Apex Legends has several strong base guns, but attachments are crucial to success in the mid and late game.
Although there are a number of attachments available, some really increase the strength of several weapons. And while you’re finding attachments to put on weapons, so is the rest of the lobby, constantly increasing the danger you face from opposing guns as well. If you get your hands on these attachments early on, make sure to equip them as fast as possible to keep up with your competition.
Best weapon attachments in Apex Legends season 16
Gold Extended Energy Mag
Extended magazines and their usefulness is generally tied to the efficacy of the weapons in their ammo class. As such, the Gold extended energy magazine has fallen off in recent seasons due to a lack of useful weapons, particularly after the Volt went into the Replicators and out of ground loot earlier this year. Season 16 significantly shook things up with the addition of the new best assault rifle in the game, however: the Nemesis Burst AR. Combined with the Volt re-entering ground loot, there are suddenly plenty of potential weapons to buff by picking up this magazine.
Purple Laser Sight
Laser sights entered Apex in season 14 as a barrel attachment for submachine guns that replaced barrel stabilizers. Instead of the general help to spray control that barrel stabilizers provide, laser sights dramatically improve the hipfire accuracy of SMGs.
The advantages of this are pretty obvious. SMGs are best used up close and personal, typically when players are strafing back and forth to make themselves a harder target to hit. Players move faster when not aiming down sights, so a buff to hipfire accuracy will make SMGs even better at what they’re meant to do: melt opponents down at close range. Heck, with a laser sight, you don’t even need to be that close to an enemy to hipfire accurately.
Gold Extended Light Mag
The influx of light ammo weapons in season 14 meant there was plenty of reason to carry light ammo again. After multiple seasons where heavy weapons dominated the game’s meta, Hunted balanced things out. And that means it’s still a great time to pick up a Gold extended light mag.
More bullets in a magazine are always better, and this item’s perk of reloading your weapon after it’s been holstered for a certain amount of time can be the difference between winning a fight or losing it when you don’t have to reload in a situation where both your guns would normally be out of ammo. Whether you want it for your close battle with the R-99 (which is looking as strong as it’s ever been in season 16) or for more long-range efforts with the Scout, this extended mag is one to either pick up or ping for a teammate.
1X HCOG “Classic”
The colored-tier system is useful for determining which attachments are rare. But the rarity level doesn’t necessarily make an attachment better. Just look at the HCOG Classic.
The open-top design and singular dot make this sight one of the most accurate in the game. It’s particularly useful on the Wingman and the R-99, and especially so on any medium-to-close-range weapon. In a pinch, however, you can throw this sight on just about any gun. Sure, it’s not ideally the one you want for a sniper rifle, but the lack of visual clutter with the 1X HCOG compared to most of the iron sights in the game makes aiming easier. It won’t give you any magnification, but for a clear view of the battlefield, the Classic is undefeated.
Gold Extended Heavy Mag
Apex has finally balanced its weapon meta a bit more evenly between light and heavy ammo weapons, but there are more than enough heavy guns to make the Gold heavy mag worth your time. The Flatline, Rampage, Prowler, 30-30, and CAR are all great guns to fight with, and almost all of them can excel at multiple ranges. Since more bullets in a magazine mean more potential damage, the Gold extended heavy mag will be an instant upgrade for all these guns. And with its ability to reload a gun while the gun is holstered, it becomes clutch in a fight when both guns run out of ammo. Your heavy weapon is magically refilled upon swapping back to it.
More bullets are better than fewer bullets. Don’t overthink it, and pick up the Gold heavy mag.
Gold Shotgun Bolt
Shotguns have lost a bit of ground to SMGs over the last couple of seasons, it’s true. But the Gold shotgun bolt mixes things up for the class of weapons and particularly benefits one of the stronger shotguns in season 16: the EVA-8. An EVA-8 with a Purple or Gold shotgun bolt can usually stand up to the SMGs in the game if you’re hitting your shots, and the added benefit of the old Kinetic Feeder hopup’s effects is a huge buff for a shotgun that quickly expels its magazine. Slide around enemies in your close-range engagements to reload your shotgun without needing to enter the normal animation for it.
Skullpiercer Rifling
Let’s keep this simple: the Skullpiercer increases your headshot damage with the Wingman, Longbow, and 30-30 Repeater. That’s all it does, and that’s all it needs to do to be one of the best weapon attachments in the game. It’s more damage. Who doesn’t need more damage?
If you’re hitting your headshots with any one of those three weapons, it’ll feel pretty close to getting hit by a Kraber for enemies. Sure, it’s a gold attachment and, therefore, might be a bit more difficult to come across, but all three of those weapons are good guns, even without the Skullpiercer. Add it to them, and they become almost as good as a weapon you find in a care package.
3X HCOG “Ranger”
The Ranger is so good because it’s so versatile. It’s a good scope for Marksman class weapons, which have long-range potential but cannot use sniper scopes. But the 3X sight can also be slapped onto snipers, assault rifles, and even LMGs if you can handle the recoil. It combines the high magnification capabilities of marksman optics with a clean, open-top design, allowing players to keep much more of their peripherals in view than the 2X-4X sight, or the game’s sniper optics.
1X Digital Threat
In terms of a clean field of view, the Digital Threat is close to the top but doesn’t beat out the 1X HCOG “Classic.” What it has on its more-common 1X sight brother is the ability to see through smoke, with enemies viewed through the scope appearing in red. It’s incredibly strong on SMGs and functions excellently on other close-quarters weapons. In late-game circles, smoke from Bangalores and Caustics can mess up your ability to punish lazy rotations, and the Digital Threat can completely bypass their abilities.
