Apex Legends – How to get the 20 Kill Badge
The 20-kill badge is highly sought-after in Apex Legends, signifying to others that you are truly among the elite. It’s not hugely rare to see the badge these days, but this is only due to the large portion of veterans making up the game’s active player base.
Even after mastering the mechanics of Apex Legends, the 20 Kill badge still remains tantalisingly out of reach for many players. The difficulty of the accomplishment means there is nothing quite as rewarding as finally reaching this crowning milestone.
We can’t guarantee anything here, but there are definitely some best practices that will make it a bit more achievable. Here’s everything you need to know about how to get the 20-kill badge in Apex Legends.
How to get the 20 Kill Badge in Apex Legends
To get the 20-kill badge, you must achieve at least 20 kills in a single Battle Royale match.
Unfortunately, other game modes like Limited Time Mode and Arcade will not apply, making this one of the toughest badges to acquire.
The badge is called Legend’s Wake, which has exactly 20 skulls on it to signify the achievement.
All of our top tips can be found below.
Drop into a Hot Zone
It can be daunting to start a map by dropping into the hot zone, but it is absolutely necessary to get off to a good start to have any chance of reaching 20 kills.
Go straight on the offensive and try to take out a full squad before moving quickly onto the next one you can find. It’s easier said than done, but you should attempt this every single time you are making a serious effort for 20 kills.
You will need to have at least 5 kills from the opening exchanges, preferably with at least 30 more players still remaining in the battle.
This is increasingly difficult with the general standard of players much higher than it was a few years ago. However, there is virtually no chance of getting 20 kills in Apex Legends by spending time on the sidelines. If you don’t take the risk, you will never earn the reward.
Make your way to the centre
If you drop into a hot zone and get off to a good start with multiple kills, the next problem will be keeping your momentum.
It’s natural that most of the time, players will congregate in the centre of the map, so you should aim to make your way there – via a detour or two.
Ideally, head through another hot zone along the way to get some more kills under your belt before ending up in the centre. If all has gone well and you have a bit of luck, you’ll regularly encounter enemies and still be on course.
This all comes with more obvious risk, but passive play will just end up with your enemies being slowly whittled down. Before you know it, there won’t be enough players left even if you are doing well.
Know the maps inside out
Closely related to the above tip, it’s important to know the full layout of every map and the general player behaviour on each one.
This will come naturally with a lot of attempts, but keep in mind the typical places that are highly populated at the start of the map. Next, take note of where players tend to venture in the second phase of the battle. After enough practice, you can formulate a preferred route for each map.
Every map is different, but they all have general gameplay patterns that develop over time.
Use R-301 or R-99
To reach 20 kills, your tactics will inevitably entail lots of quick movement across the map rather than camping or sniping people from afar. The latter will only take too long and even if you perform well, you will run out of opponents.
With a dynamic, all-action approach it is imperative to go with a weapon that will do significant damage at close and medium range. This way, you can rack up the quick kills whilst staying on the move.
The R-301 and R-99 are the best options for this. Choose the one you are most comfortable with, and get used to it. The R-99 has the edge in DPS at close quarters, but the R-301 has better mid-range capabilities and may prove a more balanced weapon depending on your style, as it can still deal heavy close-range damage.
Play with people you know
It is very difficult to get the badge with random teammates. They are likely to rack up kills of their own with no regard for your efforts to reach 20 kills.
You can’t blame them, but there’s an alternative gives you a far better chance. If you recruit a team of friends who know your objective, your tactics can be adapted accordingly.
This way, your team can let you mop up the easier kills rather than stealing them. Even with this method, it may still take a long time to end up in a situation where 20 kills become plausible, so you’ll need some good (and patient) companions.
The hardest part? Actually convincing your friends to stick around for the long haul. A solid compromise is to come to a diplomatic arrangement that they’ll commit to your 20 kill mission if you get off to a great start (eg, 5 early kills or more). Alternatively, you can take it in turns to be the primary finisher.
Otherwise, play Solo
Achieving 20 kills in Apex Legends is purely a solo endeavour, even when you are playing within your squad of three. A bad team may give you a worse chance of winning, but arguably makes a better opportunity to amass 20 kills. If you’re lucky, then your sub-standard team will whittle down enemy health without having the skill to finish them off.
The problem is you never know what you are going to get with random teammates, which is why there is another option. If you want to completely mitigate the possibility of your teammates snatching those all-important kills, then simply play Battle Royale as a solo player.
In the Lobby menu, untick the option to “Fill Teammates” and you will head into battle alone. Granted, other squads will outnumber you but at least you won’t have teammates stealing your kills.
For 20 kills, playing solo is ironically far better than playing with a good team, and probably better than playing with a bad team. The only scenario definitely more beneficial than playing solo is the aforementioned group of accomplice friends.
Third Party as much as possible
The most glaring opportunities will be the occasions when two squads are facing off. There can be as many as six kills if you play it nicely, but this will depend on factors outside of your control.
If you hear gunfire whilst traversing the map, then head towards it. If you are lucky, you can pick off players from the two different squads whilst their attention is focused on each other.
The tricky part is knowing who to attack – if you finish off a weakened squad first, you may end up outnumbered by a squad close to full health. Alternatively, you can try and reduce the stronger team and then start going for kills when most of the players seem vulnerable.
This one is a judgement call depending on the situation, but generally the worst thing you can do is nothing.
Buy the 20 Kill badge
This has got to be listed as a last resort. If you are ready to swallow your pride, there’s a final option out there.
No-one likes spending money for the sake of it, but if you are truly desperate and have reached your wit’s end, then you can effectively buy the badge online.
There are plenty of pro players out there on places like Ebay and Fiverr willing to get you the badge for a fee. If it makes you feel any better, loads of the players boasting the badge probably paid for it…
That rounds up all of our tips of how to get the 20 kill badge in Apex Legends. Whatever happens, you’ll need a lot of skill and a bit of luck, but with enough persistence you will hopefully get your hands on the Legend’s Wake badge. For more Apex Legends content, check out the articles below:
