Arenas, Apex Legends’ 3v3 mode added in Season 9, is totally unlike anything we’ve seen in Apex before. Instead of looting from the map, you will buy your loadout with materials before each round. Here’s our buy guide so you know what to purchase.
Arenas Materials
The first step of spending well in Arenas is know what you’re spending. You will need to use materials to purchase weapons, attachments, abilities, throwables, and healing.
The number of materials you have depends on what round it is, how many you saved from the previous round, kills you got in the previous round, and any you collected from canisters.
- Round bonus: Increases each round
- Kills: 75 materials
- Canister: 200 materials
Clearly, canisters providing 200 materials is a massive bonus – almost as many as getting three kills. So, one player on the team should always make it a priority to head to a material canister and get a 200 bonus.
You won’t keep anything you bought in previous rounds. When in the shop, you can immediately refund anything you’ve bought if you change your mind, but after the shop is closed, you’re stuck with your choices.
What to buy in Arenas
Weapons
Obviously, the main purpose of the shop is to get a better weapon. By default, you will have either a P2020 or a Mozambique – clearly not ideal weapons for most scenarios.
Round One
Round One is a crucial round that needs special attention. When you have limited materials, and are up against level 1 shields, there are two options we would recommend:
- RE45: 250m
- Peacekeeper: 500m
We’d recommend going with an RE45 most of the time. When up against level 1 shields, it’s more than capable of tearing through opponents, and will give you a very solid all-round weapon for only 250 materials. With the money saved, you’ll be able to load up on a shield battery or an ability charge.
The other option would be the more expensive Peacekeeper. Spending the full 500 won’t leave you with much left over, but if you know you can hit your shots with this weapon, its power will be deadly against enemies with level 1 shield.
Later rounds
After round one, your options should open up a bit – provided you’re getting at least one 200 materials bonus from a canister, and getting at least a kill or two. This is when your playstyle will determine what guns you choose, but we still have a few favorites.
Best SMG: Volt
The Volt SMG is an excellent choice for Arenas. You are almost guaranteed to be in close-range fights during every Arenas round, and so you’ll want to have an SMG to hand.
- Read More: How to play Valkyrie in Apex Legends
While many prefer the R-99 to the Volt, the light ammo SMG is an extra 50 materials, and when you’re making every penny count, this might not be worth it.
Saving the extra 50 materials could help you get more attachments, another shield battery or a throwable. It’s definitely a good idea to load up on at least level 2 attachments for the Volt if you can, mainly for the increased magazine size.
Best AR/LMG: Spitfire
No surprises here, if you’re looking for the perfect AR or LMG for Arenas, the Spitfire is probably your best bet. With low recoil and a big magazine (even without any attachments), it’s a fair price at 550 materials (50 less than the R301).
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Just like the R-99, even if you have a soft spot for the R301, the extra 50 materials saved by opting for the Spitfire is definitely worth it.
Best Sniper: Sentinel
It’s a tough choice between the Longbow DMR and the Sentinel in Arenas. Both cost the same (400 materials), so it’s really a matter of preference.
Our recommendation is the Sentinel though. It feels a little more versatile than the Longbow, suitable at slightly close ranges, and of course, if you want to use some of your shield cells, you can charge it up for more damage.
It’s possible that prices for weapons will be adjusted in the future if Respawn sees any balancing issues, so we’ll update this guide if our picks for weapons change.
Healing and abilities
The Arenas shop isn’t all about weapons though, as you also need to make sure you keep some materials for healing and abilities.
Healing
You should definitely consider buying a shield battery every single round. Although they cost 150 materials, the benefit of getting all your shields back in seconds can’t be underestimated. Medkits are very cheap at only 50 materials, but generally speaking, having a shield battery will always come in more handy, because of course, it’s your shield that will take the upfront damage in any fight.
You’ll almost always be better stocking up on another battery rather than 2 cells too – after all, you will spawn with 2 shield cells for free. Some spare syringes will be worth purchasing in later rounds too – at only 25 materials, you can always spend your spares on this after you’ve bought everything else.
You also have the option of a gold backpack. This is more of a luxury item at 250 materials, but, if your team has been playing well, and racking up materials from canisters, it might just be within your budget.
Abilities
How much money you spend on abilities will totally depend on what Legend you are using. For example, someone like Bloodhound is definitely worth spending materials on, to get more charges of their scan – a very powerful ability in Arenas.
On the other hand, spending more money on another Octane stim might not be as clever, as the opportunities to use it will be more limited on the small Arenas maps.
For most Legends, the free charge of the ability you get will be more than enough. But, if you have a specific tactic in a round to counter the enemy team, this might not be the case. The cost of abilities are different for every Legend, so it will come down to your character of choice, whether it’s worth it or not.
One method is to buy your ability first – before even buying your weapon. That way, you won’t miss out on that crucial ability charge because you bought an extra set of attachments. But remember, anything can be refunded after you buy it as well, in case you do the math wrong.
Grenades
Although these are probably a last resort, don’t rule out spending materials on a throwable item. If you’ve got spare materials and aren’t desperate for another shield battery or ability charge, an arc star or thermite might come in very handy. At only 100 materials, they won’t break the bank.
As the Arenas meta develops, we might see more players picking up a throwable, as it could be an unpleasant surprise for enemies to deal with.
That’s our Arenas shop recommendations, but these will almost certainly change over time as the meta shifts, and prices are possibly adjusted in the future.
