Apex Legends Horizon Guide - Lore, Abilities & Best Gun Loadouts

Horizon is a Legend that specializes in manipulating gravity that allows her to move around the map with ease, or make the experience of her enemies a lot more difficult.

She can help her team and herself by lifting them up but also put her enemies in a disadvantage by throwing them upwards using her tactical Gravity Lift, her passive Spacewalk can help her maintain her velocity when she touches the ground after she drops from heights, and her ultimate Black Hole sucks her enemies in the center making it harder for them to escape.

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Horizon Lore

Horizon, Gravitational Manipulator, Apex Legends

Gender: Female
Heirloom: N/A
Voice Actor: Elle Newlands (@ElleNewlands)

Almost a century ago, the Outlands were dangling on the edge of a cataclysmic energy crisis. Dr. Mary Somers, a charmingly eccentric astrophysicist, was hired to find a solution. Mary moved her family to the scientific research station on Olympus and set to work.

With the help of her apprentice, Dr. Reid, Mary discovered Branthium – an element she was convinced could be the key to limitless energy. But Branthium can be found only on the accretion disk of a black hole, so Mary and Dr. Reid departed on a dangerous mission to prove her theory right.

Mary promised her son Newton she’d return safe and sound. But Dr. Reid betrayed her, stealing the Branthium and sending her shuttle into the black hole’s orbit. Using her wits, Mary modified her robotic vacuum companion N.E.W.T. to escape. But time moves differently on the outskirts of a black hole, and she was 87 years too late.

Now Mary is determined to fund her research to find a way to go back in time and be with her son. She joins the Apex Games as Horizon, master of gravity, just in time for the next season to debut on Olympus – where her old life once was and where she had promised to return.

Horizon Abilities Guide

Tactical Ability – Gravity Lift

Gravity Lift		Tactical
	Cooldown	20 seconds
	Description	Reverses the flow of gravity lifting players upward and boosting them outward when they exit
Information
Stays active for 10 seconds. Lifts players up to 30 meters off the ground. Gives players a small boost when they exit Gravity Lift no matter the height. Throwable items such as Grenades can be affected by Gravity Lift. Cooldown starts after 10 seconds. (If the Gravity Lift is immediately activated, the cooldown starts when the ability ends.) Players will automatically be kicked out after 2 seconds.
Interaction
Can be destroyed by Wattson’sInterception Pylon. Can also lift Tridents. Gravity Lift can get you out of area of effects, for example Caustic’sNox Gas Traps. You can air strafe while inside the Gravity Lift.
Advanced
Aside from helping your squad reach high ground, you can also use it to disorient enemies by throwing it under their feet. Gravity Lift can block off doorways and corridors. Make sure not to block off yourself or your teammates. You can use Gravity Lift to Launch your knocked teammates to safer locations. Make sure to toss your Gravity Lift away from your knocked teammate so they don’t go towards an unintended direction. When an enemy runs for cover, use Gravity Lift to get yourself higher and expose them without having to chase them around it. You can cover a big amount of distance while you are mid air by using the Gravity Lift without having to be on the ground level. You can use Gravity Lift near a tree to hide and heal between the leaves making it harder for enemies to spot you.

How to Use Gravity Lift

Gravity Lift is a simple straightforward ability but it requires a lot of time to master it fully.

Although it has a small cooldown it’s best not to use it in situations where you can just climb up surfaces, the verticality it offers is great for harder to reach places or confuse enemies who are fighting with you up close.

When you are fighting with someone and you see that you are winning the fight, the enemy will almost certainly make a break for it and seek cover, this is where Horizon’s tactical shines, you can drop it on your feet and instantly nullify the opponents cover because you can see everything that happens below you, it will allow you to put them in your sights and finish them off.

Another useful thing Gravity Lift can do is help you get to some out of bounds areas, it can help you reach the place you want and get an advantage on positioning yourself by utilizing higher ground or heal yourself by hiding atop the trees between the leaves.

