Apex Legends Weapon Mastery Guide: All Trials And Rewards

From rewards to tips on farming XP, this guide has everything you need to truly master the game's arsenal of weapons.

By Claire Lewis on May 15, 2023 at 3:19PM PDT

Apex Legends Season 17: Arsenal has introduced loads of changes to Respawn's popular battle royale, including major changes to World's Edge, a completely revamped firing range, and, of course, a new legend with some serious firepower. But with all these new additions, it's easy to miss the biggest game-changer of them all: Apex's new Weapon Mastery system.

According to Respawn, the new feature was created in the hopes of giving new players a better introduction to the strengths of individual weapons while also giving veteran players something new to grind for. But the system itself can take a little getting used to. If you've found yourself wondering where to start--or simply looking for tips to help speed up the process--keep reading for an in-depth guide to help you Master Apex's new Weapon Mastery system.

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Each weapon has its own mastery track with its own unique challenge, and all weapons start at level 1, with the potential to level up to 100. But every 20 levels, players are faced with a special challenge, referred to in-game as a Trial. Each weapon has five Trials, and completing all five trials on any weapon will unlock the Legendary-tier Weapons Master universal banner frame.

Trials are the only levels that will require players to pull off unique feats with their weapon of choice, but aside from Trials, climbing the rungs to level 100 is simply a matter of acquiring XP by using your weapon regularly. XP can be gained from any mode, including battle royale (both Ranked and non-Ranked) and Mixtape Mode. But not all weapon usage methods are created equal--at least not when it comes to earning XP.

Each level requires more XP than the last, with a total of 1,000,000 XP required to reach full mastery on a single weapon (in addition to completing all five Trials). But there are several ways to get XP, and some of them are rather surprising.

Weapon Mastery XP can be gained in the following ways:

This one's pretty obvious--the more damage you do, the more XP you earn. But there are additional XP bonuses for inflicting damage while sliding, zipping, and jumping

Kills earn additional XP, though the game does not get specific regarding the amount of XP earned from kills.

Inflicting critical hit damage via headshots will net you the maximum amount of bonus XP, but again, the game declines to inform players what that amount is.

Perhaps the oddest--and easiest--way to earn XP is to hold the weapon you want to level in your hands as much as possible. Simply having it equipped but stowed away does not generate XP, but keeping it on-hand does. Players will want to be aware of their surroundings when farming XP in this manner, as holding an un-stowed weapon significantly decreases your sprinting speed.

Trial tasks are not visible until players have unlocked them, so we've listed the Trials for each weapon--and the levels at which players will face them--below:

A lot of the Weapon Mastery system's Trials simply come down to luck, so in some situations, it may be best to just play whichever legend you like best. But there are two legends we've found to be extremely useful when it comes to gaining Weapon Mastery XP: Ballistic and Mad Maggie

Ballistic's powerful Tempest ability applies a buff to him (and any nearby teammates) which increases reloading speed. But it also provides a massive speed buff when sprinting with a weapon in your hand. Since extra XP can be gained by simply having a weapon out, Ballistic is an excellent choice to play, as Tempest allows him to run and gun without having to stow a weapon to gain speed.

Mad Maggie is another good choice, but mainly for mastering shotguns. Her passive Warlord's Ire ability increases her movement speed when she's holding a shotgun, which also comes in handy for the un-stowed weapon XP boost.

Ultimately, some Trials will be surprisingly easy for some players, while others may struggle to achieve them. Patience and focus go a long way when it comes to these challenges, especially since so many Trials are partially based on luck or the behavior of enemy players. Still, now that you know the ropes, you'll be mastering Apex's weapons in no time. Well, maybe not no time-- even mastering one weapon takes a great deal patience and effort. It's going to be a long road no matter which path you take, so remember to be patient with yourself and your squad, especially when it comes to the few Trials that are almost entirely up to the RNG gods.

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