Apex Legends Gibraltar guide abilities, tips and tricks

Want to learn how to master Gibraltar and his abilities in Apex Legends? When Apex Legends was first released, Gibraltar was a laughing stock, widely considered the least viable character to use in any match. Now, it's a very different story, and every game will see several Gibraltars running around, throwing down Domes and Bombardments, making things very difficult for their enemies. This guide should help you get to terms with his incredible kit as we walk you through the top tips and tricks for all his abilities, and much more.

On this page:

• Apex Legends Gibraltar abilities
• Gibraltar tips and tricks
• Gibraltar Passive tips: Gun Shield
• Gibraltar Tactical tips: Dome Of Protection
• Gibraltar Ultimate tips: Defensive Bombardment
• Apex Legends Gibraltar backstory

Meet Gibraltar – Apex Legends Character Trailer

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Apex Legends Gibraltar abilities

Gibraltar has access to three abilities: Gun Shield (Passive), Dome of Protection (Tactical), and Defensive Bombardment (Ultimate). The abilities combine to make Gibraltar an incredible defensive Legend. While others in his class require set-up, Gibraltar makes it hard to kill him and his teammates on the fly. He is a Defensive Legend alongside Caustic, Wattson and Rampart.

Each of Gibraltar's abilities will be explained and discussed below. For the last year or so, he has ranked among the best Apex Legends characters. He provides an intense amount of survivability for a team, making it really hard for enemies to get the angle or odds they desire.

Gibraltar tips and tricks

Let's start by looking at the general strengths and weaknesses of Gibraltar's kit. We'll go over the ability-specific tips and tricks below, but first here are some general tips and tidbits of advice to take into the Apex Games with him:

• Your team needs you. Gibraltar is not a good solo Legend. His abilities are all meant for use to further and elevate your team as a whole. Look for any opportunity to help out your team with a Dome, or simply by moving in front of them to soak up some damage with your Gun Shield/Fortified Passives.
• Communicate your ability usage. Improper use of your Dome or Defensive Bombardment can ruin your team's chances of victory, which I think is another reason why many people are keen to avoid learning him. The key is just to communicate your intentions with your team whenever possible, to make sure you don't screw them over at all.
• Work to manipulate the overall fight to your advantage. Gibraltar is a master manipulator of the fight. His Tactical and Ultimate abilities both serve similar purposes, despite one relating to damage and the other relating to protection. Learn proper placement and usage of these abilities to force enemies along the paths you desire, or to halt their own plans in their tracks.
• Be mindful of your massive size. Not all Legends in the Apex games are made equal, especially when it comes to their stature. Gibraltar has the biggest, most hulking frame in the game and is thus easier to hit. Use your abilities and cover to keep as much of your body clear of incoming fire as possible. To maximise your efficency, check out what you should be using with out best Apex Legends guns tier list.

Gibraltar Passive tips: Gun Shield

Description: Aiming down sights deploys a gun shield that blocks incoming fire.

Gibraltar's Passive, Gun Shield, doesn't require much mastery at all, and without it there would be no saving him when under fire. With this Passive, every time you aim down sights as Gibraltar, after a brief delay a personal shield will flick on in front of you, covering a large section of your body from the front. You can, of course, fire through this shield, but enemies will have to inflict 50 damage to destroy the shield before they can start to damage your regular Shields and Health.

Gibraltar Passive tips:

• Be aware that there is a slight delay between aiming down sights and the Gun Shield appearing.
• There is a cooldown to the Gun Shield once it has been broken, but this cooldown can be reduced using Shield Cells, Shield Batteries and Phoenix Kits.
• The Gun Shield will cover a lot of Gibraltar's body if he is crouching. Try to incorporate this into your fights.
• All excess damage delivered by the shot that breaks the Shield will go on to damage Gibraltar himself.
• The Gun Shield can be spotted easily by enemies, so you may sometimes want to toggle it off when initiating.
• The animation of holding your shield out in front of you as you ADS does obscure a section of the screen below your gun, so make sure your enemy is clearly in your sights while aiming as Gibraltar.

