How to use the HAVOC in Apex Legends: Tips, damage stats & more

Apex Legends has plenty of powerful weapons, but one that often stands above the rest is the HAVOC energy assault rifle. If you’re looking for an AR in Apex that truly packs-a-punch, then this is the weapon for you.

Despite being released in February of 2019, the HAVOC is still a solid AR pickup in Apex Legends Season 8 and can deal some serious damage. Although it’s not the most popular weapon on account of its charge-up time, with the correct attachments, the HAVOC can really pack-a-punch.

Let’s breakdown everything you need to know about this energy ammo gun and give you all the info on how to truly master the HAVOC rifle in Apex Legends.

Apex Legends HAVOC damage stats

First off, to master any weapon in Apex Legends you need to understand what kind of power you’re working with, and the HAVOC has plenty. In fact, if you can get the energy rifle rolling, it deals a devastating amount of damage.

Each individual “bullet hit” for the HAVOC doesn’t do much damage, yes, but when you pair it with the gun’s huge 672 rounds (or in this case, energy flow) per minute, the output starts to tick up to eleven. The HAVOC can kill a full-armored Legend in just 11 body hits, or just three shots if you land headshots.

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The full damage breakdown for the HAVOC assault rifle against different kinds of Legends can be found below thanks to the Apex Legends game wiki.

HAVOC Turbocharger attachment

A flaw of the HAVOC is its long wind-up time that can cost you valuable damage in gunfights. Luckily, the Turbocharger hop-up completely removes this charge-up time allows the weapon to fire immediately.

If you’re planning on running the HAVOC as a primary weapon into the late game, this is a must-find attachment. Make it clear to your team you’re on the lookout for one and you should locate the hop-up eventually.

Manage your HAVOC ammo with your squadmates

There’s no getting around it: the HAVOC absolutely chews through your energy ammo stacks, and considering you’ll probably not be running double energy, that’s a valuable resource you need to make last until the end of the match.

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Never use the HAVOC for long-range potshots, or questioning attacks. You and your team should always make sure you are fully committed to a fight before opening fire. You’re just wasting ammo if you fire the energy gun in bursts.

One way to use the HAVOC to its best potential is to act as a “sweeper” for your team. Let them do the poking, have them shatter the enemy’s armor, and then hold the trigger and keep your reticle aimed at the bad guys: they’ll melt in moments.

The HAVOC has strange recoil patterns

Most weapons in Apex Legends operate in a similar fashion. If you trade an R-99 SMG for an R-301 Carbine, there’ll be some variance, but they both act in a similar way. The same goes for shotguns, or snipers too.

The HAVOC doesn’t really have many peers. The Devotion, another energy-chewing titan of a weapon, is close, but not really the same. That means it takes time, and effort, to master the energy rifle if you want to get it pinpoint accurate.

Jump in the training range, and fire off medium and long-range shots. Feel where the recoil goes when you fight close range. Manage it, learn it, and understand that it’s different from all the other guns in-game.

Carry a sharp-shooting close-range gun too

The HAVOC takes time to get going. You need to keep it on-target, work with your allies, and often even then it takes a bit to really start spitting out damage. Flanks and ambushes are pretty common in Apex, and if you fall victim to one, you could be in big trouble.

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That’s where your secondary comes in. Pair the HAVOC with a fast-reaction gun like the R-99, the EVA-8, or even a full-auto Prowler, and you’ll be fine. You can even use the fast-shooting first gun to break armor, before swapping to the HAVOC.

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So there you have it, a few tips & tricks to make sure you master the deadly HAVOC energy rifle in no time.

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