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Ballistic Science: Speed, Trajectory, Impact

Ballistic

Ballistic portrait

Ballistic is an Assault Legend who empowers his squad’s guns while disrupting enemy fire. His tactical Whistler pressures opponents by overheating their weapons, his passive Sling lets him carry a third weapon, and his ultimate Tempest supercharges nearby allies’ combat effectiveness. Introduced in Season 17, Ballistic can be unlocked with 12,000 Legend Tokens or 750 Apex Coins.

“Indeed, I'm a humble - and very well armed - man, trying to enjoy a quiet 5:00am cuppa tea in his favorite hole in the wall. And yet here they are, a testosterone of hooligans, thinking they can make a name by challenging mine.”

Overview

  • Real name: August Montgomery Brinkman
  • Gender: Male
  • Age: 63
  • Home world: Gaea
  • Class: Assault
  • Voice actor: Robin Atkin Downes

Abilities

Whistler (Tactical)

Whistler ability icon

Shoot a smart projectile that heats an enemy’s weapon as they fire. If they overheat, they take damage and are briefly unable to shoot. Hold the button to lock on before launching.

  • Cooldown: 25 seconds
  • Deals 15 impact damage on direct hit and applies Overheat for 8 seconds.
  • Overheating deals 15 damage and disables firing for about 1.2 seconds; overheat will not knock an enemy (it can reduce them to 1 HP).
  • A visible heat meter appears above affected targets and drains after a short pause when they stop firing.
  • Missed shots stick briefly to surfaces, creating a small visible bubble that tags enemies who approach it; bubble hit deals 10 impact damage and applies Overheat.
  • Hold to lock: lock can be acquired up to roughly 75 m and persists briefly if line-of-sight breaks. The smart projectile can turn once in flight to track the target.
  • Usable while performing other actions (firing, reloading, healing).
  • Counterplay examples: smoke, phasing/portals, or breaking lock can prevent tracking; interception devices can shoot down the dart.

Tips:

  • Tag doorways or chokepoints with a dart to discourage pushes—its presence alone can deter enemies.
  • While healing, hold the tactical to be ready to quick-cast if enemies peek.

Sling (Passive)

Sling passive icon

Carry a third weapon in a sling. Access it from the inventory or via your character utility action. The sling weapon cannot accept attachments by default.

  • At match start, the sling weapon is auto-equipped with common (white) attachments that scale with your armor progression.
  • You can swap the sling weapon with a primary weapon via the inventory.
  • In Battle Royale, supply drop weapons and fully kitted weapons can be stored in the sling; in certain modes, kitted tiers are preserved.

Tips:

  • Use Sling to “mule” a gun for a teammate or to hold a preferred weapon for a later swap. Keep relevant attachments in your backpack.
  • Manage ammo carefully. Choosing weapons that share an ammo type with your main guns reduces inventory strain.
  • As a backup, shotguns tend to perform well without attachments. For Tempest synergy, consider weapons that greatly benefit from full kits or charge mechanics.

Tempest (Ultimate)

Tempest ultimate icon

Activate to grant nearby teammates faster reloads, faster armed move speed, and infinite ammo for a short duration. Ballistic automatically equips his sling weapon, which becomes fully upgraded to gold for the duration.

  • Charge time: ~2 minutes
  • Wind-up: ~3 seconds; duration: ~30 seconds.
  • Only Ballistic receives a 30% speed boost; allies keep reload/armed-speed benefits and infinite ammo without the speed boost.
  • Effective radius is large; allies retain the effect after moving away once empowered.
  • When active, pressing the ultimate key toggles the sling weapon. The sling weapon cannot be dropped or moved to a primary slot until Tempest ends.
  • If the sling is empty when Tempest begins, equipping a weapon to it during the ultimate upgrades it to gold.
  • Gold upgrade includes top-tier attachments, appropriate optics, and hop-ups where applicable; certain weapons become amped/revved automatically.
  • Not removed by EMP effects once active.

Tips:

  • Activate just before a push to avoid wasting the wind-up time.
  • Coordinate with aggressive teammates to capitalize on infinite ammo and faster handling.
  • Set your sling to a weapon you are highly comfortable with—Tempest elevates it to a full gold kit.

Legend Upgrades

Legend Upgrades in Battle Royale grant choice-based perks as you level your Evo Armor. Choose one perk at each threshold (maximum of two total).

  • Level 2 options:
    • Lasting Bullet: Whistler’s dart persists much longer on surfaces.
    • Killing Time: Increases Tempest duration by 15 seconds.
  • Level 3 options:
    • Extra Bullet: Gain an additional Whistler charge.
    • Quiet Time: If Overheat triggers, the victim is also briefly silenced.