One thing to know about out of bounds areas is that you can only stay there for 30 seconds.

You can use Gravity Lift to go higher and start fighting while floating in order to shoot enemies that are already on higher ground, this is best used when they are in tight corners above you like inside buildings or on balconies, mostly useful in Olympus, so if you have a shotgun and you know someone above you is weak you can try it out and maybe knock them down.

This ability can also be used against enemies but the situation must be perfect in order for that to happen, but the sudden change of height will make it difficult for the enemy to shoot at you if they stay in the vortex.

Frag, Thermite Grenades and Arc Stars are affected by Gravity Lift and can be sent further away if they pass through the vortex, doing so will offer greater distance and might be give you a chance for unique plays.

You can also use Gravity Lift defensively, like block doorways or if you are in an area with multiple pathways you can limit the entry the enemies can get through, just remember that the tactical lasts only 10 seconds so make sure you are quick on your feet.

Passive Ability – Spacewalk

Spacewalk		Passive
	Cooldown	N/A
	Description	Increase air control and reduce fall impacts with Horizon’s custom spacesuit
Information
When landing after a fall from a high place, Horizon can start moving sooner than every other legend. Horizon makes quicker turns in mid-air.
Interaction
Spacewalk combines with Octane’sLaunch Pad.
Advanced
Unlike other legends, if you are falling down a shaft with a zipline, Horizon does not have to grab the zipline to avoid a fall stun. While falling from heights Horizon can go straight into a slide.

How to use Spacewalk

This passive ability is very special to Horizon as no other Legend can recover falling from heights as fast as she does, it allows her to keep her velocity the moment she touches the ground allowing her to have the upper hand in fights for a few seconds.

It works great in combination with her tactical because she can use it to either engage or escape and have no drawbacks once she’s back on the ground.

She’s the only Legend that is able to go straight into a slide after falling from any height, be sure to remember that and utilize it fully even in small tight corners.

Ultimate Ability – Black Hole

Black Hole		Ultimate
	Charge Time	180 seconds
	Description	Deploy N.E.W.T. to create a micro black hole that pulls players in towards it and hits them with a graviton blast at the end.
Information
Lasts 12 seconds. N.E.W.T. has 175 HP and can be destroyed. Takes 2 seconds to activate once landed. Enemies are highlighted if their position is behind the N.E.W.T. Pulls enemies even from behind obstacles such as walls and doors. Enemies are highlighted if their position is behind the N.E.W.T.
Interactions
Can destroy Wraith’sDimensional Rift if at least one side of the portal is within range of N.E.W.T. Can be destroyed by Wattson’sInterception Pylon and Crypto’sDrone EMP. Can change the speed and trajectory of Caustic’sNox Gas Grenade.
Advanced
Try to combine the black hole with area-of-effect attacks like Grenades, Caustic’sNox Gas Grenade, Revenant’sSilence, and Fuse’sMotherlode.

How to Use Black Hole

Black Hole is a very useful and dangerous tool if played right, especially in closed areas that limit the enemy movement.

Having a lot of grenades while playing Horizon is a must, especially Arc Stars because they slow enemies down, deal damage and will make it much harder for them to escape the vacuum that is created by her ultimate.

In open areas it will mostly create situations where you can use it as a “smoke screen”, as the Black Hole appears it will obstruct a large portion of the opponent’s view between you and them, leaving them only the choice of going around it or use a repositioning tactical if they play with a legend of said skillset.

Black Hole is amazing at creating combos with a lot of other Legends, for example Caustic’s ultimate can be thrown in the middle damaging and making it way harder for them to see, or Gibraltar’s ultimate which deals massive damage if they stand still below the Bombardment, Bangalore’s ultimate can be useful as well as long as she fires it first since it takes a lot of time for her Air Strike to go off.

