Hey everyone! Today, I’m going to discuss Pathfinder, the new Apex Legends hero added at the launch of Apex Legends.
He is an aggressive legend with an interesting kit and a passive ability. Since I’m a professional Apex player working with Apex Rank Boosting Squad here at Immortal Boost, I need to know how to play every legend so that if clients ask me to play a specific one, I should be ready.
Welcome to the Ultimate Guide to the Apex Legends Swing King Pathfinder. I’m diving into the secrets of his grappling hoot, turning you from a newbie into a pro in the blink of an eye. Pathfinder’s pick rate has skyrocketed to the top, and in this guide, I will teach you how to master the most fun Legend.
Pathfinder Overview
Pathfinder is a kind of Legend that allows him to spot the contents of care packages from afar, including whether they’ve already been looted. His class ability is directly linked to his passive, which means that spotting packages refund the cooldown of his ultimate ability and reduce its cooldown by 10 seconds.
This cooldown reduction can be used up to four timers for a total of 40 seconds. His tactical is his signature move, giving him the ability to throw out a grappling hook toward any solid object, including players, and pull himself towards it. This is great for taking height or hopping in and out of a gunfight. He has a handy feature around the cursor which will turn from yellow to blue when you’re within grappling range of that object.
Insider Knowledge (Passive Ability)
The main thing to consider is that if there is another skirmisher on your team then you should remind them that you should be the one to scan packages due to getting additional benefits from it.
Whenever you’re about to scan one and your ultimate is currently up, consider firing out anywhere remotely useful for you and your team, as the scan will take it off cooldown instantly. Otherwise, you might want to Greed and wait out your current ultimate cooldown while saving your scan for the precise moment you need it to escape or engage.
Pathfinder is now a part of the skirmisher class and if any of these Legends look in the direction of a care package, they can see what the highest-level item is in that package. Specific to Pathfinder only, if he scans a care package then he will receive an Ultimate cooldown Reset in a 10-second reduction to his ultimate charge time.
Tips for Pathfinder’s Passive Ability
If he scans multiple care packages in one game, you can drop Pathfinder’s ultimate cooldown massively. Keep in mind that the ultimate recharge and ultimate overall 10-second recharge do not apply if your teammates scan the package before you. So, if you’re playing with another skirmisher class then make sure to let them know you need to scan the package to give your team multiple zip lines.
If you scan the package that has already been opened then you do not receive your ultimate ability in the game. The major use of this ability is recognizing where care packages are dropping throughout the map by looking at your minimap.
Before ever looking at a package, you’ll want to use your zip line then while you’re riding the zipline scan a care package that’s either in the air or on the ground and you’ll have a second zipline ready for rotating as soon as you hop off your first one. This is an insane amount of speed and movement for rotations throughout the map especially since Pathfinder’s ultimate ability was buffed.
Grapple Hook (Tactical Ability)
Pathfinder’s grapple is what the vast majority of all his strength comes from. This is arguably the most diverse and useful ability in the game. When he uses this tactical ability, he shoots a Grapple hook at a target surface latching on and pulling himself toward the location. The max range for this to latch on is 21 meters and you get a little blue indicator on your crosshair when you’re in range for the ability.
Where it becomes better is how much momentum manipulation you can do with the grapple. You want to make sure that you’re jumping every time you are Pathfinder’s Grapple from the ground. By getting off the ground you can get moving a lot faster without the ground being in the way and it opens up your ability to do some swinging moves.
Pathfinder’s rope will stay attached so long as it doesn’t go beyond a 90-degree angle. This means that you can use it to swing yourself allowing you to find way more angles and get your momentum going. The simplest version of this is to hit your Grapple and immediately jump into the air adjusting where you’re looking based on where you want to go.
Where your Grapple is hooked and where you’re looking are the two biggest factors that will dictate where the grapple will take you. Just make sure you do not exceed the 90-degree angle or the grapple will break and it will cancel. The cooldown for this ability is 10 to 30 seconds, with it becoming longer the further you travel with the grapple.
The distance is primarily focused on horizontal travel. So, if you do some insane grapple that flies straight up in the air or you do one that shoots you across the map then the one that travels more horizontal distance will have a bigger impact on the cooldown timer.
Tips for Tactical Ability
This ability can be used quickly in gunfights to get an advantage. Let’s discuss all the tips that I recommend you to follow while playing with Pathfinder.
