Apex Legends: Lifeline, the combat medic

There's a massive variety of Legends in the Apex Legends roster with lots of ways to destroy your opponents, to deal damage, to harm people. But there's only one Legend that's here to heal others. Ajay Che—callsign Lifeline—brings her healing drone and huge, golden heart to the hunting grounds to help her squad.

Greetings, Legends!

In tough times, we all look for someone or something to pick us up. We instinctively reach out, seeking help from others. Thankfully, Lifeline is here to give us a hand and scold us -in a friendly way- for being down in the first place.

Daughter to the Che family, Lifeline despises her parents and their war profiteering. Lifeline's parents, Darion and Cherisse (yes, her name is Cherisse Che), own AI Logic., specializing in drone manufacturing. Their subsidiary, Chevrex Inc, is headed by Darion Che and was notoriously tied to the Frontier War. Meanwhile, Cherisse Che has a wide network in the Syndicate and is known to be instrumental in the process that ended with Salvo joining the Syndicate Space. 

The Che family. Not the best parents, to be honest. (Image: Respawn Entertainment)

Lifeline did not want to be a part of her parents' "business," and after lots of traveling and adventures, she ended up joining the Apex Games. Let's see how Ajay Che, the rebellious daughter of the Che family, became Lifeline the Combat Medic.

Who is Lifeline?

"Bring it. Ajay Che will be waitin' for ya down there."

Lifeline is compassionate; she believes no matter who wins, war hurts everyone. So when she learned her parents were making a profit by endorsing further conflict, she left her home to be free and help people however she could. She even joined the Apex Games to raise money for the Frontier Corps, an organization that tries to help people affected by the war throughout the Frontier. She actually feels terrible for joining a bloodsport. Still, she keeps telling herself that the people in the Games are not victims, and they knew what they were signing up for.

She puts on a strong front, but she's actually a compassionate and caring person. Lifeline is the type of person that will knock you down for being an idiot and then pick you up because that's what she does. This makes her friendship with Octane very chaotic, but they know how to lift each other up every time, and it happens a lot. Because Octane.

Lifeline and Octane are childhood friends, mostly because their dads—Darion and Eduardo—were also childhood friends. Growing up together, Lifeline and Octane became more like siblings than friends. Octane is the naughty brother, and Lifeline is the responsible sister who cleans up after him. When Octane lost his legs during his Gauntlet stunt, he managed (with a little bit of trickery) to convince Lifeline to get him a pair of mechanical legs, which he used to immediately leave the hospital. If you have Octane and Lifeline in your squad, you can frequently hear the two call out each other with voice lines. Octane loves to remind Lifeline that he can now revive himself thanks to the medical gear provided for the Legends.

She protecc, she attacc, but most importantly, she got yo' bacc. (Image: Respawn Entertainment)

When Lifeline left her home, Octane invited her to Solace for his Gauntlet stunt. On Solace, they happened to watch a punk rock band called The Flyer Liars perform live, which fascinated Lifeline. She met the band members, and the band's drummer encouraged Lifeline to pick up the sticks and learn to drum, something she proved to be naturally proficient with. After that, she decided to stay there to perform with The Flyer Liars as a fill-in drummer, enjoying her life free from her parents. When the band performed on the planet Psamathe, it led Lifeline to learn about the Frontier Corps. Later, she joined the Corps as a volunteer.

Lifeline is currently the only Legend who can actively heal allies, which is a statement I hope ages terribly in the coming seasons. When Apex Legends first launched, she was also the only Legend who could summon loot for squadmates via her ultimate ability. Speaking of, let's take a look at Lifeline's abilities.

Lifeline's abilities

Passive: Combat Revive

"On ya feet. Lifeline's gotcha back."

