when it comes to winning gunfights.

A good Apex Legends player is always aware of every little detail in the game. Regardless of whether it has a big impact or not. No knowledge is wasted and you never know what piece of information might come in handy when fighting enemies and trying to win matches. So keep up to date with Apex Legends’ latest updates.