Lore

August Brinkman, heir to a dubious fortune, lost his parents to the consequences of their dealings and became a wealthy, reckless orphan. He entered the Thunderdome Games under the moniker “Ballistic,” where his daring and selfish style turned him into the event’s first true celebrity. During this time he met and married Sok Leng, joining her and her brother Kit Siang.

Tragedy struck when Ballistic’s showmanship left his squad vulnerable, leading to Kit Siang’s death. Wracked by guilt, August withdrew from the world and pushed away his family, living in isolation for years. His son Nathaniel later qualified for the dangerous Apex Games, and August struck a deal with the Syndicate to compete in his place. In the arena, Ballistic intends to protect his son from repeating his mistakes—while doing what he does best: dismantling anyone who stands in his way.

Cosmetics

Ballistic has a broad range of cosmetics, including multiple Legendary and Epic skins, banner frames and poses, holosprays, emotes, skydive emotes, and a music pack. Highlights include the “Earl Grey” and “Mr. Manners” Legendary skins, the “The Last Word” finisher, and a Season 17 music pack.

Finishers

  • Fake Out: Default
  • The Last Word: Crafting Metals cost 1,200

Emotes

  • Conductor: Crafting Metals cost 1,200
  • Bang: Crafting Metals cost 400
  • Only Need One
  • Looking Sharp: Default

Skydive Emotes

  • Burst Your Bubble: Battle Pass Level 2 (Season 17)
  • Hightailing It: Battle Pass Level 90 (Season 17)

Banner Frames

  • Legendary examples: The Arena, The Armory, The Garage, The Lounge, The Study
  • Epic examples: But a Scratch, Offering
  • Rare examples: Full Auto, Old Fashioned, On the Brink, Red Hot, The Time is Meow
  • Common examples: Lethal Design (Default), A Timely Manner, Combing for Targets, Powerful Schematic

Banner Poses

  • Epic examples: A Cracking Display, Ambidextrous, Down to Business, Eye for Detail, Quickdraw
  • Rare examples: A Steep Price, Always Alert, Commanding Presence, Dual Wield, Going Ballistic, Keeping Time, Looking SMRT, On a Mission
  • Common: Elegance (Default)

Holosprays

  • Legendary: I’m Going to Tear You Apart Politely
  • Epic examples: Bloody Hooligans, Fancy a Cuppa?, I Have a Particular Set of Skills, Smell the Roses, Smells Like Victory, Steeped in Thought, The Game’s Afoot, Time’s Up
  • Battle Pass: Rather Ordinary, I’m Afraid (Season 17)

Music Pack

  • Ballistic: Battle Pass Level 50 (Season 17)

Voice lines

Ballistic features a full set of character-select, intro, ping, and interaction voice lines recorded by Robin Atkin Downes.

History

  • July 17, 2025 Hotfix: Tempest no longer grants allies a speed boost (Ballistic retains it). Base Whistler charges reduced from 2 to 1.
  • June 20, 2025 Hotfix: Whistler direct-hit damage reduced to 15. Legend Upgrade placements adjusted.
  • June 2, 2025 Hotfix: Tempest no longer extends on knockdowns. Overheat damage reduced to 15.
  • February 10, 2025 Patch: Squad speed boost added during Tempest. Whistler charges increased to 2; ground-contact damage increased to 20 (matching direct hit). Sling upgrades with level by default and can carry care package weapons (which gain infinite ammo during Tempest). Perk updates: Extra Bullets now doubles tactical charges; Quiet Time now also silences overheated enemies; Killing Time increases ultimate duration.
  • August 5, 2024 Patch: Whistler lock-on time reduced to ~0.1s.
  • February 12, 2024 Patch: Tempest ally radius increased significantly. Sling weapons now have common attachments while equipped.
  • May 9, 2023 Patch: Introduced with Season 17.

Teasers

  • In-game lead-up: Beginning April 13, 2023, crates arrived in the Firing Range marked “ASSET MIGRATION INITIATIVE,” with additional stages on April 17 and April 21. Interactive magazines referenced Ballistic’s return.
  • Social teasers: In late April 2023, images of Ballistic’s mansion interior were showcased.
  • Stories from the Outlands: “Encore” debuted April 24, 2023.
  • Launch trailer: Released April 26, 2023. Watch on YouTube: Season 17 Launch Trailer

Datamined and leaked data

Early Caliber icon leak

  • Early leaks referred to Ballistic as “Caliber,” initially positioned as a Support Legend with the subtitle “Apex Arms Dealer.” The final release renamed him to Ballistic and repositioned him as Assault.

Trivia

  • Whistler’s “Made in New West” marking nods to the Metro Vancouver region and the Whistler ski resort.