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The Art of Peeking

Preface

A super short write up to assist those on their journey to having high combat proficiency. I have left out much information as they may only be personal to me. However I assure you I will cover it all in the future one way or another.

Introduction

A great way to learn and study the art of peeking is to try and categorise the types of peeks and identify which ones get punished and where. Positioning or locations will affect one’s options greatly. However, since moving from position to position will often require one to earn such a right, we’ll leave positioning out of this topic since we want to stay focused on how to optimise our pokes from any position we may have.

Elements & Types

Peek Behavior

To be able for self evaluation, let us familiarise ourselves with some simple easy to understand terminology and description. Let us not identify one characteristic as either good or bad. Instead let us attempt to determine which characteristic to adopt depending on the situation.

Types

Overextend Peek

To move a great distance out of cover in search of the target.

Presence Peek

To peek as fast as possible only to gain sight of the enemy for a split second. Best done without aiming down sight.

ADS Peek

To aim down sight, ready to fire upon any target within sight before pulling back into cover.

Lengths/Durations

Short

A peek lasting less than a second. As explained above, we’ll call this a “Presence Peek”.

Average

An average peek will last roughly 1 whole second give or take.

Long

Any peek lasting 2 seconds or longer will be considered long.

Timing

Early

To peek before an event. This could be before the enemy decides to peek, before you’ve located the enemy or even before you see your team members about to fight.

Synced

To peek at the same time as an event. Usually to peek at the same time someone on the field shoots, or to peek in unison with your team members.

Late

To peek after an event. One that will take great composure to achieve when needed. Peeking after a cue will be a common theme as you begin to realise battles are a series of multiple events. Knowing your place within one is crucial.

Attention/Temperature

This could also be called “Threat Level” as what we want to be aware of is the current danger of peeking.

Hot

When signs, signals or logical explanations allude to peeking being very dangerous.

Warm

A moderate sign of danger and safety is apparent. Raising activity here will certainly raise the threat level and cause dynamical changes.

Cold

No real sign of danger is preventing one from peeking for too long or at all. Usually when your opponents are unaware or have no reason to fire in your direction due to the situation.

Application

Now that we have a healthy collection of terminology to use, let’s speak a bit about the purpose of a peek. Whenever we choose to peek there are 3 main reasons they can fall into.

  • To gain information

  • To damage the enemy

  • To show presence.

You can combine and separate these as much as you like and they’ll always have a very logical and practical application.

Mind Game

When both opponents have a decent understanding of the concepts listed above, this is where the mind games begin. It’ll depend on your own calculation on what type of behaviour will be the most effective.

Below I have linked an arena match where you get to analyse what type of peek is being used by myself and the enemy. Do not get wrapped up in the what could've, should’ve and would’ve too much and miss the point of this video. Instead it’s your perception we want to enhance, so you can understand poke battles in a more in depth manner.

Do not forget to also identify the types of peeks used by the opponents!

Conclusion

You may have noticed I’m not telling you what types of pokes to use, where and why. This is because there is no concrete answer unless we list every specific thing about any one moment. Instead I’m attempting to give you a way to self evaluate your own combat proficiency. Regarding how to behave in a poke battle.

This is one of my favorite aspects of Apex Legends. Getting rushed down often means you’re unable to give your opponent a reason to respect your space. Only adopting a rushing down playstyle or strategy means you’re unaware of why it sometimes works and sometimes does not.

I hope this helps.

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