It’s better to use Black Hole mid-fight instead of the beginning because when you fight an enemy and they have already lost a big portion of their health, they will most likely find cover to heal, this is when Black Hole can prove very useful and combining it with Gravity Lift under your feet you can get to a higher point and, making the situation much easier for you and your team to get the kills.

Best Weapon Loadouts For Horizon

VK-47 Flatline, Heavy Metal, Apex Legends

Mastiff Shotgun/EVA-8 Auto& R-301 Carbine/VK-47 Flatline

The standard load out for close quarters or mid to long distance fights, the assault rifles are perfect for suppressive fire or picking enemies from afar for knockdowns, and the shotguns for close range combat.

The shotguns are very useful in combination with Horizon’s Gravity Lift when an enemy is above you, choosing Mastiff or an EVA you can’t go wrong with either, both weapons do equip Shotgun Bolts but the EVA can also use a Double Tap Hop-up that allows the weapon to fire two shots with one click.

If you see the enemy closing into your position you should first pull out your shotguns and fight them off until your magazine is emptied or you get a knockdown, after that you can switch to your assault rifles to fight off the rest and try to deal as much damage with them as you can to buy yourself time to heal or reposition at a better location.

The best optic EVA-8 and the Mastiff is the 1x Digital Threat but the 1x HCOG and the 1x Holo could be useful as well, most players prefer Mastiff with it’s default iron sights though.

For the R-301 and Flatline most people use a 2x HCOG or 1x – 2x Variable Holo Sight and in some situations the 3x HCOG Ranger.

NOTE: The “Double Tap” Hop Up has been removed from the loot pool for Season 8.

NOTE: The “Anvil Receiver” Hop Up has returned to the loot pool for Season 8.

NOTE: Peacekeeper is back on Season 9 and is a good equivalent for the Mastiff or EVA-8.

R-99/ Volt SMG & M600 Spitfire

/Devotion LMG

This load out is mostly for suppressive fire and quick damage to dissuade the enemies for approaching any further, the R-99 and the Volt are both very powerful and very useful for close to mid range combat and with extended magazines they become even more dangerous, great tools for stripping the enemies off their shields and maybe even get a knockdown.

The Spitfire and Devotion on the other hand are way more useful for suppressing the enemy but also knock multiple down, with just one full magazine, and given Horizon’s tactical and ultimate they can become very dangerous in her hands, pretty unique considering she’s an offensive player.

The recommended sights for R-99 is the 1x HCOG although the 1x Holo works good as well. It can also equip the 1x Digital Threat which is quite useful for seeing enemies with a red outline inside smoke or by other effects that obstruct your view.

It’s best to find a LVL 2 or 3 Extended Light Magazine for R-99 as soon as possible.

Volt although an energy SMG it can take all the scopes mentioned above but the best one for it is the 2x HCOG Bruiser or the 1x-2x Variable Holo as its recoil is very easy to control and it can equip an Extended energy mag as well.

The best scope for Devotion is the 2x HCOG Bruiser and then the next one is the 1x-2x Variable Holo but you can also use 1x HCOG and 1x Holo.

As for the Spitfire you can go with all the scopes mentioned above but you can also give it a try with the 3x HCOG Ranger.

NOTE: The “Turbocharger” Hop up is back in the loot pool for Season 8 and can be used on the Havoc and the Devotion.

Wingman/Hemlok Burst AR& Sentinel/Triple Take

This load out is mostly for long range combat, but you can utilize the burst fire mode of the Hemlok and the Triple Take’s spread pattern which is like a shotgun to fight off enemies up close, then we have the Wingman that can also be used for close range, but it’s a bit slow and might not be that effective especially if you don’t have perfect aim.

And lastly the Sentinel which is a very powerful sniper rifle that can be charged with 2Shield Cells and deal devastating damage to your enemies. Just keep in mind that it requires masterful aim.

The Damage Increase is 77 -> 88.

