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Our beloved “Mozambique, here” queen is the first to be featured in our new series. In “How to play Lifeline”, we will be going through her abilities, usefulness in the overall META and advanced tactics.
Ajay Che (Lifeline) is considered by many a fan favorite legend in Apex. The only combat medic whose specialty is:
- reviving downed players fast,
- having a drone that can heal from a distance
- an ultimate that delivers a package containing upgrades and useful items for the team.
how to play lifeline 101
Lifeline has gone through a series of changes, some of which made her ultimately useless in the grand scheme of things. Her shield that made reviving players superbly annoying was taken by Respawn and replaced with a “multi-revive” that can be canceled by the revived player. But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.
Her tactical is the D.O.C. drone – the lovable companion that sits on a 45s cooldown and which can heal Lifeline and her teammates (and enemies) for 8 health per second for a grand total of 20 seconds. The range of D.O.C. got buffed in S13 and you can now place the drone and heal behind cover easily, making the choice when positioning when pinned a very important one.
Her passive is, like we mentioned in the beginning, the Combat Revive ability. Basically, Lifeline is the only legend that can revive both down team mates at the same time, while providing cover fire. If the Legend being revived gets shot, he/she can cancel the revive and hold the knockdown shield instead, so they can get revived again later.
The Ultimate ability is of course, the Care Package which Lifeline can call once every 3.5 minutes. Considered by many the very worst Ultimate in the game, the Care Package has received multiple buffs. It delivers 3 slots that can contain an armor (minimum level 2), shield cells / shield batteries / medkits and one that is reserved for weapon attachments. The items in the care packages scale with the items worn by the legends in Lifeline’s team. The ultimate combination is level 4 armor, large meds and level 3 attachments/utility items.
You may notice we haven’t really mentioned the blue crates scattered on each map. That is because in S15, all support legends can open the additional containers, making Lifeline’s “unique” ability useless.
Advanced Lifeline tactics – how to properly position
One of the reasons why Apex Legends players love to pick Lifeline is her Combat Revive ability. It is a joy to nursemaid Octane mains that love to rush and get killed by a full 3 man squad.
However, most Lifeline players never actually play to her strengths. She’s not an offensive legend like Horizon, Wraith, Ash or Fuse. As a support she’s meant to provide cover and tactical utility in a fight. What this means is that Lifeline should be coupled with offensive and defensive legends to maximize her potential.
In simpler terms, as a Lifeline, you should never initiate the fight. You ought to stay back, toss a nade or two and provide cover fire. If a teammate gets downed, punch him into cover. Then you can safely revive, while providing cover fire.
Rushing is never considered OK for a Lifeline. If she gets knocked, the entire team is at risk of dying quickly.
All Lifeline mains should receive the golden backpack by default. This gives revived players 50 shields and 70 health, so imagine spam-reviving people in every fight.
We already mentioned you should never revive in the open. A great and often misused ability of hers is to cancel the animation when doing Combat Revive. This is so you don’t get your movement speed reduced when pressing “E”. You do this by sliding towards your teammate, pressing “E” and then immediately jumping. You won’t get slowed and can continue moving unhindered. It is tricky but with a little practice that second and a half can mean life or death in a tight situation.
Advanced Lifeline tactics – early game play
Ultic-cells (that shorten the Ultimate timer) are a Lifeline’s best friend. Pinging Ultic-cells to spam deliver a Care Package in the opening minutes of the first ring, guarantees enough meds for the squad to push. Speaking of the Ultimate, it is also very useful late game (pre-to last ring). It can provide cover if you are pinned by a squad on high ground. Lifeline can place the Care Package so it provides good cover + a shield swap for the end game showdown.
Yet another thing to note is the use of her drone. While it doesn’t really have enough HP to tank a full magazine, you can use it to block enemy fire at least for a while. If placed cleverly it can even block enemy snipers from killing you outright.
Ranked play and a new (potential) META
Lifeline is very rarely played in higher-tier ranked play. She’s overshadowed by Loba’s Blackmarket and basically any legend that can do combat revives (like Gibbiy in his bubble). However, her usefulness with the care package and buffed drone have seen some use of late in competitive play.
With resources becoming scarce with so many teams rotating and contesting potential spots on the map as the zone closes, a Lifeline’s Care Package can be a real god send. Learning how to play Lifeline means your team can rely on more than you being a meds delivery service.
If you are new at the game or have never even considered Lifeline, we recommend picking her up and giving her approach a shot. With these tips you are sure to become a much better player, or at least be aware how to counter her tricks.
There are even more options and quality advice waiting for you in Apex Legends – head on over to Blazing Boost’s Apex Legends Coaching and schedule a coaching or a hardcore Ranked service here: https://blazingboost.com/apex-legends/buy-coaching-with-gameplay
We will continue our guide with another Legend in the next entry of the series. We hope you enjoyed our first entry. Stay safe out there Legends!
