How to master the Hemlok in Apex Legends: Tips, damage stats & more

David Purcell
Hemlok tips

Picking up the Hemlok AR in Apex Legends is always a great choice as the weapon is so consistent at medium to long-range. Here, we run through some tips and tricks you can utilize to dominate other players with the Hemlok.

Although you might be tempted to opt for the easy-as-pie R-301, the burst fire Hemlok can be one of the most deadly guns in the Apex Games, especially if it falls into the right hands.

If you’re wondering about damage stats, spray patterns, and other things related to the Hemlok – we’ve got you covered. So, there’s a lot to run through, so let’s jump right into the guide, and hopefully, you’ll have mastered the Hemlok in no time.

Hemlok damage stats in Apex Legends

Hemlock Damage
The left side of the table shows the Hemlock’s burst damage and the right side shows the gun’s damage using single fire.

Not every weapon you pick up in Apex Legends has the ability to switch from Burst to Single Shot, although the Hemlok is in that category. Regular players will know this already, but that’s one thing that impacts the damage stats for the gun. That explains why we have two sets of figures to work with, as seen in the table above – courtesy of the Apex Legends Gamepedia page.

While the damage may be higher using bursts, the accuracy far increases with Single Shot. Keep that in mind when you’re jumping into games. The Burst does, however, have a shot to kill tally of around two to three if you land them in decent areas of the target. With just a few mags, you can wipe out an entire Trio if you play your cards right.

Against players with no shield, your opponent could be down in less than half a second with Burst fire. Equipped with a Level 3 or Level 4 shield, even then they could be down and out in just over a second.

Hemlok recoil pattern in Apex Legends

Apex Legends Hemlok spray pattern recoil
The Hemlok won’t bounce around significantly like other weapons, simply lifting and coming back down in the same place in Burst mode.

One thing that places the Hemlok AR into the higher tier of Apex Legends weapons is its incredible accuracy. If you thought you had to switch to Single Shot in previous seasons, think again. The accuracy of this weapon in short to medium distances is super impressive.

Things can move fast when opponents are running all around you in Kings Canyon, World’s Edge, and Olympus, so it’s helpful to have a weapon like the Hemlok that’s easy to control – once you’ve learned the recoil pattern of course.

The Hemlok burst fire forces the weapon to move up and down very quickly. The best way to approach it, for accuracy, is to fire, wait for the recoil to come back down, and spray again. Be efficient with your rounds here and you might have the most deadly weapon around to work with.

As you might expect, Single Shot mode will increase accuracy even further and the recoil will be very little – if any. The setback here is that damage per hit is lower, so it’s a tradeoff.

Apex Legends Hemlok: Ammo and best attachments

Octane Apex
The Hemlok is the ideal weapon for medium-range gunfights.

As you might know already, the Hemlok takes Heavy Ammo in Apex Legends. If you see a load of it on the floor while looting, be sure to pick some up for the battle ahead. You wouldn’t want to run into another team and come up short because you’ve run out of ammo.

If you can knock out opponents in one or two hits, that’s great, though you’re going to need to extend the ammo capacity of your rifle.

Without any attachments, your Hemlok has just 18 bullets per round, so expect to be reloading a great deal until you find an Extended Mag. When it has a Level 3 Extended Mag, that takes you right up to 30 bullets in each magazine. Even better, if you can get your hands on a level 4 golden magazine, you’ll never have to worry about running out of ammo or reloading.

With that amount of firepower, you have the potential to take out full teams of opponents and dominate your matches.

Best attachments for the Hemlok

Apex Legends weapon
Picking the right attachments up, from floor loot or loot bins, is the key to taking the Hemlok to the next level.

Heavy mag or Golden Magazine, as mentioned earlier, so that one goes without saying.

Some optics are preferred by players over others, but in terms of the best ones to grab for this weapon, you should look out for the 3x HCOG “Ranger” or 2x-4x Variable AOG. These come in Epic variants (purple).

A Legendary Barrel Stabilizer has to be the end goal as well, if you really want to get the show on the road.

With this Hop-Up attached, you’re looking at 20% recoil reduction, a randomness decrease of 30%, and also a lowering of visual muzzle flash. All of these three components are ideal. However, you don’t have to get the best of the best here to succeed. Even an Epic or Rare one would do the trick.


Hopefully, with these tips and a monster of a rifle in your hands, many more Apex Champions ending game screens will have your name on it. Get more tips and news @TitanfallBlog on Twitter.

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About The Author

David is the former US Managing Editor at Dexerto.com. You can contact him via email: david.purcell@dexerto.com.