How to change damage numbers in Apex Legends

Apex Legends’ damage numbers are an indicator that pops up above an enemy’s head when hit. Depending on your own preferences, the way these numbers are displayed can be changed. There are a myriad of reasons why players might want to change the way damage is displayed, so let’s get into that.

Damage numbers explanation

Each weapon in Apex Legends deals a set amount of damage per shot, with damage varying depending on headshots, bodyshots, range, and how many of the individual pellets connect with the target. Players receive immediate feedback of the damage they have dealt to the enemy via an on-screen pop-up.

The damage numbers will appear highlighted by different colors depending on whether the enemy was shielded, not shielded, or if the shot was a headshot.

The damage the opponent takes will either be against its shield or its health. Depending on whether you’re hitting shield or health will change the color of the damage numbers as well as the sound you hear.

A headshot will always appear as a gold number, regardless of whether the player is wearing armor.

The default setting for the damage numbers is that every shot that connects is displayed as an individual number. Gold numbers indicate a headshot; white, blue, and purple numbers mean a shield shot; red numbers indicates health has been hit.

Players who want to know how much damage they deal overall, without having to do some quick math, can change the damage numbers to be accumulative.

How to change damage numbers

Players who wish to change the damage numbers in Apex Legends can do so via the settings.

Open up Settings
Select the Gameplay tab
Find Damage Numbers in the list
Select either Off, Stacking, Floating, or Both

There are four options to choose from when changing Apex Legends' damage numbers.

The four options dictate how the damage numbers are displayed:

Off: No damage numbers are shown
Stacking: Show a combined number of all recent damage
Floating: Show one number for each damage event
Both: Show a combined number of all recent damage and a floating number for each event

The best option out of these is going to be either stacking or both, considering the most valuable information is how much damage you dealt an opponent in one moment. Being able to read a clean “105” tells you immediately how hurt they are and what move to make next.

Showing both stacking and floating means that you can track your hits with greater accuracy. This will allow you to see each individual bullet connection, where you hit, and how much damage it dealt as well as the overall damage. This will help you shift your aim on the fly, resulting in better damage output if you can land headshots. Furthermore, it allows you to cleanly know exactly how much damage you dealt to the target.

Apex Legends does an excellent job at giving the player immediate feedback on their shots. Not only does it offer hit markers of varying colors to represent shield and health, Apex Legends also boasts some clean damage number options. Choose the right damage number setup for you to help improve your chances of walking away from a fight with a kill under your belt.