All the weapons can take a 2x HCOG Bruiser, 1x-2x, Variable Holo, 1x HCOG and a 1x Holo.

The Hemlok can equip a 2x-4x Variable AOG and a 3x HCOG Ranger but that goes for the sniper rifles as well.

The sniper optics are exclusively for sniper rifles and are the 6x Sniper, the 4x-8x Variable Sniper and the 4x-10x Digital Sniper Threat.

NOTE: After Season 7 a new hop up for the Wingman has been introduced, it is called “Quickdraw Holster” Hop Up which increases the speed of your ADS, Weapon Swap, and reduces Hip Fire spread.

NOTE: The “Skullpiercer Rifling” has been removed for Season 9.
NOTE: The Triple Take has been entered in the Care Package Rotation a good weapon to replace it is the newly added Bocek Compound Bow (Which can take two Hop Ups, “Shatter Caps” allowing your weapon to work like a shotgun and “Deadeye’s Tempo” that increases the rate of fire of your weapon when you firing at the perfect moment.

NOTE: “Deadeye’s Tempo” can also be equipped by Sentinel.

NOTE: The “Quickdraw Holster” Hop Up has been vaulted for Season 10 and is replaced by the “Boosted Loader” Hop Up which can be equipped by Wingman and Hemlok, this new hop up features a reload function that adds more ammo in the weapon if the player chooses to reload it before near the end of the magazine but not at 0.

How to play Horizon

Horizon, Dark Matter, Apex Legends

Horizon is a Legend that at first might give you a hard time to play aggressively, the skillset she has requires precision in order to place the Tactical and Ultimate correctly to maximize her potential.

When fighting with Horizon movement and seizing the high ground is the most important thing with her, and this is where her tactical Gravity Lift comes into play, the upwards distance can get you very high but you need to be careful not to jump out of the vortex accidentally, because you will be boosted out and miss your opportunity to fight back, using the boost is indeed very useful but if you just need to go up what you should try doing is  to let go of your movement keys or thumbstick the moment you touch her tactical.

Gravity Lift as mentioned above is very useful in boosting you in different directions the moment you decide to get out and this can be done with by holding the movement keys or thumbstick to where you want to go, perfect for escaping bad situations or closing the distance when an enemy will try to run away.

Don’t forget that when you are fighting anywhere on the map, most covers (excluding buildings) have no roof and since Horizon’s tactical can help her reach very high, if you are winning the fight you can just drop it on your feet the moment the enemy will run for cover, this will allow you to look at them from above and give them the last shots in order to get the knockdown.

Gravity Lift as well as Black Hole can affect the Tridents, remember this so you can use it to your advantage.

Gravity Lift can also be used to help Horizon’s teammates, don’t think only for yourself but also for your team, the cooldown is small so make it a habit to use it as often as you can but not at places where you can just climb up.

Spacewalk is very easy to understand and can work well with Gravity Lift, it allows Horizon to immediately recover her fall from heights instantly, she does not lose any momentum at all so that means you can go into a slide the moment you touch the ground, that is if you have any velocity or else you are just going to crouch.

In order to go straight to a slide with Horizon you can practice it in the Firing Range to find out how to do it, just remember that you need to be holding crouch before you touch the ground and keep a directional momentum.

Another useful thing about her passive is that she can move better while in mid-air making it easier to reach places other Legends can’t.

Black Hole can be used after dealing damage to enemies because most of the time they will retreat to cover and you can use it to pull them out.

Having a lot of Arc Stars is good for Horizon so you can use them when you pull enemies in her Black Hole, Arc Stars are by far the best ones for her because they slow enemies down and damage them giving her and her team more chances to kill the enemy squad.

Throwing Horizon’s ultimate as a third party between two fighting teams is a really good strategy, as it might get you more kills.

Black Hole can pull enemies that are behind walls, this can lead to some unique plays and make it harder for your opponents to escape so you and your friends can close in and flank your them.