Lifeline can deploy D.O.C. (Drone of Compassion) to passively revive a downed squadmate instead of having to do it herself. This allows Lifeline to keep fighting and protecting her teammates while also reviving them. Lifeline can revive 2 squadmates simultaneously with her passive. Reviving squadmates with Lifeline's passive is treated the same as a regular revive, which means it will be affected by Lifeline having a Gold Backpack. You can also pick up a Gold Backpack while your squadmate is being revived by your D.O.C., and it will still work, causing your squadmate to be revived with increased HP and shields. Lifeline's Combat Revive passive ability can be silenced by Revenant's tactical, forcing Lifeline to personally revive squadmates one by one.

There's no lore implication that Lifeline has more than one D.O.C., but she can deploy 2 D.O.C.s for revive and one from her tactical, deploying 3 D.O.C.s at the same time for gameplay purposes.

Lifeline's passive ability has been modified and nerfed quite a few times. Lifeline could use medical equipment faster than other Legends at launch, giving her a huge advantage to healing/shielding herself up. She also used to personally revive squadmates but deployed an unbreakable shield to protect the revive process.

Check out the original Lifeline trailer.

Later, this was changed to the current version of D.O.C. revive, but with the shield. This turned out to be a functional disaster in terms of intended use because players had come up with a strategy to sacrifice one downed player to provide constant cover for themselves. It went a little like this:

• A squadmate would be down.

• Lifeline would start reviving them with D.O.C., deploying an unbreakable shield.

• The squadmate would be up and intentionally get downed again.

• Lifeline would start reviving again.

• And repeat. 

This quickly became a common tactic among Lifeline players, so the shield function was finally removed. Instead, Lifeline was given the ability to remote-revive 2 squadmates at once.

What not to do with a Lifeline on your team: Leaving her on the ground so you can pose at the camera. (Image: Respawn Entertainment)

Tactical: D.O.C. Heal Drone

"Pass me that sugar."

Lifeline deploys the Drone of Compassion to heal nearby Legends for 20 seconds. D.O.C. heals everyone that comes near it, friend or foe. It heals 8 HP per second, up to a maximum of 150. So make sure to share it between squadmates. D.O.C. cannot be moved after being deployed.

Lifeline's signature ability, the D.O.C. Heal Drone, literally brings life to the team. Placing it in a safe spot will help your squad rotation become faster, allowing you to gain the upper hand. Keep in mind that while weapon fire won't destroy the Heal Drone, there are many ways for it to be destroyed or just stop working. For example, the Heal Drone will be destroyed after receiving 2 ticks of damage in the Ring, preventing you from using D.O.C. to survive the Ring's damage. Similarly, Crypto's Drone EMP will also destroy D.O.C. since it's an electronic device. Not everything happens in accordance with common sense in Apex Legends. Still, you can keep in mind the electronic device thing to remember your D.O.C. will be disabled by Crypto.

There are also ways to stop the Heal Drone from healing without destroying it, such as Caustic's Nox Gas being around or the person on the receiving end of the heal being under the effect of Revenant's Death Totem. You can't heal the undead.

Ultimate: Care Package

"Here's ya birthday present."

Lifeline's here to provide you everything you need! Lifeline can call down a specialized Care Package—her "Lifeline Package"—which is guaranteed to include at least one upgrade to her squad's current loadout. The Lifeline Package will take 15 seconds to land after being summoned and contains defensive gear. This means you won't get a Kraber or any other weapon from Lifeline's Care Package. Still, you will probably get better shields, medical gear, and weapon attachments.

The Lifeline Package emits a blue light upon landing and is not announced to other squads. This makes them different from regular Care Packages, which are announced and emit an orange light. Lifeline Package itself is also blue, unlike the regular Care Package. Both these facts will help your opponents figure out you've called in a Lifeline Package recently, so be careful when using it.

Everybody, please pretend I have a good reason to use this image. I just love it so much. (Image: Respawn Entertainment)

For Slot 1, Lifeline Package draws from a pool of Body Shields, Helmets, and Knockdown Shields. This drop will always be an upgrade for the squad of the Lifeline that called it. However, this upgrade might be disappointing if your squad was unlucky enough to have basic gear up until that point.

