Ash: Apex Legends Abilities
Passive – Marked for Death
Ash’s map shows the location of recent Death Box. Press H on a Death Box to mark surviving attackers (once per box).
- Ash can interact with the Death Box of any player killed by another squad to find that squad’s current location. If the attackers are dead, it will return “No Surviving Attackers”.
- The locations of the attackers are marked on the map with the Enemy Here ping for ~8 seconds.
- For ~4 seconds, Ash is told the number of marked enemies. Those enemies are notified “POSITION REVEALED BY ASH” on their HUD.
- Ash’s map screen displays a marker over every Death Box that is less than ~200 seconds old. She can use these markers to ping them from any distance.
Ash’s Passive is Marked for Death. This ability can be incredibly powerful for locating enemies, planning third parties, or even trying to avoid fights. By knowing where recent Death Boxes are, Ash can lead her team in whatever way fits their current objective.
Season 11 introduced a new map in Storm Point. This map is very large, containing many wide-open fields and drastic elevation changes. As such, traditional Recon characters like Bloodhound and Seer may have a harder time gaining information this season. Ash’s Passive allows her to bring some of this information-gathering power, letting her teammates play more mobility or defense-focused Legends.
Tactical – Arc Snare
Throw a spinning snare that damages and tethers the first enemy that gets too close. Cooldown: 25 seconds.
- Unlike other projectiles, the trajectory is a straight line, but the travel speed is very slow.
- The radius is 4 meters. The first enemy to enter takes 10 damage and is snared for ~3 seconds.
- Deals double damage against shields.
- Lasts up to ~5 seconds if no target is snared.
Arc Snare is Ash’s tactical ability. This is a very straightforward skill that has a multitude of uses in combat. It can be thrown at a doorway to stop a push in its tracks, at an enemy’s cover to keep them locked in place, on the edge of a Gibraltar Dome to stop them from jiggling, and at anything you want to zone off.
Arc Snare cannot be destroyed and it will lock any enemy down (unless they can phase or teleport out) for the full duration if it hits them. The projectile can “stick” an enemy if you hit them directly. Otherwise, it will stop on the first solid surface it hits and create the tether zone there. This ability is perfect for combining with Grenades in Apex. Ash should always try and carry extras on for this reason. A well-thrown Arc Snare can be the difference between a won and lost fight.
Ultimate – Phase Breach
Tear open a one-way portal to a targeted location. Charge Time: 2 minutes.
- Ash immediately enters the phase tear upon activation.
- Maximum range is 62.5 meters.
- Lasts ~15 seconds.
Ash’s ultimate is Phase Breach. This ability functions as a portal to any location that Ash can put her crosshair on within the range. Since Phase Breach works in a straight line, Ash can cast it at any angle, horizontally or vertically. Any player can enter Phase Breach, whether they’re on your team or not. However, it is a very quick one-way trip. If players aren’t sure exactly what’s on the other end, it could mean a ticket back to the lobby.
No character in Apex can relocate Legends faster than Ash. Phase Breach casts incredibly quickly and players move through it at high speed. It can also be cast through open windows and doors, making it useful for moving in and out of buildings. Additionally, this ultimate is not just for rotations in Apex Legends. Ash can bring a ton of fighting power by using Phase Breach properly. Just know that this mechanic is what Ash’s abilities in Apex revolve around.
Ash Gameplay
Ash in Apex Legends is primarily played as a leading and scouting character. She will be in the front lines starting off most engagements much like a Wraith. However, there are some key differences in how Ash needs to approach fights. Wraith is at her best when she plays as aggressively as possible, looking for damage and openings for her team to move up on. If she ever gets in trouble, she has her tactical ability to phase back to safety.
Ash on the other hand will start fights from a bit further back. The lack of a low cooldown phase means that getting caught out of position away from your team comes at either the cost of a two-minute ability, or your life. While ulting out to safety is certainly a good option in many cases, it’s a play that puts you on the back foot for a while, greatly reducing what you can do for the rest of a fight.
What Ash CAN do that Wraith can’t is use her ultimate as an instant pushing and angling tool. If Ash and her team want to wipe a squad standing in their way, Ash can portal to a new forward angle which will put her enemies in an unfavorable position. If Wraith wants to do something similar with her portal, she needs to run in with it and likely use her phase, giving her opponents time to prepare for the play and punish it.
