Ballistic

Refined Gunslinger · Assault

Community documented

Abilities

passive

Sling

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

tactical

Whistler

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

Cooldown: 25 s
Charges: 2 charges
Impact damage: 15 damage
Missed dart trap: 5 s

ultimate

Tempest

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

Full charge: 120 s
Duration: 30 s
Initial ally radius: 90 m
Allies retain the effect after moving out of range.

EVO upgrades

Level 2Choose one

Extra Bullet+1 Whistler charge.Charges2 charges3 chargesTrap ModeWhistler dart duration tripled (5s → 15s) and dart damage increased to 35 damage.Missed dart trap5 s15 sTrap Mode's direct-hit damage is unconfirmed.

Level 3Choose one

Killing TimeTempest duration increased by 15s (30s → 45s).Duration30 s45 sQuiet TimeWhistler silences the player on impact instead of applying Overheat and also applies a 0.5s slowdown.

Class perks

EA guide ↗

Base class

Assault

Supplies: Extra ammo capacity, grenade slots, and weapon-bin attachments.
Combat handling: Faster weapon handling and a temporary movement/reload boost when shields break.

Core modes. Additional class perks appear when selected.

Ability interactions

2 documented interactions

Watch out forSource ↗

RampartMobile Minigun "Sheila"

Whistler's weapon overheat does not affect Sheila.

Watch out forSource ↗

VantageSniper's Mark

Whistler's weapon overheat does not affect Sniper's Mark.

Sources & version information

Last checked 2026-09-11. Based on the community revision linked below; recent patches may not be reflected yet.

Unconfirmed upgrade values are marked in the stats.

Ballistic — Apex Legends Wiki, revision 125272 · Updated 2026-07-04.

Ability and upgrade text adapted from Apex Legends Wiki contributors under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. The adapted catalog is available under the same license. Formatting and wiki markup have been simplified.

Ability artwork belongs to EA / Respawn and is presented via the Wiki’s individual file pages. Class-perk summaries reference the EA guide below.

Icon sources: tactical passive ultimate

EA ability guide · Official patch notes