For Slot 2, Lifeline Package draws from a pool of Shield Cells, Shield Batteries, Syringes, Med Kits, Mobile Respawn Beacons, Heat Shields, and Phoenix Kits.

For Slot 3, Lifeline Package draws from a pool of weapon attachments.

How to play Lifeline

"I come too far to give up now."

As I previously mentioned, Lifeline's self-sufficiency days are long gone. So as a Lifeline player, you need to focus on being a team player even harder than before.

First things first, Lifeline should never be the frontline of your squad. Lifeline is better used as a backline support since she can revive squadmates without putting herself in serious danger. Back in the revive-shield days, Lifeline made a great frontliner due to her protective abilities. She was like "Gibraltar, but with heals" at one point, but now you would just be throwing everyone into danger by rushing in. So stay back, provide cover fire, and watch out for your squad's HP bars.

As Lifeline, you should prioritize taking the Gold Backpack in case your squad finds one. Similarly, your squad might want to throw all the ultimate accelerants at your Lifeline, especially during the early game. An early Lifeline Package could help your team find your tempo much easier than looking all around for gear. Sometimes you just can't find a team to fight and evolve your EVO shield, so a Lifeline could help with that a lot. 

Important things to consider when playing Lifeline are to not only keep your squad healthy but to keep them safe. Thus, make sure to place your D.O.C. Heal Drone in a safe spot where you can provide cover fire while your squad heals. Since you won't be able to move the Heal Drone after deploying it, you should always be on the lookout for safe spots during fights.

Towards the endgame, you can call in the Lifeline Package to create cover for your team. Especially if the Ring is closing towards an open field. The Lifeline Package will provide both defensive gear—crucial during the endgame—and a safe spot to take cover. You can also use the Lifeline Package to reach higher spots if your team doesn't have any Legends that could help move the entire squad, such as Octane or Valkyrie.

She'll kick your ass and revive friends anywhere, even in the dark depths of the ocean. (Image: Respawn Entertainment)

Since the Lifeline Package will announce your location to nearby opponents, it can be used to lure others into your trap if you're prepared. Otherwise, make sure no one's around to invade your safe space while you're trying to decide which upgrade to pick from the Package.

One last note about Lifeline's abilities. Both the Heal Drone and the Lifeline Package are free-for-all abilities, meaning anyone can benefit from them. If you deploy your healing drone and then move to another location before it runs out, another team can arrive and use it to heal themselves. The same goes for the Lifeline Package: anyone can loot the items on it. That's the biggest reason why you should make sure you're not seen, or you're ready to fight after calling in a Lifeline Package. Otherwise, you'd just be giving opponents free gear.

Lifeline's skins

"Last one down and a boom boom!"

Being one of the original Legends at launch, Lifeline received a lot of skins throughout the years. She has 20 legendary skins, with most of them being fully cosmetic and one related to her backstory. Normally, I only mention the story-related skins in these articles, but I'll make an exception for Lifeline. Full disclosure, I'll probably make more exceptions to this rule in the future. Mostly because of Wattson. Also Mirage.

When there were Legend editions such as Lifeline Edition, Octane Edition, etc., in Apex Legends, Lifeline received one of her best skins: Guardian Angel. This skin shows Lifeline exactly as she is, a guardian angel in your squad. She dressed in gold and white angelic feathers.

She can be yuor angle...or yuor devil. (Image: Respawn Entertainment)

Another great Lifeline skin is From the Ashes. Along with its variant, Hell Raiser, this skin transforms Lifeline into an entirely new, devilish look. So she can be your angel or devil, depending on your skin choice.

Lifeline's only skin with backstory is London Calling. It calls back to her time with the band—The Flyer Liars—before she joined the Apex Games. While it doesn't change Lifeline's look drastically, it maintains a punk rock fashion that will never go out of style, apparently.

