Apex Legends • Weapons • Wingman

Wingman — the rollercoaster: history, where it sits now, and how to actually use it

My take on the Wingman’s journey: from meta-dominating hand cannon to “underrated, maybe under‑tuned,” and why Season 27 might make it spicy again.

Wingman action shot

history of wingman

Short story? The Wingman used to be that gun. It was in the meta and honestly overpowered — high damage output + a fast shooting rate, so it farmed if you had decent aim.

  • Early days: meta staple, shredded with body and headshots; fast enough to delete armor before people reacted.
  • Then came the nerfs: damage trimmed, then fire rate, then ammo capacity, then mag size. Death by a thousand balance patches.
  • Sniper ammo era: Wingman gets moved into the sniper category, limiting spawns and making ammo harder to find. Vibe shift.
  • Meanwhile… other guns get love (buffs, updates, new toys) while the Wingman stays kinda static. It falls to the wayside.
  • Now: it’s slipped into the “underrated and even under‑tuned” bucket for most players.

where it’s at right now

Season 27 is coming up and the Wingman is slated for a damage buff on body shots — from 46 → 50. That alone makes it way more interesting again, especially for players who can land their shots. Fewer hits to crack & finish means more pressure in every peek.

TL;DR: the Wingman was king, got nerfed into humility, ammo got weird, and now a clean damage bump might pull it back into the conversation.

how to use it (tips & tricks for the coming season)

  • abuse the strafe speed: the Wingman keeps fast ADS strafe, so you can move while shooting at wider angles than most guns. Use that to make yourself hard to hit.
  • poke power: it pokes great — and headshot damage lands in big chunks. Chip armor, force bats, win rotations.
  • pace your shots: don’t spam. Slow down just enough to fully align your crosshair. Precision > panic.
  • pick comfy sights: use the optic you actually hit with (1x HCOG, 2x, whatever you vibe with). Consistency beats theorycraft.
  • play cover like a door: jiggle peek half‑exposed, take a single clean shot, tuck, repeat. You’re trading time for damage advantage.
  • finish fast with utility: crack with Wingman → swap to an SMG/shotgun for the collapse. Don’t over‑commit to hip‑fire duels unless you’re point‑blank.
  • ammo discipline: because of the sniper ammo pool, plan your route and loot early. Communicate with the squad so you aren’t dry mid‑fight.

quick drills to get crisp

  • Warm up with single‑shot rhythm: click… reset… click. Train cadence, not spam.
  • Practice counter‑strafe taps: A→stop→tap, D→stop→tap. Keep the reticle glued during direction changes.
  • Work head‑height tracking on a wall target, then translate to moving dummies.