Apex Legends finishers guide – when and how to finish off enemies

The finisher is one of the flashiest and most unique features of Apex Legends, with nothing quite like it found in other battle royales. It’s also something we hardly ever see in a match, because of the inherent risk of performing a finisher in the middle of a firefight. However, there are situations in which pulling off a finisher may be the difference between victory and defeat. Here is everything you need to know about finishers in Apex Legends.

When to use a finisher

There are two good reasons to attempt a finisher in Apex Legends. The first is if you are running low on cells and batteries, since executing a player fully restores your shield. The second is to quickly end a player who is giving you a hard time with their knockdown shield. A purple or gold knockdown shield can block up to 750 damage, and some players are shockingly good at using their shields to delay the inevitable.

In an optimal situation, pulling off a finisher lets you kill a player without spending ammo, and get some free shields in the process. However, creating that optimal situation is a different story.

How to use a finisher

As you probably know from experience, trying to finish off players in the heat of battle is suicide. Finisher animations lock you in place for upwards of 6 seconds, which is ample time for someone to dome you and place you right next to your would-be victim. Before initiating the finisher, make sure there is nobody around with line of sight on you. Ideally, you are only fighting one squad, and nobody on your side has been downed yet. The perfect time for pulling off a finisher is when you are obscured by Bangalore smoke or the Nox gas of a friendly Caustic. Hiding under a Gibraltar shield is also helpful.

If you are playing as Wraith, make sure to use the Existential Crisis finisher. This is possibly the best finisher in the game: it is very fast, and the animation makes you very difficult to hit.