If you’re reading this, you’re probably seeking ways to improve your skills playing as Caustic in Apex Legends. For a character such as Caustic, defensive tactics are all the rage. His super deadly gas traps can quickly overwhelm and hinder the mobility of opposing squads, offering you and your teammates fertile opportunity for ambushes. At a glance, this stinky fellow’s abilities often seem more contextual than universally functional, but with a bit of practice under your belt, you can easily use that to your advantage. Keep reading for everything you need to know about Caustic’s abilities, his strengths and weaknesses, and a selection of tips on how to use him effectively so that you can lead your team to victory.

His abilities are all about the gas

As stated above, Caustic’s strategies are a bit contextual. His Gas Traps are lethal, but it takes a firm understanding of their capabilities to use them effectively. And with such a large map where numerous battle scenarios are possible, finding the right time to leverage Caustic’s strengths proves more difficult than you’d expect. That said, getting a feel for that takes time, so remain patient and don’t hesitate to adjust his abilities to the needs of your team.

Caustic can drop Nox Gas Trap canisters as his tactical ability. These release deadly gas when shot or triggered by enemies. Gas effectively blinds enemies, while damaging them over time, making it great for close-range encounters.

His passive Nox Vision allows you to see enemies through gas. It’s pretty convenient, as enemies afflicted by your toxic gas are highlighted in green for both you and your squadmates.

Caustic’s ultimate ability is Nox Gas Grenade, which blankets a large area in his stinky green gas. This ability can be used defensively or offensively, putting enemy squads into a state of panic in confined space or sending them running in the other direction.

The fundamentals come first

In battle, Caustic is best in close quarters situations. His gas abilities let you control a fight by blanketing areas to force enemies out of or away from them, and can give your team a serious advantage as your opponents are damaged, slowed, and blinded. Use Caustic to try to control the battlefield and give your team strategic advantages, and sew chaos among enemy teams whenever possible by gassing them out.

You can throw up to six Nox Gas Traps at a time. You have three on cooldown, but once that ends, you can drop three more, or drop one as you get them back off a cooldown. Any traps you don’t use, you can also pick back up, so keep that in mind. Just be aware that your gas can negatively affect your teammates. It won’t kill them, but it can blind and slow them.

Gas canisters: the perfect offensive defense

He’s also good for countering tracker or scout characters such as Bloodhound or Wraith–gas traps placed carefully can slow people following you, block pathways (especially doors), and force players to move through pathways that help your teammates. It can be helpful to toss them down behind your team as you move up, too. This will alert you if anyone’s triggered them or is trying to sneak up on you. In addition, you can drop traps near downed enemies in hopes of luring their teammates near them.

Seeing through the stink

The enemy outlining provided by Caustic’s Nox Vision is a nice perk that should encourage you to use your traps more liberally. While it’s unlikely that an enemy will spend a lot of time in the gas, it will at least give you a quick idea of where they’re at and where you should move to counter them. The gas won’t hurt your teammates but be aware that their visibility in gas is still similar to smoke grenades, so try not to go overboard–lest you want to frustrate your squad.

Trap and ambush your foes with your gas

Caustic’s Nox Gas Grenades are useful in leading enemies into an ambush. It’s also particularly useful in pushing enemies away, so you can give your squad time to revive downed teammates. You can even throw them in the opposite scenario, preventing enemy squads from bringing back their friends.

Another handy strategy is to combo Caustic’s gas trap and gas grenade in a confined space. If you’re able to block an enemy into a room with a trap, throw a grenade inside. Assuming they aren’t smart enough to grenade the door, this deadly combination should make for a guaranteed kill. All this talk about deadly gas is great, but don’t think the enemy is completely powerless. Beware of incoming Grenades or Arc Stars while your gas is active on the field.