Apex Legends Fuse Guide: Tips For Best Using Season 8’s New Character

Apex Legends Season 8: Mayhem introduces Fuse, aka the “Bombastic Explosives Expert.” The latest addition to the roster has officially joined the Apex Games, and he arrives along with the new 30-30 Repeater and several welcome changes to Kings Canyon, which is now back in the map rotation following its removal in Season 7. If you’re having trouble with Fuse’s abilities, you’ve come to the right place–we have a few tips and tricks for how to best utilize his explosive moveset.

Unlocking Fuse is an easy enough process–you just need to buy him. Head on over to the Legends tab while in Apex Legends’ in-game store and then click on his icon. Per usual, the new legend costs 12,000 Legend Tokens or 750 Apex Coins, whichever you prefer. Legend Tokens are earned by playing and leveling up while Apex Coins can only be bought with real-world money. Starting at level four, you earn 600 Legend Tokens every time you level up, so that’s 20 levels. 750 Apex Coins is about $8 USD.

Fuse’s General Overview

Alright, so now that you have Fuse, how do you use his skills effectively? Well, despite his laid-back attitude, there’s actually a bit of meticulous strategy to playing as Fuse. All of his abilities are based around doing as much explosive damage as quickly and efficiently as possible, but you won’t go very far if you just fire them off willy-nilly–especially while indoors as Fuse’s abilities will damage him if he’s caught in the blast radius. Though Fuse can be an excellent character for temporary area denial if you don’t have a Wattson or Caustic in your squad (both of whom offer a more effective solution), it’s not his strong suit. Fuse is at his absolute best when out in the open, spearheading his squad’s offensive efforts, especially when third-partying (which, for those not in the know, is the act of joining an ongoing fight between two other squads once they’ve both thinned each others’ numbers a little). Thanks to his abilities, Fuse can turn the tides in his squad’s favor when they’re launching ambushes or trying to fight off more than one enemy squad.

Fuse’s Abilities

Passive Ability: Grenadier – Stack an extra grenade per inventory slot. Fire grenades farther, faster, and more accurately.

Fuse is the only character who can stack two grenades per inventory slot, freeing up extra space for healing, ammo, or just way more grenades. But it’s the second aspect of his passive that is worth pointing you. Fuse flings grenades incredibly far and with pinpoint accuracy, adding them as a viable option for long-range combat.

Tactical Ability: Knuckle Cluster – Launch a cluster bomb that continuously expels airburst explosives on impact. (Cooldown time: 25 seconds)

Even if you haven’t looted grenades to take advantage of his passive, Fuse always has access to grenades thanks to his tactical ability. A direct hit from Knuckle Cluster will initially deal 10 damage with the four subsequent explosions doing 10 damage each for a combined total of 50 damage. If you don’t land a direct hit then the overall damage will depend on how many of the explosions hit the target.

Ultimate Ability: The Motherlode – Launch a bombardment that encircles a target area in a wall of flame. (Charge time: 120 seconds)

Fuse has an amazing ultimate ability–while it lacks the overall area of effect that Gibraltar and Bangalore have with their ultimate abilities, that’s a small tradeoff when you factor in that The Motherlode is a brutal trap. Those inside the ring of fire it creates will be forced to remain in place or risk taking damage. If they try to escape the circle, they’ll immediately take 35 damage and be slowed, taking an additional five ticks of 8 damage, for a total of 75 damage once all is said and done. And this ability has range–Fuse can fire it up to 200m away.