Despite having angels, demons, drummers, search-and-rescue operators, and tribal hunters in her skin catalog, Lifeline's drone D.O.C. stays the same. None of Lifeline's skins change how the Heal Drone looks, which is probably for gameplay reasons along with asset management of the game. As you'll remember, Fuse's Broseidon skin also seemed to switch his big gun Wally's look, but it reverts back to the default look when used in-game.

Lifeline finishers and emotes

"Watch me!"

When the time comes to take out competitors from the Apex Games, Lifeline says, "I'm a healer, but…" and proceeds to finish off downed opponents. She does so in her own style, of course.

In Peace Out, she makes a short dance move, gives out the peace sign, and proceeds to smack the opponent with a drumstick. As a drummer, I've been hit with a drumstick in the face a few times, I can confirm, it works.

In Ajay's Lullaby, Lifeline gives a seemingly lethal injection to her opponent, shushing them in the process. After the opponent is dead, Lifeline proceeds to close their eyes. How this finisher applies to Legends such as Pathfinder or Caustic is unknown. 

In D.O.C.'s Shock, Lifeline connects D.O.C. to a downed opponent and gives it the nod to send out a deadly shock. D.O.C. proceeds to emit red-ish lightning, giving a fatal shock to the victim. These are the moments where Lifeline embraces the entertainment part of the bloodsport more than "helping those in need," apparently.

Sam Fisher wishes he was this cool. He also can't say Mozambique quite like Lifeline. Well, nobody can. (Image: Respawn Entertainment)

Lifeline's emotes also reflect her fun side, consisting of musical themes and dance moves.

Jammin' has Lifeline lean on D.O.C. to basically just vibe and look around. Probably with some song playing in her mind. Relatable.

Bust a Move is one of the best emotes to perform after you win a game. It shows Lifeline performing a signature Capoeira (a Brazilian martial art) move called Aú batido, also known as an L-Kick. She does a one-handed handstand, throwing a high kick and freezing after delivering the kick. The freezing part is also very popular in the break dancing scene, usually done during a balance-sensitive pose. Since Capoeira is also based on music, this emote brings all parts of Lifeline's hobbies together. She also doesn't forget to throw the peace sign with her other hand while delivering the Aú batido.

Shout Outs once again has Lifeline embrace the entertainment part of the Apex Games. She sits on her drone and waves and sends kisses at her watchers and fans. 

It's Funky Enough showcases Lifeline's musical side. She dances and jumps around like a DJ, before using D.O.C. as a pretend turntable.

Lifeline's Heirloom

"Feel that rhythm drop."

To nobody's surprise, Lifeline's Heirloom weapon is her drumsticks. Called Shock Sticks, Lifeline bonks everyone on the head with her drumsticks if you have them. She also receives a special banner pose showing off her drumsticks and a special intro quip where she quotes Ice Cube and says, "Check yo'self or wreck yo'self".

Conclusion

"Mozambique' ere!"

If there's one voice line every Apex Legends player knows, it's "Mozambique' ere!". Lifeline's iconic line actually has nothing to do with how she plays or why she's in the Apex Games, but Mela Lee's beautiful delivery made it into the Legend it is today. 

To sum up, I can only say Lifeline is aptly named. She's the lifeline of your squad, healing and providing loot on demand. Lifeline is a dynamic healer and a protector of your squad, who would become very deadly at the hands of players who are good at multitasking. How to be better at multitasking in Apex? Thanks for asking. With G-Loot, of course!

G-Loot's always here to help you track your stats, improve your performance and enjoy real rewards as the result of your efforts. You can join Weekly Brawls to earn tickets to enter the Monthly Showdowns, where you can win real money prizes.

What do you think about Lifeline? How do you utilize her to reach victory? Do you want to ask Lifeline players to revive you more? Join the discussion on our Discord to communicate with fellow G-Looters to work together and achieve sweet victory!

See you on the hunting grounds, Legends.