Grappling Hop
One of my favorite ways to do this is to get a quick Grapple hop by using the grapple on the ground in front of me. If you get used to grappling in front of you combined with a jump and adjusting your camera upward then you can do a quick launch forward that can be a great use for quick gap closing or to hop over an obstacle.
This can also be used to make a quick gateway if you don’t have anything better to latch onto as it’s a quick way to gain a bunch of momentum as you know Apex Legends movement is fully based on momentum. Just keep in mind if you do this in front of a couple of enemy players then it can be easy to get beamed. While you move faster than just sprinting, make sure you’re being smart about using this trick so you don’t get yourself in any trouble.
Grappling Momentum
You’ve got to make sure that you are getting the most out of the momentum you gain from the grapple. Swinging around super-fast is great but where the real power comes in is when you can channel this speed even after you hit the ground. Make sure you’re sliding out of your grapples at the very least or even better bunny hoping.
Bunny hopping is so better when done with all this built-up speed and it can be a great way to get the most out of this movement. Another way of getting the most out of this is to try to hit some kind of an incline as you’re hitting the ground.
If you can grapple and then find a hill before you lose your momentum and then keep that momentum going with the hill, you can cover some serious ground very fast.
Detaching Grappling
Carrying that momentum after you finish grappling then make sure you aren’t keeping the grapple attacked for too long. You can cancel the grapple at any time during the ability and this can be a big difference maker in what direction you go as well as how fast you go in that direction.
This might be simple but all too often paths will just hold onto the rope for too long. Causing them to hit the ground too aggressively or at an angle that stalls a lot of their momentum. The key is to release the grapple early enough that you aren’t smashing into the ground or a wall, but also late enough that you get as much momentum as possible.
Vertical Grappling
I’m sure you guys have seen a Pathfinder flying through the air at a height that you thought was only possible for Valkyrie. Well, the way they do this is by applying everything that we’ve talked about earlier but by using something above them. Whether it’s on a wall in front of you or a beam hanging over your head, you can get creative with the angle of your grapple and get some serious air.
This can be great when you’re trying to get on top of a building quickly or you’re just looking to find a unique angle on enemies in a power position. Keep in mind, if you go flying. You will be pretty vulnerable until you make it back to the ground. So, make sure you’ve got a safe place to land and get your bearings before you need to fight.
Advanced Momentum and Grappling
I’ve talked about using your movement on your weight out of your grapple but don’t forget about your movement before your grapple as well. A well-timed wall bounce into a grapple can be one of the coolest ways to quickly redirect your movement. The height of the wall jump can often get you quickly in grapple range of other obstacles that you couldn’t have gotten if you didn’t wall bounce.
Another thing I like to do is use my grapple as I’m dropping off of height. You can often bait enemies into thinking you’re dropping only to grapple back up and swing on them as they go running off chasing you.
Even in non-combat situations, jumping off a building and doing a Spider-Man swing to get the most out of your height is a great way to cover a lot of ground.
Grappling Enemies
Don’t forget that you can also grapple your enemies as well. This rarely has a great use but the ability to grapple a downed enemy and pull them to you for finish can be a great way to get a quick armor swap when you are not safe to run to them. If you have ever grappled someone and melee them for a down then you must know how insane it can get.
Zipline Gun (Ultimate)
Pathfinder’s ultimate allows him to shoot a zipline that’s usable by all players in the match to quickly traverse areas. You can shoot this up to a hundred meters and it can be nearly up and down as well.
Making it super flexible and helpful when navigating the map with your squad. Keep in mind, that this ability is not as fast as an Octane pad or as quiet as a Wraith Portal. You need to be very careful when using it as if enemies have a line of sight on you.
Tips for Ultimate Ability
The best way to use this is to navigate the map without enemies around, close the gap between you and enemies who aren’t currently aware of your location, or have it set up as an escape route if things go south in a fight.
If you’re holding down a power position and the ring rotates or a team starts to push you, having a zipline already set up to get out is a great perk. If you use your zipline ahead of time, the cooldown will already be recovering itself, having a much higher chance of the ability being backed up for you to use it again.
Keep in mind that the zipline can be used by anybody, so don’t give players an easy way to get to you right behind you. Also, another thing is that you could do all the zipline mechanics on this thing that you can do on other ziplines.
There isn’t as much, you can do with this one as you can with the vertical ziplines you find on the map. The best simple movement that can come in handy is a zipline super jump. By hitting, interacting, and jumping at the same time you can launch yourself into the air adding in some movement to avoid shots or even close a gap on an enemy. Combine this with your grapple and you can get some interesting combos going.