Ash’s Phase Breach does this play instantly, making it a much more oppressive and surefire option. By getting to a new position quickly, Ash can pin opponents in place with angles and Arc Snare, buying time for her teammates to close the gap and help her end the fight.
You may wonder, “how is it any different using the two-minute cooldown to reposition offensively instead of defensively?” By using Phase Breach to a new forward angle, you gain your team more space to work with and a higher chance at ending the fight in your favor. This means more loot, a better position in zone, and getting a step closer to winning the game. Ulting defensively is used exclusively for keeping you and your team alive to fight another day. Again, this can be the right choice in many situations, but much of Ash’s value as a character comes from being able to decisively close the gap to win fights.
If anything, Ash should be played much more like Octane instead of Wraith. Both characters have a low cooldown ultimate that is very useful for making aggressive plays at a moment’s notice. They are both useful for rotation, albeit excelling in different kinds of rotations. Jump Pad has more horizontal potential, while Phase Breach brings much more vertical potential in Apex Legends. Ash and Octane’s ultimates can both be used to get players out of a sticky situation in a flash, even for a fully grouped team.
Advanced Tips for Ash
Here is a list of quick tips that may prove useful in your training arc to become a top-tier Ash in Apex Legends:
- Ash’s passive can mark the same squad multiple times in a row. If there are two or three Death Boxes from a previous squad wipe, just use Marked for Death consecutively on them to track your enemies.
- Try to throw Arc Snare at hyper mobile characters like Pathfinder, Valkyrie, or Octane. If you land it, they will be unable to escape with any of their abilities.
- You can cast Phase Breach while airborne. Jumping up and forward can help you gain distance and new angles to teleport to.
- Phase Breach can be very useful for teleporting downed teammates to safety for a revive. Just make sure you never jump when making one of these portals, as the downed player will not be able to enter.
- Ash can play split from her team to control space. If you do, make sure that you have straight line-of-sight on a potential escape Phase Breach teleport location, preferably one with cover nearby.
- If you aren’t sure if a location is within Phase Breach range, ping it. The ping will display the distance in meters from your current location. Anything within ~62.5 meters is within range.
Best Team Comps for Ash in Apex
Team compositions are actually very versatile for Ash. Apex Legends has many characters who support her primary play of ulting towards teams to win quick fights. Bloodhound, Seer, and Crypto are all fantastic choices. Their ability to scan for information makes it very easy for the team to determine where and when to portal forward. Additionally, Seer and Crypto can use their tactical and ultimate abilities respectively to gain massive advantages right before the instant push comes in.
Gibraltar is a great option as always in fight-heavy compositions. He can Dome out of Phase Breach to get a bubble fight started in a flash. His Arm Shield and Fortified passive also make him an imposing target to take down in close range. Revenant can also bring fighting power via his ultimate. Pairing Phase Breach with Death Totem is a very powerful play that has big payoff for fairly low risk.
Lastly, Ash doesn’t have to be the only scouting/mobility character in her team. Compositions that allow for multiple angles to be taken quickly are amazing at rolling through fight after fight. Wraith, Pathfinder, Valkyrie, and even Loba are all phenomenal Legends for assisting Ash in her goal of running through opponents.
Best Loadouts for Ash in Apex
Since Ash wants to be ulting towards teams, one mid-range and one close-range weapon is the ideal loadout. Assault Rifles are great for her, especially the Flatline since it can be hip fired for high damage. The Volt and the CAR are SMGs that excel in mid and close range, as does the Wingman. A Mastiff or Peacekeeper shotgun is the perfect pairing to allow Ash to crush in close quarters. In general, most weapons in the game are fine for Ash, just try not to run too many Marksman or Sniper weapons.
As for your backpack management, try and keep as many Grenades as possible. If you have to choose between a third stack of Shield Cells or a fourth stack of Ammo, pick up a Grenade instead. While your ultimate is a very impactful skill that you should be looking to use every chance you get, it has a very short cooldown and you won’t need to carry Ultimate Accelerants for it. If you do need one late game, grab it off a teammate.
Ash in Apex Legends is a simple character on the surface that can bring tons of potential game impact. While her ultimate may be fairly short-ranged compared to other rotation tools, the value that an instant teleport can provide make her a unique character with a very high ceiling in Apex. Ash may take a while to get down, but the payoff for learning how to use her kit will be well worth it.
