Defensive gadgets set Apex Legends apart from other battle royales, especially with how its characters can whip out an assortment of shields, walls, and even protective domes to defend themselves and their teams from different kinds of danger. This defensive component gives Apex Legends players an opportunity to last longer in combat while also enjoying their wide assortment of abilities. And unfortunately for players who got over-dependent on these skills, these defenses are exactly the target of Mad Maggie.
Thanks to her toolkit, Mad Maggie is able to destabilize most defensive measures and even punish opponents who stay too long in an area for the sake of defense. Acting more of a support fighter than a frontline attacker, Mad Maggie’s toolkit is built to let her pierce through defenses and even chase enemies who try to get away from her interception.
Mad Maggie: Aspiring Warlord
Growing up in the deadly world of Salvo was lonely and dangerous for young Margaret Kōhere, who only found solace with her childhood friend Walter Fitzroy. Their adventures together led to the creation of the Cracked Talon, a deadly mercenary operation which ended up being one of the warbands vying for control over Salvo. Unfortunately for Margaret, now Mad Maggie, the appeal of the Apex Games would have Walter - now Fuse - abandon her mission to take control of their planet fully.
While Mad Maggie initially sabotaged Fuse’s entrance into the competition, this was intended to show Salvo how weak the Syndicate handled the Apex Games - something she hoped would cause open rebellion against the Syndicate in Salvo. While their eventual confrontation would have them come to terms with each others’ differences, the Syndicate didn’t take kindly to Mad Maggie’s intervention. Now thought dead, Mad Maggie was in fact caught by the Syndicate and sentenced to fight in the Apex Games.
Why Play Mad Maggie: Actively Ruin Defenses
Defenses in a battle royale like Apex Legends can be annoying, especially in fast-paced combat scenarios where a well-placed wall or obstacle can ruin a team’s chances of attacking. Thanks to Mad Maggie, defenses become easy pickings, especially if she uses her kit with Apex Legends weapons. Players who love the idea of disabling defensive measures may be able to help Mad Maggie meet her full potential. However, those still contemplating to use Mad Maggie as an Apex Legend might want to consider these other reasons for her practicality:
- Become a short-ranged specialist: Thanks to Mad Maggie’s Warlord’s Ire (Passive), she gets a special perk that lets her highlight enemies she’s damaged for a short while, even when behind walls. This can help players become more confident in short-ranged battles, especially when faster-moving Legends are in play.
- Render protection useless: When presented with an obstacle such as an interior room or even GIbraltar’s Dome of Protection (Tactical), Mad Maggie can simply deploy Riot Drill (Tactical) and render these defenses obsolete. Players who love the idea of penetrating through defenses for a constant pursuit would love the idea of dishing out Riot Drill to get obstacles out of the way instead of going around them.
- Get incentives for targeting enemies: Thanks to Wrecking Ball (Ultimate), Mad Maggie is able to deploy a ball that not only bounces around walls and doors but also damages gadgets and grants speed boosters in the form of pads. This practically incentivizes Mad Maggie just wrecking everything an enemy team has invested in terms of gadgets - something that can be seen as rewards by the player who likes being laser-focused on attacking foes.
The Basics Of Mad Maggie: Anti-Defense Specialist
Compared to other Legends performing in any Apex Legends map, Mad Maggie focuses less on forcing enemies out of safe zones instead of outright killing them - making her more of a chaos-sower instead of a straightforward attacker. When looking at her toolkit, Mad Maggie is built precisely to counter pesky gadgets such as walls and shields. And for players who want to bypass enemy defenses more efficiently, here’s a quick brief on Mad Maggie’s toolkit:
- Warlord’s Ire (Passive): When Mad Maggie damages opponents, she highlights them and even reveals their location for a few seconds, as well as getting a speed boost when using a shotgun.
- Riot Drill (Tactical): Mad Maggie deploys a drill that latches onto an obstacle and burns through it, attacking enemies from the other side.
- Wrecking Ball (Ultimate): Mad Maggie deploys a ball that gives away speed-boosting pads and damages nearby enemies.
