How to play Horizon in Apex Legends

Apex Legends’ memorable seventh season added the gravitational manipulator Horizon as its competitor. A brilliant astrophysicist and mother who hails from Olympus, Horizon is all about defying gravity—and more importantly, using it against her opponents.

Horizon is a versatile competitor who excels on vertical terrain. Her abilities let her traverse the map swiftly and climb small buildings, houses, walkways, and other obstacles. What her abilities lack in pure damage, they make up for in increased mobility for her and reduced mobility for her enemies. Her tactical can also serve as a trap or zoning tool, and her ultimate sucks in and corrals nearby enemies for easy elimination.

Here’s everything you need to know to play Horizon.

Horizon’s abilities

Passive: Spacewalk

Horizon’s space suit gives her extra maneuverability in mid-air, allowing her to turn while falling more easily than other legends. The suit also allows her to begin moving more quickly after landing, removing the brief stun other legends have when they hit the ground.

While these may seem like minor perks, they make a tangible difference in some scenarios, particularly on vertically-inclined maps like Storm Point. Being able to quickly lift your team to high ground or make a fast escape through the underbrush after jumping off a building are a few of the scenarios where Horizon shines.

Tactical: Gravity Lift

Horizon’s tactical creates a small vertical area that propels all players upward. Gravity Lift remains active for 10 seconds and has a 20-second cooldown that starts after the ability ends. Its most obvious use is to propel a squad to higher ground, but it can also serve as a small trap, preventing enemies from entering a doorway or building.

Gravity Lift can be a formidable defensive tool. It works well with Caustic’s gas by prolonging an opponent’s exposure to the deadly fumes. Enemies caught in the lifts aren’t completely helpless, however, and can still fight back, though at a disadvantage. Horizon can also lift herself up to avoid Gibraltar’s and Bangalore’s air strikes or to heal in a relatively safe place.

Ultimate: Black Hole

Horizon’s sidekick N.E.W.T. is more than just her companion: it’s also a high-powered, portable black hole that sucks in nearby enemies. When the ability is activated, Horizon tosses N.E.W.T. to a user-chosen location. After a two-second delay, a black hole is created on N.E.W.T.’s location that continuously pulls enemies toward its center. Enemies who are behind doors and walls will still be pulled toward the black hole.

While Black Hole may sound overpowered, there are a few measures that bring it back down to Earth. N.E.W.T. can be destroyed, ending the ultimate early. Black Hole also pulls in Horizon herself, making it difficult to fight effectively unless she throws it from a distance and stays away from it. Finally, aiming and tossing N.E.W.T. is a little clunky on purpose, and it’s possible for it to bounce off of terrain and teammates, disrupting your aim.

Playing Horizon

While Horizon might not seem as damage-inclined as other legends, she’s still an offensive powerhouse and can be used in a variety of situations with many different team compositions.

Defense

If a Trident tries to run Horizon over on her home turf of Olympus, she can drop a Gravity Lift on the vehicle’s path to lift it off the ground. The hang time can be enough to land an Arc Star or frag grenade (the latter also floats up in the air), interrupting anyone who expects to breeze through the map.

Horizon’s tactical can provide useful mobility, especially in and around Storm Point’s tall structures. Thanks to its hefty vertical lift, she can traverse sheer cliffs and walls faster than almost any other legend. Gravity Lift makes for an easy and comfortable way to explore areas. In a pinch, the ability can provide a quick getaway, especially from offenders at mid-range.

Spacewalk’s soft landings and extra mid-air mobility also help with making escapes. To elude close-range pursuers, she can drop down into a lower area and create a gravity lift on the floor. The enemy will be suspended temporarily and have to deal with the landing animation after hitting the ground. This should buy you some time to reposition.

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Black Hole can be used as an escape tool, but it’s usually not worth the cooldown. It’s easy to throw N.E.W.T. in the wrong place, especially when you’re moving quickly and being pursued, so it’s better to use it to get the drop on enemies rather than to cover your tracks.

Offense

If you’re looking to play more offensively, the ability can help your squad storm high ground or find a new flanking route. A well-placed Gravity Lift can flush out enemies behind cover, such as Rampart walls and Newcastle’s Castle Wall, and can serve as a small deterrent in a pinch. Be careful of Wattson’s Pylons, though; they will destroy both Gravity Lift and Black Hole.

Tossing it at an enemy before attacking is a risky strategy. It might just work, but players who try to do this must consider the animations and deployment time—more likely than not, you’ll take a few hits in the process. In most cases, Gravity Lift should be used defensively for maximum effectiveness.

Horizon’s Black Hole is her most obviously offensive ability. In addition to putting nearby enemies into your line of sight, N.E.W.T. can pull them out of cover or into other dangers, such as Caustic traps. Throwing grenades inside her ultimate is the best way to wreak havoc on enemies, so make sure you stockpile some while looting.

Although it makes sense to use it in close-quarters areas, like the narrow hallways in Olympus’ Turbine and Storm Point’s Barometer, Black Hole can work just as well in open fields and large areas. It can pull squads away from low cover, such as rocks or buildings, and leave them open to attack.

Counters and synergies

While Horizon is powerful, she isn’t invulnerable. High-mobility legends like Octane, Pathfinder, Ash, and Wraith can break free of Black Hole, enabling them to reposition and avoid Horizon’s grenade barrage.

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Horizon players must watch out especially for Wattson; the Static Defender’s ultimate will negate both the Black Hole and the Gravity Lift. If you’re looking to flush out a squad hiding behind a rock or structure in low ground, make sure first that they don’t have a Wattson among their ranks, or the majority of your attack will likely be nullified.

Horizon also has some valuable synergies with other legends. Crypto works especially well with the graviational manipulator. His EMP ultimate can take out Wattson’s Pylons, removing one of Horizon’s hardest counters from play. The EMP and Black Hole combo can also be devastating.

Horizon’s Black Hole synergizes well with Caustic’s Nox gas. The gravitational pull increases exposure to the toxins and makes sure that enemies breathe in a little bit more of the poisonous gas. Legends caught in the singularity are highlighted, similar to Caustic’s passive, and make for an easy target for Horizon. The gravitational pull can also work with Revenant’s Silence, which prevents affected enemies from using any abilities.

Horizon has a versatile kit that has uses in just about every situation on every map, but where she really shines is on Storm Point and Olympus, her home turf. The verticality in Apex Legends‘ more recent battlegrounds complements her abilities extremely well, but she’s still a force to be reckoned with else where. Take note whenever you see a Horizon on the battlefield—you’re in for a fight.