Before Apex Legends was even a glimmer of a star in the sky, EA started the whole universe with the Titanfall series. The criminally underrated Titanfall 2 has been making a bit of a comeback lately since finally coming to Steam in June of 2020. Players have been revisiting the wall-running smoothness and nigh-perfection of the game in droves, and people don’t even seem to be mad about needing Origin to play through!
As many new players prepare to call down their Titans to take on enemy pilots, it seems proper and necessary to revisit the titular robots and definitively rank them. And yes, Scorch is still terrible.
7 Scorch - Sadly, The Worst
Scorch looks cool and, on paper, sounds like it’d be a bit of a powerhouse. It’s armed with a Thermite Cannon and has AOE abilities that can rain fire down on anyone in his path. He can also plant incendiary bomb traps that, when triggered, envelop the area in brimstone. A hotter mech cannot be found…but many more powerful ones can be.
The flame core, Scorch’s special, is the weakest of any of the Titans. When activated, the core shoots out a wall of fire that is, allegedly, supposed to “destroy everything in its path.” In reality, enemy Titans can easily block or otherwise mitigate the flame core’s damage. Even worse, though, is that even with a direct hit, the flame core only does around two bars of damage, not even half the health of most Titans
Scorch is best played during Frontier Defence - where it can make enemy grunts surrender if attacked one-on-one - as it truly is a great anti-infantry mech. But in multi-pronged game modes like Attrition, Scorch may be best left on the bench.
6 Northstar - Great Mobility; Poor Everything Else
Northstar is interesting, standing alone as the only dedicated sniper amongst the mechs. A fully charged shot from the Plasma Railgun can, on a critical hit, immediately doom an enemy Titan, making Northstar a formidable foe…as long as there are more than 100 meters between it and the targeted Titan.
In mid-to-close ranged fights, Northstar is little more than cannon fodder. Northstar’s chassis is the weakest in the entire game by a wide berth, almost requiring that this particular Titan never get in the middle of a firefight. Due to how a majority of the game’s maps are set up, that’s almost never an option.
A major boon of this sniper Titan is its mobility. While not as fast as Apex’s Octane - who is actually playing Titanfall 2 in a recent Apex trailer - Northstar is the only Titan with the power of flight, both as a tactical ability and through the flight core. While using VTOL Hover tactical ability is useful for dodging ground-based attacks from Titans like Scorch or Ronin, it leaves Northstar as a bit of a floating/sitting duck for the likes of Legion, Monarch, and Tone.
5 Monarch - Higher Skill Cap For Lower Pay-Off
Ah, the DLC Titan. The outcast. The black sheep. Monarch is actually not too bad of a mech after the steep learning curve has been conquered. The main goal when playing Monarch isn’t to deal tons of damage but simply to stay alive and use the Upgrade core as many times as possible.
The Upgrade core that Monarch possesses allows the Titan to grow stronger when used, but those upgrades dissipate upon death. Upgraded versions of the Vortex Shield and Rocket Salvo abilities add extra bonuses like being able to transfer stolen shield energy and give it to a teammate or extra rockets. The rearm ability, which cannot be upgraded, replenishes Rocket Salvo, dashes, and Energy Siphon instantly. It is certainly useful, but the cooldown time is…harrowing, to say the least.
Going in blind with Monarch is not recommended. There’s a lot of nuance and skill needed to expertly pilot this upgrade-reliant Titan, but when played well, Monarch can be a valuable asset to any squad, even at its base level. Otherwise, it’s kind of like leading a lost puppy around. Sort of like another game…
4 Legion - Limited Damage Focus
Legion wields a massive predator cannon chaingun that can mow down enemy Titans and Pilots alike. Legion’s life revolves around this gun, as all of the Titan’s abilities stem from it. That is both a good thing and a bad thing.
