What term does Apex Legends use for its playable characters?

Apex Legends calls its playable characters “Legends.” The name fits the game’s fictional setting, where competitors enter the Apex Games, a bloodsport competition staged in the Outlands.

Each Legend has a distinct biography, personality, and ability set. Players choose from three abilities—passive, tactical, and ultimate—which gives the game its hero-shooter structure while retaining battle-royale gameplay. The original 2019 roster contained eight Legends, including Bangalore, Bloodhound, Gibraltar, Lifeline, Mirage, Pathfinder, and Wraith.

“Legends” is sometimes confused with terms from other shooters. “Operators” is strongly associated with games such as Rainbow Six Siege, while “Champions” is used by several other competitive titles. Apex players may also say “Apex Champions,” but that phrase means the winners of a match, not the playable characters themselves. The roster has expanded substantially through seasonal updates, and characters are organized into classes such as Assault, Skirmisher, Recon, Support, and Controller.