The introduction of a new weapon is always a good reason to celebrate in Apex Legends, and the 30-30 Repeater is a damn good one. Effective mid-range single-shot weapons are hard to come by - you basically only have the G7-Scout before now - and the 30-30 Repeater is as effective as they come.
This weapon has good range, charged shots, and can take down a legend with no shields in just a single shot. The problem is that it can also take a long time to reload, if you don’t have the right equipment. Whatever your situation is, the 30-30 Repeater just might be your new ideal long-range weapon. Unless you’re using a weapon with the Anvil Receiver, but that’s a discussion for another day. Just read on below for everything you need to know about Apex Legends’ latest gun.
30-30 Repeater Damage
The damage is why I really like the 30-30 Repeater - or one of the reasons, at least. A fully charged shot aimed at a legends’ head will do 100 damage - enough to take down any legend not wearing a shield or a helmet, and of course a second shot should finish the job. But even without a charged shot, this gun will do just over 70 damage on a headshot, making it very competitive against other weapons in the game.
But the damage you can do to an opponent’s body is also pretty darn good, with an average of around 40 damage per shot. Combine that with a pretty decent fire rate, and the 30-30 Repeater has plenty to justify itself even when compared with the G7-Scout and sniper rifles. Ultimately, even if you never charge your shots, and get every single shot you fire into the legs of a Fortified legend like Caustic or Gibraltar, it will only take 9 shots to kill, even with full level-five shields - much less than a fully loaded 30-30 Repeater with a Purple Extended Mag. If you manage to hit the head, it’s only 4 shots to kill, no matter which legend you’re aiming at or which body shield they’re wearing.
30-30 Repeater Fire Rate And Reloading
If there’s a drawback for the 30-30 Repeater, it has to be the combination of the fire rate and the reload speed. To be quite frank, the reload speed on the 30-30 Repeater is diabolical - I suppose it had to have some kind of negative. It reloads one bullet at a time, and the only other weapon to do this is the Mastiff shotgun. The thing is, the Mastiff doesn’t take extended mags, and therefore the reload speed will always be capped at the standard magazine capacity. The Repeater, however, takes extended heavy magazines, and it can only reload three bullets per second, meaning it’ll take four seconds to fully reload to Repeater with a purple extended magazine - a hefty chunk of time, even for an LMG.
The fire rate on the 30-30 is fairly high though, almost comparable to the G7-Scout. This is great if you wish to unload shots onto your enemies, or you’re forced the hip-fire your weapon in a pinch, but this will just exhaust your ammo, and put you in a very awkward situation once your magazine is empty - unless you have a Gold Extended Magazine.
Other Things You Should Know About The 30-30 Repeater
You essentially know all you need to about the 30-30 Repeater at this point, but here’s something that might come in handy, I have no idea: the 30-30 Repeater can open doors if you shoot at the handle. Yes, just as the L-Star once did, you can shoot a door handle to open it up. If you can coordinate with your team, this is a pretty good way to open doors when enemies are bunkering up, and then throw grenades in - something Fuse is particularly good at.
Why You Should Use The 30-30 Repeater
Now you know all the good reasons to use the 30-30 Repeater, and a fair few bad ones, and all that’s left is to get out into the Apex Games and use it yourself. Should you? Yes. Here’s why.
Up until this point the G7-Scout has been one of the primary weapons I go to for mid-to-long range combat. It’s because the G7, when combined with a x3 scope, can over huge distances, and do a decent amount of damage. Couple that with a decently high fire rate, and you have a weapon that can be pretty mean even in close-range combat.
The 30-30 Repeater takes all of those plus points and runs with them. With a slightly slower overall fire rate it can’t be as capable when up close, but when long-range it excels even more than before. The charged shot is an excellent damage boost which costs nothing to get, unlike the pesky Sentinel which requires Shield Cells in order to charge.
It’s a simple task to take aim, hit the first charged shot, and then start licking off shots quickly in order to do what you can before your opponent moves out of sight. Then charge in and finish them off with whatever weapon you have holstered - and I’m hoping it’s a fast-firing automatic weapon, like the R-99 or the Flatline.
The 30-30 Repeater is a very powerful weapon that you should strongly consider using in your next Apex Legends game, because it might just net you the win. Though, obviously, this weapon will be far less effective in the later rings where close-quarters combat becomes a necessity. If you do find yourself caught in a tight ring with no short-range weapons to abuse, consider stealing one from a nearby death box to make yourself more competent in battle.