Passive: Warlord’s Ire
When Mad Maggie sets her eyes on a target in Apex Legends gameplay, she stops at nothing to acquire it. She reflects this viciousness through Warlord’s Ire (Passive), essentially allowing her to highlight enemies she’s damaged with any Apex Legends weapon combo and see them past obstacles and walls. Here are things to note:
- Properties: When she damages enemies, Mad Maggie can see the silhouettes of these foes through obstacles and walls for 0.8 seconds. She also gets a 1.15x speed boost with a shotgun.
- Take note of the shotgun effect: When equipped with a shotgun, Mad Maggie experiences a caveat of 3.5-percent ADS speed penalty versus other weapons. To counteract this, it’s best for Mad Maggie to have the shotgun out in the open when around buildings and corners but holstered when running in open areas.
Tactical: Riot Drill
Perhaps the deadliest ability in Mad Maggie’s kit as a character with even a simple Apex Legends pistol, Riot Drill (Tactical) allows her to deploy a drill that latches onto an obstacle. It constantly drills through it, burning enemies on the other side. This practically transforms cover into a pile of junk, forcing enemies out or to pray the Drill misses their exact spot. Here are other things to know:
- Properties: This ability has a 22-second cooldown, and deals 5 damage when hitting an enemy as it bounces off them. When it does hit a surface, it takes a second to activate and deals 160 damage over the course of 9 seconds. It produces a 5-meter length that isn’t impeded by obstacles.
- Take note of special ability interactions: As a special deployable, the Riot Drill does have special interactions with other objects in the game. For instance, the Riot Drill is indestructible until the object it’s attached to is destroyed. Likewise, the Riot Drill moves alongside its surface once it also moves, and can be redirected by Gravity Lift (Horizon)
- Damages past most shields: This Drill is capable of dealing damage to map props, doors, walls, and Tridents. It also deals damage through Legend deployables, such as Dome of Protection (Gibraltar), Amped Cover (Rampart) Mobile Shield and Castle Wall (Newcastle), Nox Gas Trap (Gaustic), Surveillance Drone (Crypto), and even Maggie’s own Wrecking Ball. However, it bounces off Revive Shield (Newcastle) and Knockdown Shields.
Ultimate: Wrecking Ball
Perhaps the most chaotic among Mad Maggie’s offerings in an Apex Legends team, Wrecking Ball (Ultimate) allows Mad Maggie to deploy a large ball that bounces off obstacles while releasing pads that give a speed boost. Since its intricacies in battle can get tricky, here are some tips for Mad Maggie to use it:
- Properties: This Ultimate has a 1.5-minute cooldown and explodes after 10 seconds, after bouncing for a particular time, and after hitting an enemy. As it travels, the Wrecking Ball releases speed boost pads every 0.8 seconds that last for 60 seconds and give a 30-percent movement speed boost for 3 seconds when stepped on. If it hits opponents, it deals 20 damage. It can also break through doors.
- Check its interactions with other deployables: The Wrecking Ball isn’t just here for novelty, as it does deal damage to most deployables such as Black Market Boutique (Loba), Exhibit (Seer), Death Totem (Revenant), Black Hole (Horizon), and even Nox Gas Traps (Caustic). It’s still affected by the Interception Pylon (Watston).
- Bounce affects shielding, mobility: Another interesting interaction the Wrecking Ball offers is with gadgets that act as walls and mobility boosters. The Wrecking Ball is affected by the Launch Pad (Octane) and Gravity Lift (Horizon), and bounces inside and outside of Amped Cover (Rampart), Mobile Shield and Castle Wall (Newcastle).
Mad Maggie Gameplay: Chase Enemies Out Of Cover
Due to the existence of specialized shielders such as Gibraltar and Newcastle, other players might find it difficult to pierce through defenses and make a decisive strike in quick skirmishes. This isn’t a problem for Mad Maggie’s toolkit, as her Apex Legends skills practically allow her to demolish almost any form of defense rather quickly. However, there are other ways of maximizing her toolkit aside from just eliminating walls. In fact, players who want to transform Mad Maggie into an agent of chaos can help her team more efficiently using the following tips:
- Secure supremacy in close-ranged engagements: Given Mad Maggie’s access to temporary enemy highlights in short range, she should capitalize on Warlord’s Ire (Passive) as often as possible. With a shotgun and other short-ranged weaponry, Mad Maggie’s pursuit of enemies should be made much easier, especially since she can potentially outrun much faster Legends by knowing their positions simply after damaging them.
