How to play Caustic in Apex Legends

To climb Apex Legends’ ranked ladders, players must understand each of the game’s characters and their respective playstyles. As one of the battle royale’s designated defense legends, Caustic relies on tricks to best his enemies, and with the right setup, anyone can easily secure the win with this Toxic Trapper.

Before playing Caustic, players will need to first unlock him. Caustic is one of the game’s many characters that needs to be purchased before playing, and players can do so by unlocking the Toxic Trapper for 12,000 Legend Tokens or 750 Apex Coins.

Nox Vision – Passive

Caustic’s passive grants him vision over enemies trapped in clouds of poison gas. Enemies caught in Caustic’s Nox Gas are clearly visible, getting a slight green outline to their character models. This ability works best in close-quarters, such as small rooms where enemies can’t easily escape the range of Caustic’s abilities.  

Only Caustic will be able to see the outline of enemies, so be sure to alert teammates about their location in the poison gas. Since enemies can’t see through the gas, Caustic players can use it as cover to revive teammates or quickly heal.

The Toxic Trapper comes equipped with a gas mask, so he can’t be poisoned by his own abilities. As such, Caustic players can’t be damaged by other users’ Nox Gas and vice versa.

In addition to the Nox Vision passive, Caustic also has the passive Fortified ability, which reduces 15 percent of all incoming damage. Headshot damage ignores the Fortified ability.

Nox Gas Trap – Q

Caustic’s tactical ability places canisters that release poison gas in a small vicinity when shot or triggered by nearby enemies. These traps can be instantly deactivated by enemies if they shoot the base of the canister, or may be destroyed after they are activated. Each trap has 150 health.

Traps are best used either in the early or late game. Players can leave canisters in locations packed densely with loot-hungry opponents or take advantage of late game rings by packing a compound full of traps to catch enemies off guard. Similar to Wattson’s fences, Caustic’s traps can be used to secure perimeters and prevent teams from pushing areas of the map that a Caustic controls.

Canisters take about one second to become active, but once placed, they can be picked up and relocated. Caustic stores three canisters at once, and upon using all three canisters, players must wait 28 seconds before being able to place another. Up to six canisters can be placed at a time, so placing a seventh will remove the first from the field of play.

The canisters can also be used to block doors from being opened. Placing a trap on one side of a door prevents a player from opening the door on the opposite side. Caustic can hide traps in a building with two exits, blocking one door with a canister and leaving the other open to bait enemies in. When enemies enter the room, Caustic can then throw in his ultimate, close the second door, and block it with another canister.

Because Caustic gas traps can now be destroyed after they are activated, they are best placed around tight corners and in hard-to-see places, where the gas can reach the intended area of cover, while the canister is difficult for enemies to shoot.

Nox Gas Grenade – Ultimate

For his ultimate ability, Caustic throws a grenade that releases a cloud of Nox Gas that has a much larger range than that of his Nox Gas Traps. Unlike his traps, the grenade can be thrown a sizable distance away from Caustic. While the grenade deploys gas that isn’t any different from the gas in Caustic’s traps, the size of the gas cloud and distance Caustic can throw the grenade make his ultimate a much more attack-heavy option in his kit.

This ultimate can still be used defensively, though. Caustic can throw it at his feet if his team needs to quickly heal or revive a squad member, providing some cover. But it can also be used to flush enemies out from behind cover. This is especially useful late in a game, when there aren’t many places for a team to play. A single Caustic ultimate can easily lead to a full squad wipe for his team.

Caustic players need to carefully plan and set up their attacks to take advantage of his abilities, but they can be used in the heat of the moment as an effective escape tool.

The best characters to pair with Caustic include Bloodhound, who can use their own ultimate ability to see through Nox Gas, and Valkyrie, who makes rotations with such a large character that has no movement abilities much easier. On the other hand, Caustic players should be wary of Crypto EMP, which has the power to instantly delete all un-activated Caustic traps in its range; Gibraltar, who can cut off Nox gas with his Dome of Protection; and Wattson, whose Interception Pylon prevents Caustic’s ultimate and tactical abilities from being deployed near it.