If you’re the type of person to stand your ground in a fight, our Apex Legends Gibraltar guide is for you! Gibraltar is a character who excels at defensive abilities, but he’s no slouch in a firefight! Buckle up, charge your shields, and read on to see the best ways to use this beefy boy.
Apex Legends Gibraltar guide | Tips and Tricks
Some of the Legends in Apex Legends have a specific focus. Lifeline is all about healing, Bloodhound is all about tracking, and our boy Gibraltar is all about defense. He’s the kind of guy to hunker down and hold position, either to let his team fire from a fortified position or as a distraction for the flankers.
Gibraltar’s Dome Shield is a high-class defensive ability. It’s indestructible (as far as we know), so it can be used to block an incoming ultimate or simply to hunker down if you’re ambushed. It also makes for a fine option to safely revive people.
You’re big and visible as Gibraltar. The stealthy approach will not always work, and you’re going to blow your cover anyway if you get stuck in a fight. Gibraltar works best on the front lines, not on the flank
Apex Legends Gibraltar guide | Gibraltar abilities
Dome of Protection (Tactical Ability)
Dome of Protection is a decently-sized energy shield that Gibraltar can chuck on the ground to cover his team. While it may not be as handy as Lifeline’s resurrection shield, it still makes for an excellent way to protect your team while someone gets picked up off of the ground.
Unfortunately, Dome of Protection breaks away from many similar energy shields in that it doesn’t let you fire out from the inside. I was dismayed to find that my bullets bounced off of the inside of the shield, forcing me to step outside to land shots on the enemy. Make sure you dip in and out of random spots while the shield is up unless you want to get shot as soon as you stick your head out.
Dome of Protection can also be used as a Thunderdome of sorts. While people can’t shoot through it, they can walk through it. This means that long-range attackers are going to have to come inside to deal with you until the shield runs out. That makes carrying a shotgun a useful, potentially life-saving option.
Finally, the most important bit: as far as we can tell, Dome of Protection does not break. It doesn’t matter if you hit it with a thousand rounds of Heavy Ammo or a couple of airstrikes. It will stay up for the entire duration of the ability. Sure, players can walk right through it, but they aren’t gonna be able to shoot you from the outside.
Gun Shield (Passive Ability)
Continuing on with the defensive theme of our Apex Legends Gibraltar guide, Gun Shield is exactly what it says on the tin: a shield that pops up in front of your gun. Aim down sights and this energy barrier will protect you from frontal attacks.
There are some important things to bear in mind about Gun Shield. The first is that the shield is not invulnerable like the Dome of Protection. It will run out after taking some damage, so don’t think that you can just stand in place and fire off shots with no consequences.
The second thing to remember is that the Gun Shield only protects your front. It does not protect your sides, your back, or any attacks from above or below. You’re not invincible with this shield up—you’re just a little harder to kill. Don’t forget that and don’t be reckless.
Defensive Bombardment (Ultimate Ability)
Defensive Bombardment from orbit: it’s the only way to be sure. It’s not quite a nuke, but it still is raining a hell of a lot of damage down on the bad guys. Unlike Bangalore’s Rolling Thunder Ultimate Ability, Defensive Bombardment deploys a little faster and concentrates the damage in one area.
There is one distinct downside to Defensive Bombardment: you have to throw a smoke grenade to mark the site of the attack. That also may very well put you well within the area where high explosives are going to be dropping. What’s a guy to do? Well, you also happen to be equipped with a handy Dome of Protection that also happens to have infinite health (although not infinite time). Combo the two of them to rain terror all around you while keeping your team alive.
Apex Legends Gibraltar guide | Best team comp for Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a big target. On the upside, he has a lot of good defensive abilities to hand. On the downside, using these abilities makes it a little difficult for him to operate quietly. If you’re going for a team with a lot of stealth, Gibraltar isn’t the man to be a part of it.
However, Gibraltar can do quite well as part of two particular team compositions. The first is the almighty holy trinity of Tank, Heals, and DPS with Gibraltar serving as Tank. Obviously, Lifeline would take on the Healing role and any one of the game’s other Legends can handle the DPS part of the equation.
Conversely, Gibraltar can be used as part of an extremely defensive-oriented squad. Combining him with Caustic (for zone control) and Bangalore (for smoke grenades and flanking) can make for a nasty team that’s difficult to dig out of cover. Plus, it’s hard to argue with having two airstrikes available to your squad.