Ballistic in Apex Legends
Assault

Ballistic

Refined Gunslinger

Ballistic is an Assault Legend that can amplify his team's weaponry and cripple his opponent's. Ballistic's tactical ability Whistler shoots with his smart pistol that makes an enemy's gun overheat if they shoot too quickly. His passive Sling allows him to store a third weapon. His ultimate Tempest buffs any nearby teammate's weapon, aswell as turning the weapon from his Sling into gold. He was introduced in Season 17 and is locked from the base game. He can be unlocked using digital currency: either 12,000 Legend Tokens or 750 Apex Coins.

Abilities

Checked against every EA patch note up to Apex Legends: Cipher Patch Notes (2 November 2026).

TacticalQ

Whistler

Cooldown 25s

Shoots a projectile that heats up an enemy's gun as they shoot. Overheating causes damage. Hold the tactical to lock-on.

  • Lock on time is 0.1s
  • Deals 15 impact damage.
  • Applies the "Overheat" effect.
  • If the Whistler does not hit a target directly, it will temporarily stick to surfaces, creating a visible area-of-effect bubble that will cause the dart to hit an enemy if they get too close.
  • Holding the Tactical button will delay the launch while enabling the auto-reticle; if locked on, reticle will turn from blue to yellow. Melee cancels the launch.
  • If a victim is locked on by Whistler, they will have a warning banner that say "missile locked."
  • Whistler can be used at the same time as other actions: firing, reloading, healing, etc.
Passive

Sling

Store a third weapon in the sling. Access either via inventory or Character Utility Action. The sling weapon cannot take attachments.

  • The weapon in the sling will be automatically equipped with all common atattchments when picked up at the start of a game. When a legend upgrades their evo the attachments on the Sling weapon will scale with it.
  • The weapon in the sling can be swapped out with one of the two primary weapons via the inventory screen.
  • Supply Drop Weapons and any tier Fully Kitted Weapons can be stored in the sling in Battle Royale.
  • Rare, Epic and Mythic tier Fully Kitted Weapons can be taken in the sling and retain their level in Control and Team Deathmatch Mode.
UltimateZ

Tempest

Charge time 2 min

When activated, nearby teammates get faster reloads, faster armed move speed, and infinite ammo. Ballistic's sling weapon will be equipped and upgraded to legendary.

  • Tempest grants only Ballistic a 30% speed boost (Allies are not affected by the speed boost, but retain all other effects)
  • Takes 3 seconds to activate and lasts 30 seconds.
  • The weapon in the sling will automatically be upgraded to Legendary with Legendary Attachments regardless of the level of the Evo Shield the player has
  • Affects teammates within a radius of 90 meters. Once they gain the autoloader effect, they can move beyond the radius while retaining the effect.
  • The faster armed move speed is identical to holster speed.
  • The sling weapon cannot be swapped to regular slot, nor disposed of, during the duration of the ultimate.

Who is Ballistic?

Real name
August Montgomery Brinkman
Age
63
Home world
Gaea
Voice actor
Robin Atkin Downes

Ballistic skins

The wiki lists 45 skins for Ballistic, each with its rarity and how it was unlocked.

Every Ballistic skin

Apex Legends meta this season

The Apex Legends meta page tracks every legend buff, nerf and rework this season.

Apex Legends meta: every buff and nerf

Other Assault legends

Recent changes

Season 29 · 22 June 2026

  • Whistler now has 2 charges. Overheat applies to one weapon only, deals 50 damage (was 15), lasts 15 seconds (was 12), no longer wears off when not firing, and can't be re-applied to an overheating target.
  • Tempest now gives Ballistic and nearby teammates a sprint boost, and he respawns with his Sling weapon in all modes.
  • Upgrades: Extra Bullet and new Trap Mode at level 2; reworked Quiet Time and Killing Time at level 3.

Summarised from EA's patch notes. Read the original: Apex Legends: Overclocked Midseason Patch Notes

Season 28 · 9 February 2026

  • Sling no longer interrupts shooting.

Summarised from EA's patch notes. Read the original: Apex Legends: Breach Patch Notes

Season 25 · 20 June 2025

  • Whistler damage on activation reduced to 15 (was 20) and overheat damage reduced to 15 (was 30).
  • Knocks no longer extend Tempest.
  • Upgrades: Extra Bullets moved to level 2 and Lasting Bullet to level 3.

Summarised from EA's patch notes. Read the original: Face Off in the Future Icons Event

Season 24 · 10 February 2025

  • Whistler now has 2 charges, overheat reaction time increased to 1.2 seconds (was 1), and smart bullet ground damage increased to 20 (was 10).
  • Sling now upgrades with level, and carried crate weapons gain infinite ammo during Tempest. Tempest also gives the squad a speed boost.
  • Upgrades: new Killing Time (15 seconds more ultimate) at level 2; Extra Bullets now doubles tactical charges.

Summarised from EA's patch notes. Read the original: Apex Legends: Takeover Patch Notes