The predator cannon has two firing modes: close range or long range. The Power Shot ordinance will shoot either a massive shotgun-like blast that can stagger enemies in close-range mode, or fire an extremely powerful and explosive sniper shot while in long-range mode, making for a Titan that can engage at any distance.
Legion’s Gun Shield is fine, but it does leave legs and shoulders exposed. The Smart core, too, is underwhelming. Infinite ammo and hands-free lock-on targeting make for easy pickings, but when the damage is split between multiple mechs, its usefulness drops off quickly.
Legion’s biggest flaw is that it needs to concentrate damage on one and only one enemy at a time. Legion is a great support and is extremely useful in the Frontier Defense game mode. But, in Attrition or other modes, make sure Legion is paired with other mechs.
3 Ronin - Just, The Most Annoying
Ronin can really get in there and ruin an enemy team’s day. As far as Titans go, players would be hard-pressed to find a more mobile or agile mech than Ronin. Armed with a broadsword and shotgun, Ronin is a dedicated close-range fighter who relies on hit-and-run tactics. His sword can be devastating, but the weak chassis and learning curve can scare off new players or experimenting veterans alike.
The biggest draw of Ronin is the sword, which works as well as intended. It is deadly in close range and automatically grants execution core bonuses when attacking a doomed titan. The Sword Block is the worst defensive ability in the game, but it can be held indefinitely. The Sword core is also pretty cool and useful. It replaces the shotgun with an amped-up sword that has infinite swings and additional moves, alongside powering up Ronin’s other abilities such as the Arc Wave or the Phase Dash.
Things can go sideways for Ronin when double-teamed, as the weak chassis can’t withstand much damage. Double dashing in and out or sneaking up otherwise engaged Titans is the prime strategy with this close-range beast of a mech. Play well and Ronin will stay alive longer than Apex Legends will.
2 Ion - Easy To Learn And Worth Mastering
Ion is a laser-based powerhouse that can absorb plenty of damage, dish it out, and lay traps for those lucky enough to escape its grasp. There’s nothing this Titan can’t do as it is all-around pretty dang solid.
The major aspect of this Titan is managing the energy bar that Ion requires in order to use any sort of ability outside of Tripwires or unsplit Splitter Rifle shots. Using any ordinance will drain that supply and could potentially leave Ion vulnerable if the bar is depleted completely.
The Laser Shot ability, though, can slice and dice through enemy Titans with ease. It requires perfect accuracy, but it’s worth investing some effort into. The Tripwire tactical ability can stop a fleeing, near-death Titan in its tracks, making for easy executions. Use those executions to charge the massive laser core, which is, basically, a Kamehameha for Titans.
Ion is a great Titan to fall into for first-timers and veterans alike, requiring little skill to learn, but still possessing a high skill ceiling for masters to hit. Ion, much like the game it is from, is a bit of a hidden gem.
1 Tone - The Best Of The Best Of The Best Sir (With Honors)
All hail Tone, the king of the Titans. Arguably the most popular Titan, there is very little Tone can’t do. It can bake, broil, fry, sautee, and kick all sorts of ass. It can stand on its own as a damage-dealing powerhouse, or it can take a backseat and provide marking or shield support for teammates.
The 40mm Tracking Cannon, Tone’s primary weapon, is a beefy semi-auto rifle that shoots explosive rounds that also enable Tone’s lock-on passive. After three hits from the cannon, enemies are then marked, making them open to the tracking rocket ordnance, which has no cooldown and can be effectively spammed against Titans that have been locked-on to. The sonar lock tactical can also provide free lock-on tics if enemies stand within the projectile’s radius. The sonar lock will also tag enemy pilots, even if they can’t be locked-on directly.
The few drawbacks Tone does have is that its chassis isn’t the best and the Particle Wall shield, while deployable wherever and providing a tall wall of safety, isn’t as durable as other Titan’s defensive abilities, leaving Tone a bit squishy, all things considered. Hopefully, Tone will return if/when Respawn - who has all control over the series’ future - makes another Titanfall.
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