There are a lot of ways to flex your skills in Apex Legends. From hitting a high rank like Masters or Apex Predator to acquiring exceptionally rare badges such as Arenas Win Streak, Respawn Entertainment has provided several ways to show off your prowess to other players. However, one of the most coveted methods is acquiring the 4K Damage badge. Requiring a player to deal a minimum of 4,000 damage in a single game, Legend’s Wrath IV is one of the most challenging badges to unlock.
As someone who has unlocked multiple 4k damage badges on characters like Bloodhound, Gibraltar, Seer, Ash, and Crypto, I have found a few methods to help ease this process. With that being said, there is no objectively “easy way” to earn this badge no matter what some videos or articles may claim. Outside of purposely forcing yourself into lower-skilled lobbies, earning a 4K damage is a mix of luck, skill, and patience. So if you are on the hunt for this badge, here are some of the things I’ve learned after obtaining a few of mine.
4K Damage Badge Tips
Duos or Trios?
When it comes to hunting down a 4K damage badge, I have always found Duos to be the best game mode. Despite the smaller number of players on each team, most games seem to go longer with more players alive in the late game. This is ideal because in most cases you will need to farm damage from enemies. Personally, I like to solo drop into duos to ensure I am the only one doing damage to enemies. However, you can absolutely bring a partner if you are worried about being knocked or aren’t entirely comfortable in 1v2 fights.
If you do bring a friend, I recommend them running, Ash, Valkyrie, Newcastle, Gibraltar, or Loba. The first two can help you locate squads, while the last three are superb support characters if you get downed or need protection. Ash is definitely the best choice since she can track death boxes all across the map, making it easy for you to know where everyone is fighting.
As for Trios, you can get a 4K in this mode and I have done it once. However, it’s a little trickier since teams tend to die a lot faster in the beginning and you will need to ensure both of your squadmates are on the same page. The last thing you want is to almost deal 4,000 damage only for your teammate to swoop in and kill them.
Maps and Where to Drop
Of the three maps currently available this season in Apex Legends, I have always found that Olympus is the easiest. This is due to the map’s relative size and long sightlines making it easier for you to poke at enemies from afar. Olympus is also big enough where you can easily rotate to a fight without being so small that you are constantly being swarmed if you dare to shoot your gun.
World’s Edge is also fine, but you’ll need to remember that half the lobby always drops at Fragment West and East. Storm Point is an odd one, as the massive scale of the map makes it simultaneously great and terrible. Sure, you can find yourself in games where there are still a good number of players left after the first ring, but there are also matches where you are wandering endlessly looking for people.
As for where to drop, I recommend landing in a popular location but not directly in the middle of all of the chaos. For example, if you are on World’s Edge, going to the massive construction building will usually get you sent back to the lobby since there will be several teams dropping there. Instead, I will usually hit one of the larger buildings along the perimeter and work my way towards the fighting. Ideally, you will have one team contest this spot, letting you pick up some early damage.
My absolute favorite place to land when hunting for a 4K is Carrier on Olympus. Usually, you’ll get one enemy team battle for this point, and then you are set up for an easy rotation into either Fight Night, Docks, or Oasis depending on where others landed.
Weapon Recommendations
Here’s where things get especially subjective. When it comes down to what gun you use, I often lean towards whatever you’re comfortable with. Yet, I do strongly urge that you have some type of long-range option that you can poke enemies with. This can be anything from single-firing a Hemlock or R-301 to blasting foes with a Charge Rifle. You are going to want some way to constantly pester enemies from a safe distance so you can keep racking up more and more damage. Additionally, you’ll want a solid close-range option for when enemies push you or to just quickly kill a downed enemy. Again, this is up to you, but guns like the R-99, Prowler, CAR, and Peacekeeper are the best choices.
Finally, if you come across a G-7 Scout in a Care Package, make sure to snap that gun up! The G-7 is an absolute monster with solid stopping power and range, making it the ideal weapon for just farming damage. You can also use the Kraber to great effect when going for a 4K, but this does heavily rely on your ability to consistently hit enemies with it. Otherwise, you are just wasting time and opportunities to acquire more damage.
Be Patient
If you are serious about getting a 4K damage badge in Apex Legends, then you need to exercise patience in fights. One of the most important skills in this game is knowing when to just reset during a fight instead of risking death because both you and your enemy have low health. It’s often better to take a breath, find cover, and heal than battling someone when there’s a good chance they can down or kill you. Of course, there are situations where it is better to fight, but sometimes it’s ideal to just let someone heal.
This also speaks for your mental state when attempting to get this badge. There is a lot of luck involved with getting a 4K badge since you are relying on there being enough teams left to fight, enemies not getting overly aggressive, or your loot. It can certainly be a frustrating experience; knowing when to just take a break can help. For most players, a 4K damage badge isn’t going to happen right away and may take dozens upon dozens of attempts. You need to understand that you cannot control every aspect of a game; sometimes, shit just happens.
Playing With Your Food
Perhaps the biggest tip I can offer, outside of killing any downed enemies early on, is to just toy with your enemies at the end. Usually, if I am entering the last couple of circles with a few enemy teams left and around 2,500 damage, I can land a 4k damage badge if I go for one. This is because I will no longer stop just fighting anyone I come across but instead keep poking at my enemies from afar. The trick is to deal damage without outright downing them, allowing that foe to get into cover and heal. They will then, typically, pop their head back out allowing you to deal more damage to them.
You can also just let enemies revive their teammates if there is a Respawn Beacon nearby. This will let you get some easy extra damage on weaker opponents or just someone else to shoot at. I’ve also been in a scenario where I actively dropped Shield Batteries to my opponents if I realized they didn’t have any. Obviously, I don’t always recommend doing this, but it can be the only alternative if you end up exhausting a team’s entire healing items. When it does come down to you and one squad left, make sure to finish any enemy you kill if possible. This is an extra 100 damage and that can make all of the difference.
Remember, a 4K damage badge doesn’t just happen. Sometimes, you will have a great start only for the rest of the lobby to die in less than a minute. It’s frustrating, but it’s the harsh reality when going for this badge.
