Lifeline is in a really good place in Season 5 of Apex Legends. Already a strong pick according to Respawn’s internal metrics, she nevertheless received a mid-season rework which tuned her up even more, shifting her from a fighter who can heal to more of a healer who can fight.
Let’s go over Lifeline in her Season 5 state and re-learn some of the basics of saving (and taking) lives.
Lifeline’s kit
Passive:
- Combat Revive: Lifeline can deploy D.O.C to revive a teammate automatically, leaving her to defend or revive someone else. The drone holds up a wide, impenetrable shield wall while reviving.
- Extra Loot: Lifeline can open secret compartments in blue supply bins, which spawn additional healing items and defensive gear.
- Low profile: Lifeline takes 5% more damage from all sources, and limb shots count as body shots to her, inflicting 100% damage instead of 75%.
Tactical:
- D.O.C. Heal Drone: Call your drone of compassion to automatically heal near-by players. The drone has a 45-second cooldown and heals a total of 150 health over its 20-second lifetime.
Ultimate:
- Care Package: Call in a drop-pod full of supplies for your squad. Has a 360 second cooldown, and takes 15 seconds to land after cast. The Package contains a mix of high tier defensive gear, weapon attachments, and healing items.
New tactics
The changes to Lifeline’s playstyle in Season 5 of Apex Legends are subtle, but you’ll have to get used to them or get used to losing games. First, you can’t use items quickly anymore, so you must rely on your heal drone a lot more in fights. Luckily, you can just do that: D.O.C. only has a 45-second cooldown now, which ticks down while the drone is in use. This means that you can pop it in the middle of a gunfight and then call it in again only 25 seconds after it expires — and a Gold Helmet cuts that timer down to 15 seconds. That’s a healthcare plan you can count on.
Second, your loot priorities have changed somewhat in Season 5. Lifeline no longer has a clear synergy with the Gold Body Shield, so don’t hesitate to take that EVO. However, she still benefits from the Gold Helmet and the Gold Backpack much more than other legends — your squadmates should know that it’s in their best interest to let you have these items.
As Lifeline, you also need less health items overall now, so stack up on cells and batteries instead. That shouldn’t be hard to do, because Lifeline still has her blue bin passive, even though it is no longer listed in her description.
Finally, you no longer snarf down Ultimate Accelerants fast, but you still need to do it just as much, because your ultimate is better now. Don’t forget to use Charge Towers when you can, too.
Verdict
Overall, the rework was an across-the-board upgrade. Compared to her Season 4 self, Lifeline now has a better ultimate, much better ability to pick up downed squadmates, and her 25% faster item use passive was replaced by a 25% faster tactical ability cooldown.
This is a good time to play as Apex Legends’ designated field medic. If you don’t mind the particulars of her playstyle, Lifeline makes a top-tier Legend who can carry her squad to victory in any rank. As an added bonus, she is no longer a liability in Duos.