Tips To Play Fuse

Strengths & Weaknesses

• Fuse’s abilities excel at mid- to long-range, so weapons that can handle combat at both ranges are ideal complements–the 30-30 Repeater, G7-Scout, Hemlock, and Triple-Take are our personal favorites
• Wattson is a hard counter to Fuse as her Interception Pylon will intercept all thrown grenades, Knuckle Cluster, and The Motherlode–essentially cancelling out all of his abilities. If you spy a Wattson, you need to hit hard and fast before she has a chance to set up.
• Octane, Wraith, Pathfinder, and Horizon can soft counter Fuse by using their abilities to outrun or avoid his abilities, and Caustic and Bangalore can soft counter Fuse by using their abilities to blind him (to be most effective, all of Fuse’s abilities require you to have some idea of where an enemy is).
• Fuse is a hard counter for both Lifeline and Rampart. Knuckle Cluster can finish off targets being revived through Combat Revive or trying to heal with D.O.C. Heal Drone, and The Motherlode can easily trap targets who are huddled around D.O.C. or Lifeline’s Care Package. Rampart’s abilities don’t fare much better–Knuckle Cluster instantly destroys Amped Walls and can be easily stuck to a Rampart who’s prone while using her Emplaced Minigun, and The Motherlode can easily trap Rampart while she’s using Emplaced Minigun.
• Fuse is a soft counter for Revenant, as The Motherlode can trap targets using or returning to the simulacrum’s Death Totem. The Motherlode soft counters Loba as well by punishing squads that group around Black Market Boutique. Fuse is also a soft counter to Mirage, as a well placed Knuckle Cluster will damage Mirage and likely destroy all (or at least most) of his decoys if timed to go off just after he uses Life of the Party.
• Fuse benefits from having a Pathfinder or Octane on his squad, as either one can use their ultimate abilities to help him get to high ground and rain down destruction. Octane’s Jump Pad is also helpful for getting you over the flames and into the center of The Motherlode to finish off a squad you trapped (remember: you also take damage from your abilities so do not walk through the flames). Additionally, Fuse pairs up well with Bloodhound and Crypto, who can reveal enemy positions in order for him to better hit far-off targets with Grenadier and The Motherlode.

How To Best Use Grenadier

• Thanks to Grenadier, Fuse can pull off some incredible ricochets with Frag Grenades, as he fires them with enough force that they keep going a ways even after bouncing off a wall. You don’t even have to put your incredible geometry skills to good use either, as Fuse can see the path the grenade will take after the bounce.
• When using Loba’s Black Market Boutique, Fuse can steal two grenades of the same type at once, provided that two grenades of the same type are in the area. This is a great way to make sure you always have enough explosives to take full advantage of Grenadier.

How To Best Use Knuckle Cluster

• Knuckle Cluster is a great breaching tool for doors; use it to ensure no one is trying to ambush you–the cascading explosions will damage and likely clear out any targets lying in wait near the doorway.
• If an enemy is holding a door closed while healing, don’t bother kicking open the door when your tactical ability is ready to go–not only is Knuckle Cluster faster but you’ll likely down them with the subsequent explosions.
• When fired in an enclosed space, Knuckle Cluster is a great way to stave off an enemy’s advancement just long enough to pop a shield cell or begin your retreat, so if your team is on the back-pedal, fire your tactical–the enemy may still push through it, but at least you’ll know that they’ll have to take damage to do so.
• Like Rampart’s Amped Wall, a direct hit from Knuckle Cluster will instantly destroy Loba’s Black Market, Wattson’s Perimeter Security, Crypto’s Surveillance Drone, and Revenant’s Death Totem.
• Knuckle Cluster is surprisingly loud, so use it to mask the noise made when reviving a squadmate.

How To Best Use The Motherlode

• The Motherlode can only be fired upwards in an arc, so you should never use it while indoors unless your plan is to corner yourself alongside your enemies so that you can yell, “I’m not trapped in here with you, you’re all trapped in here with me!”
• The Motherlode pairs well with Horizon’s Black Hole–let her drag an enemy squad together so that you can trap them all at once. Or, conversely, fire The Motherlode first and then place Black Hole near the edges to drag enemy squads into the damaging flames. Either way, you can get some extra damage by firing your Knuckle Cluster into the mix or have Caustic toss in his Nox Gas Grenade or Gibraltar call in his Defensive Bombardment.
• Pay attention to the map to find ideal targets for The Motherlode. Squads (especially inexperienced ones) traditionally pack together when using Respawn Beacons, crafting at Replicators, or looting Care Packages–all of which are ideal scenarios for The Motherlode to trap them.
• The Motherlode doesn’t affect teammates, only enemies and yourself, so even if you can’t run through the flames in order to finish off a trapped squad, your allies can.