Gibraltar Tactical tips: Dome Of Protection

Description: Throw down a Dome Shield that blocks incoming attacks. Cooldown: 30 seconds.

Gibraltar's Dome of Protection is one of the surest and most immediate ways to alter the makeup of a team fight. This shield will deflect and absorb all gunfire and ability-related damage (including Bangalore ults), while allowing any player, friend or foe, to pass through its barrier. There is no way to destroy the Dome, but it will disappear after 12 seconds.

Gibraltar Tactical tips:

• Gibraltar can revive allies 33% faster while inside his Dome.
• If you're caught somewhere with no cover, quick use of your Dome can save your - and your teammates' - lives, particularly in the final circles with multiple enemy teams.
• Dome of Protection is an excellent thing to use right on top of a Respawn Beacon before you use it to revive your fallen teammates. Respawning teammates at a Beacon attracts a lot of attention regardless, so it's not such a big deal to throw down a Dome for some added protection.
• Bear in mind that the Dome is a half-sphere, not a full sphere. It will not descend into the ground or any further than the surface upon which the generator lands.
• Don't be afraid to place down a Dome in the middle of a mid-range fight simply to provide extra protection from all sides while healing up, reviving, or repositioning.
• Fight around the edges of the Dome, just as you would with Bangalore's Smoke. A fight inside the Dome doesn't benefit you, but a fight where you can continually pass in and out of the Dome will benefit you greatly.

Gibraltar Ultimate tips: Defensive Bombardment

Description: Call in a concentrated mortar strike on a marked position.

On the face of it, Gibraltar's Ultimate, Defensive Bombardment, looks very similar to Bangalore's Rolling Thunder ability. The difference is that while Gibraltar's missiles deal just as much damage as Bangalore's, Gibraltar's Defensive Bombardment operates in a smaller circular area for 6 seconds, turning it into a more concentrated damage-dealing Ultimate. Moreover, the delay between throwing the marker and the missiles exploding is shorter for Gibraltar than for Bangalore.

Gibraltar Ultimate Tips:

• Anyone caught by these missile blasts is stunned, whether friend or foe - and while your teammates don't take damage from the missiles, you will, so be careful when placing it near you.
• A good combo when you're threatened and require time to heal or revive is to throw down first your Ultimate and then your Dome on yourself.
• You can use Defensive Bombardment offensively to great effect, either to initiate or to flush out enemies holed up in a specific location. If even one enemy is downed by your Ultimate, it has done its job admirably.
• In a more limited way, you can use Gibraltar's Ultimate as a zoning tool much like with Bangalore's Ultimate, either by throwing it between you and the enemy team or on yourselves, in order to give you the freedom and time to reposition or flank the enemy.
• Be aware of ability synergies and counters. For example, Wattson's Interception Pylon can near-completely counter a Gibraltar ult, while on the flipside using Defensive Bombardment alongside Horizon's Black Hole ultimate can devastate an enemy team.

Apex Legends Gibraltar backstory

Makoa Gibraltar is easily one of the most positive and inviting people in the Apex games. The son of two SARAS (Search and Rescue Association of Solace) volunteers, he is big on helping others and protecting others.

That value comes from a hard learnt lesson too. After stealing his father's motorbike with his boyfriend, they found themselves trapped in a mudslide. Gibraltar's father saved them both, but lost his arm in the process. Since then, Gibraltar has taken the idea of protection with him wherever he has gone.

That empathy is why Gibraltar competes in the Apex Games now. Many of his friends had taken part in the past and never come home. He now fights alongside them to ensure his friends come back alive and well. His attitude and big personality have combined to make him one of the icons of the game.

And that's pretty much everything we've got on Gibraltar for now. If you were a Gibraltar naysayer before, hopefully you've gained some more understanding of how this beefy tank of a Legend can be used to great effect in the right hands. For more information on the other Legends, check out our Apex Legends characters guide.