- Scare opponents out of cover: It’s a common tactic to retreat to cover with the hopes of baiting enemies into an ambush, and Mad Maggie’s Riot Drill (Tactical) is built precisely to render these strategies useless. Instead of aiming this ability at enemies, Mad Maggie can simply ensure she hits any part of the cover protecting her opponents in order to force them out of hiding. If Riot Drill can tear through their defense, how far away is she, right? Better book it and run - and once they’re out of cover, Mad Maggie and her allies are waiting.
- Consider combining Riot Drill and Wrecking Ball: One of the unique synergies Mad Maggie could try is combining her Tactical and Ultimate, basically attaching Riot Drill (Tactical) to a deployed Wrecking Ball (Ultimate). With the right practice, Mad Maggie under Warlord’s Ire (Passive) can throw the Wrecking Ball towards the opponent’s direction, already damaging them with the Ball but with the added fiery bonus of the Riot Drill’s player damage.
Assault Class: Control The Flow Of Combat
Mad Maggie’s anti-defense toolkit makes her fit more into a controlling Apex Legends gameplay style instead of upfront offense. This makes her rather unique as a member of the Assault Class in Season 16, as Mad Maggie enjoys controlling the flow of combat more instead of outright killing foes with her skills. In turn, players who want to maximize Mad Maggie might want to take note of the following Perks:
- Weapon Supply Bins - Secret Compartment access: Thanks to her classification as an Assault Class, Mad Maggie can open Secret Compartments of Weapon Supply Bins to access four (4) Rare Smart Loot attachments. Aside from a guaranteed Optics, there are lower chances for Magazines and Hop-Ups, and Mad Maggie gets access to a weapon with two (2) attachments if she opens this container without anything equipped.
- More Ammo, more distractions: Mad Maggie works best as a controlling Assault Class Legend when she’s capable of sowing chaos in the battlefield, and she gets more chances of twisting firefights to her advantage now that she has access to more ammo. As an Assault Class Legend, Mad Maggie has access to an extra stack of Light, Heavy, and Energy Ammo, as well as a smaller extra stack for Shotgun and Sniper Ammo.
Loadout Recommendations
Compared to other Legends, Mad Maggie’s kit is geared more toward forcing opponents to participate in a firefight instead of outright killing them. When used properly, even a simple Apex Legends pistol can become a finisher at the hands of Mad Maggie. However, players who want to maximize Mad Maggie’s toolkit may want to consider getting her heavy-damaging weapons that can punish foes for even trying to wrestle control over the battlefield from the Legend. Here are some weapons to consider:
- R-99 (SMG, Light Ammo): When there’s a need for Mad Maggie to chase opponents, she needs weapons that can keep up with the potential chaos happening while enemies are being chased about. In that regard, a quick-firing short-to-mid-ranged weapon like the R-99 works in most combat situations. Considering its accessibility in most areas, the R-99 is a reliable weapon for Mad Maggie even in the early game.
- R-301 Carbine (Assault Rifle, Light Ammo): One might say the R-301 is an “upgrade” of the R-99, and it stays true to this concept in both accessibility and distance. This helps Mad Maggie become a more aggressive Legend, allowing her to pursue much further opponents before deploying her kit to remove any defenses they may set up in her pursuit.
- M600 Spitfire (LMG, Light Ammo): When Mad Maggie deploys her toolkit, it’s almost always from the perspective of an ambusher - especially considering her anti-defense mechanics. In these instances, finishing opponents off has never been easier with a hard-hitting weapon like the M600 Spitfire. While its nature as an LMG makes its accuracy a bit tricky to determine, being able to aim at opponents scrambling about while zigzagging around with the Wrecking Ball (Ultimate) makes the rapid-fire nature of the Spitfire very convenient.
Apex Legends is playable on the PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.