Tips for surviving and winning Shadowfall LTM in Apex Legends
The new Shadowfall LTM is the main attraction of the Fight or Fright event in Apex Legends, but you might be finding it somewhat difficult to win. Here’s some tips and tricks to help secure your spot in the top 10 and make it to the Evac ship.
Set on a night version of Kings Canyon, Shadowfall is the new mode added just in time for Halloween, but players have been finding it scarily difficult to actually make it out alive.
Perhaps this is intentional, but many of the Fight or Fright event challenges rely on getting victories and kills in this mode, so if you want to complete them, these tips should help you out.
Picking the right legend
Before you even get into the match, it’s crucial you have a suitable legend to use. Ideally, you want a legend with good mobility, as escaping from a tight spot is often necessary.
That really rules out characters like Caustic, Gibraltar and even Wattson, Crypto and Bloodhound likely aren’t ideal, as none of these characters can make easy escapes. Although not impossible to succeed with them, you’ll find others more effective overall.
Rather, your best bet is Wraith or Pathfinder, whose tactical abilities will allow you to get out a tight spot when you’re getting swarmed by the Shadow Squad. Other options like Octane and Mirage can also work.
Wraith and Pathfinder are excellent legend choices for Shadowfall.Bangalore might seem like a good option thanks to her ‘Double Time’ passive, but there’s a catch. Because the Shadow Squad see players highlighted in red, Bangalore’s smoke bombs become entirely ineffective. In fact, it actually puts you at a disadvantage, because you can’t see them, while they can see you.
Play safe for the first circle
Unlike the normal mode, the objective here isn’t so much to rack up kills and be the last legend standing. So, if going for the win, try to drop in at a quiet spot, rather than a busy landing area. With the reduced player count this should be easier to do.
Once you’ve got your quiet landing spot, try to loot up on weapons and ammo while avoiding any unnecessary engagements for at least the first circle.
Ideally, you also want to find a blue shield or better, as this will allow you to take two hits before being taken out by the Shadow Squad.
Land somewhere quiet and loot up before taking any engagments.After the first circle has closed in, you might want to get a little more aggressive, but remember that taking shots will just alert you to enemies, and you may as well let the existing members of the Shadow Squad take out opponents for you until you reach the top 10.
Camping is already pretty common in the Shadowfall mode, and is likely to get more common, as it is a pretty necessary tactic if you really want to rack up wins.
Weapon choice
For this survival guide, the focus is more on taking out the Shadow Squad than enemy players, which means your choice of weapon will be slightly different to a normal match.
You’ll need something for mid to long-range, as well as something for when the undead get a little too close for comfort.
You’ll want to avoid sniper rifles, perhaps with the exception of the G7 scout, as missing your shot could be deadly. Instead, for the mid-to-long range you’ll ideally want an AR: R-301, Hemlok, Flatline or Havoc. The Prowler SMG can also be a solid choice.
The Spitfire LMG is also a great choice thanks to its generous magazine size, and although we’d like to say the same about the Devotion, you might find energy ammo harder to come by.
The Eva-8 with a shotgun bolt is great for fighting up close versus the Shadow Squad.Perhaps more importantly, though, you need something to deal with enemies up close. One excellent option is the Eva-8 shotgun. Although the Peacekeeper is the superior shotgun against real opponents, the undead have such low health that the auto shotgun is the obvious choice. Pair this with a shotgun bolt and you’ll have the ultimate Shadow Squad-killing weapon.
Better yet, shotguns and shotgun ammo seems to be fairly common in this LTM, so you shouldn’t have too much difficulty getting kitted out.
Staying safe till the evac ship arrives
Ok, so now you’re (hopefully) in the top 10. It’s time to simply stay alive until the ship comes in. There are a few tips here you can use to avoid the Shadow squad until you make the run for it.
First, although the Shadow Squad has increased mobility, they also have very little health, so if you can get up somewhere high (using Pathfinder’s grapple can come in hand for this) and stay here, it will be very difficult for the undead players to reach you, and you can easily shoot them as they try to climb.
Getting the high ground will give you an advantage – but beware of respawners coming in from above.One caveat to this though – as the undead respawn, they will get to fly back in from the sky, meaning they could spot you and land right next to you. So, you’ll need to keep your eyes peeled for both above and below you.
The second option is to simply get in a building and close all of the doors. Shadow Squad players don’t have the ability to open doors, and so they’ll effectively be locked out from reaching you. They can smash down the doors by melee, but this way you’ll be able to hear them coming very easily.
Making it to the Evac ship
So, you’re now in the top 10 and the evac ship has arrived. Now it’s time to make your escape. This is where your choice of legend is even more important.
Wraith is likely the best pick here. Whether you took height advantage of hid out until the ship arrives, you can now use your portal to reach the ship. When close enough, you’ll likely run into a swarm of the Shadow Squad.
Here, simply pop Wraith’s tactical to avoid taking any damage, and you should be safe to make it if you time it right.
You’ll need a bit of luck to get past the Shadow Squad and make it to the ship.The other good option is Pathfinder. Hopefully, you’ve managed to save up to earn his ultimate ability, and you can use a zipline to reach the ship. Even if you can’t take a zipline all the way, the grapple gun should help you to clear the rest.
Correction: Shadow Squad can in fact use ziplines – so beware!
Mirage is also a good choice here, for obvious reasons. Again, you’ll need to save up the ultimate ability. Try to stay out of sight until you are close enough, then go invisible and make a run for it.
If you’ve chosen to play as Octane, then of course now is a good time to make use of his stim ability and jump pads to clear the distance faster.
If you haven’t chosen one of these legends, you may find yourself in some difficulty to make the escape, so you’ll just have to make a run for it. Regardless, you should still avoid being the first to do so. Instead, try to scope it out from a safe distance, and let some of the other escapees act as a distraction, while you (hopefully) slip by unnoticed.
To summarize: Pick a legend with good mobility or ‘escape’ abilities, land safe, get two suitable weapons and play it safe until the second circle. Try to stay up high or locked in a building until it’s time to run for the ship, then use your legend’s ultimate to make it.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) many players seem to leave the game as soon as they are put on the Shadow Squad team, meaning you can sometimes only have ten or so to deal with. Killing a few can help out, as they take a fairly long time to reach the map again due to their extended skydive.
Using these tips should help you at least secure the top 10, and take out some of the undead on your way, contributing to your challenges. With the Shadowfall LTM only available until November 5, you’ll want to make the most of it.