Keys to Pathfinder
If some of Pathfinder’s abilities seem a bit overwhelming then it’s because they can be. If you master his Grapple and the movement options that it provides, the rest of his abilities are just icing on the cake. Path scrapple is an independent Octane jump pad with a lower cooldown and it has more flexibility when you get it down.
One big thing with Pathfinder is you need to get into the firing range, practice your timing with this ability, and get creative. Pathfinder’s kit is only limited by what you can pull off and the possibilities are nearly endless, once you get comfortable with combining his movement with the rest of his abilities.
Counterplay Pathfinder
Pathfinder doesn’t have these single-use play-making abilities like some other Legends. Consider that when grappling and zip lining, his movement is relatively smooth and telegraphed and therefore easier to track. But the most seasoned Pathfinder means it makes his aerial movement rather predictable and therefore susceptible to gunfire.
Additionally, a small tip is that the Tactical ability of Revenant will silence Pathfinder and cancel his grapple even during use.
Legend Viability
As versatile as Pathfinder’s kit is, he doesn’t have any particularly strong synergies with other Legends that the team could take advantage of to get ahead. However, he at least brings some value to any squad through team mobility and therefore is a welcomed addition to any Pub game.
Legend Combos
Pairing a Pathfinder with other Legends isn’t too big of a concern, but any non-movement Legend will benefit greatly from his zip lines. In many ways, the Pathfinder can act as the scout or in-game leader for your squad. I can’t recommend Octane for starters, though, as grappling onto a launch pad is insane.
You should also try Wraith as puddling down from a zip line after you gain height, can be a cool way to make a play. Otherwise, you can try Caustic or Wattson too as they can gas up and fence up the end of zip lines to prevent enemies from chasing or getting to you.
Loadout Recommendation
When it comes to Loadouts other than whatever your preferences are a mid to close-range Arsenal is ideal. It gives Pathfinder an easier time to quickly follow up on a low enemy squad or get a close-range flank during the fight.
Weaponry for Pathfinders doesn’t matter much but an emphasis on the close to mid-range is always good as you can pick from range and then grapple onto enemies to finish them off with close range.
Pathfinder is a hyper-aggressive Legend and the perfect Loadout for Pathfinder would be an assault rifle, Nemesis, flatline, R301, R99, and CAR. Pair it with a shotgun like the Peacekeeper. These weapons are excellent at many ranges and since you’re going to be grappling straight into danger, the peacekeeper is exceptional at picking shots while you’re in mid-air performing those grapple hops or juggling on the zip line.
Also don’t forget about the other SMGs that are extremely good close range because while your path you’re going to want to capitalize on initial damage by grappling in close to your enemies.
More Pathfinder Tips
The first is not to downplay how good it can be to get your ultimate back by pinging those beacons. You can also have some scenarios when you set up three to four zip lines to create this huge network for you and your squad to travel around on. You can have up to four zip lines active at once.
Sometimes, a quick zipline placement in a vertical nature or even a horizontal nature can be really good to hop onto it and get away from some Ultimate like Gibraltar or Bangalore. It’s not always going to be useful but it’s good to know.
Super zip line bounce or jump, when about to attach to a zip line look slightly up attach, and then double jump very rapidly to get sent even higher into the air. This is great for gaining height quickly or juking out your enemies. If you are having a hard time getting this to work, it’s probably because you just aren’t trapping jump fast enough. So, practice it again in the firing range and you will get this down.
If you’re not aware, the horizontal travel distance from the grapple will always have a greater impact on how long the timer of past tactical ability will be. For instance, you could grapple vertically, say 40 meters, and the timer would not have as much of an impact. Still, if you travel a healthy 40 meters in the horizontal direction, then it’s going to have a much bigger effect on the timer.
Pathfinder in Meta
For Pubs, all ranked, and even arenas, he is a meta-legend. Pathfinder has been a solid S-tier Legend for a while now, and I put him somewhere in the top five Legends in the game.
Just be warned, he does take quite a bit more time in the game to get his grapple down to the point where it’s a very useful tool and not a detriment to your performance.
Summary
Thank you for reading my guide and I hope you have great success as Pathfinder! Don’t forget to check our Apex 20kills + 4K badge boost, where we can unlock any badge for you with Revenant. I would also like to remind you that we provide the top Apex Legends Placement matches Boosting services here. We can help you unlock a new rank in Apex, whether by having you play with us or us playing with you. Book your desired division today, and let’s get started!