Apex Legends

How to Get the 20 Bomb Badge in Apex Legends (20 Kills)

-Proxiio

Monday, March 24, 2025

The 20 Bomb is the badge you get for 20 kills in a single Apex Legends match. Next to Predator, it is one of the hardest things to show on a banner. You need a fast start, a squad that plays for you, and a lobby that doesn't run out of players before you finish.

This guide covers how to plan a 20 kill game: who to play with, legends whose kits help, what to carry, where to land, and how to close out the last few kills.

Key takeaways

Table of Contents

1. What is the 20 Bomb badge?
2. How to get the 20 kill badge
3. Which modes count for the 20 Bomb?
4. Play with a squad that feeds you kills
5. Best legends for a 20 bomb
6. Best weapons for a 20 bomb
7. Where to land for a 20 bomb
8. Mid game: keep moving and third-party
9. Late game: closing out the last kills
10. Advanced tips
11. Common mistakes that end a 20 bomb run
12. The mental game
13. What about the 4K Damage badge?
14. Need help? Try a 20 Bomb badge boost

What is the 20 Bomb badge?

The 20 Bomb, also called the 20 Kills badge or Legend's Wake, unlocks when you get 20 or more kills in a single match. Each legend has its own version, so the badge also shows which legend you did it on.

Here's what the 20 Bomb badge looks like in-game:

For every other badge in the game and how hard each one is, see our Apex Legends badge guide.

How to get the 20 kill badge

Here's the plan in short. Each step has its own section below.

1. Queue with teammates who know you're going for the badge.
2. Pick a legend with mobility, so you can chase fights.
3. Run an assault rifle with an SMG: R-301 or Nemesis, plus a Prowler, C.A.R. or R-99.
4. Land near a busy drop, loot the basics, then fight.
5. Aim for at least 6 kills while 30 or more players are alive.
6. Follow gunfire all game and third-party every fight you can reach.
7. In the final rings, let the last teams fight each other, then clean up.

Which modes count for the 20 Bomb?

The badge only counts in standard battle royale matches. Mixtape modes like Team Deathmatch and Control don't count, however many kills you get there.

Limited-time event modes vary. Some have counted toward badges in the past, so check the event details before you spend a session on one.

Play with a squad that feeds you kills

Ditch the randoms if you can. Random teammates will take kills and play their own game, even when they mean well. One stolen kill per fight adds up fast when you need 20.

Queue with friends who know the goal and are happy to play support. Good support teammates:

• Crack shields and create distractions, then let you finish the knocks.
• Call where enemy teams are so you never wait around for a fight.
• Rotate with you straight away instead of looting every death box.

If you aren't playing Axle yourself, ask a teammate to pick her. Her Nitro Gate gets the whole squad across open ground to the next fight, which saves a lot of time in the mid game.

Best legends for a 20 bomb

Mobility comes first. The faster you can reach a fight, the more teams you catch at low health. Legend kits get tuned most seasons, so treat this as a list of kits that suit the job, not a tier list.

Legends that chase fights

• Pathfinder: His grapple gets you into fights quickly and out of bad ones. His zipline moves the whole squad. He's a common first pick for 20 kill attempts.
• Octane: Stim and the jump pad keep you moving from one fight to the next with little downtime.
• Axle: Nitro Gate speeds the whole squad into a fight, and her Kickstart drone chases down and launches enemies who try to escape. Respawn toned her down on October 1, but she is still one of the fastest ways to close a gap.

Legends that start and finish fights

• Ash: Her snare holds enemies in place, and her ultimate portal lets you cross open ground to a fight or get out of one.
• Wraith: Phase gets you out of trouble mid-fight, and her portal helps with rotations.
• Revenant: His jump and ultimate support aggressive pushes into teams that are holding a building.

Legends that keep a run going

• Loba: Her ultimate pulls ammo and shield cells from nearby, so you can top up and keep fighting. Her teleport helps you reposition.
• Ballistic: His ultimate boosts your weapons, which helps you win the duels that decide a 20 bomb.

Best weapons for a 20 bomb

Skip the long-range weapons and the shotguns. A 20 bomb is won by knocking teams fast at close and mid range, and in Season 30 the SMGs cover both distances well enough that a shotgun slot is wasted.

Run an assault rifle as your primary and an SMG as your secondary:

• Primary: the R-301 or the Nemesis. Both hold accuracy at range and still win close fights.
• Secondary: the Prowler, C.A.R. or R-99, for pushes, buildings and finishing knocks.

The Nemesis is an energy weapon. Since Season 30 it has no lootable ammo: it carries about three magazines of stockpile that regenerates over time. If you chain fights back to back, lean on the SMG while the Nemesis refills, or take the R-301 if you'd rather not manage it.

At the Season 30 launch all five were floor loot, and the 30-30 Repeater moved into the care package. The meta shifts with balance patches, so check this list again when a new season or split starts.

Where to land for a 20 bomb

Your drop can end a 20 bomb attempt before it starts. Land near a busy drop, but not right in the middle of it. That gives you a few seconds to grab a gun and shields, while staying close enough to third-party the early fights.

Which spots are busiest changes with the map rotation and map updates. Watch where most squads jump from the ship and land on the edge of that area.

Loot fast. Momentum matters more than a full kit, and the early fights won't wait for you.

Set yourself a pace target. Aim for at least 6 kills while 30 or more players are still alive. If you're far behind that and the lobby is thinning out, it's often better to call it and requeue.

Mid game: keep moving and third-party

The mid game is where most 20 kill attempts die. Once the drop fights end, you need to keep moving. Use every rotation tool you have: jump towers, vehicles and legend abilities.

Treat gunshots as your cue to move. Head toward them straight away.

Don't get precious about loot or positioning. That perfect attachment won't help if half the lobby dies while you're looting. Pushing a fight with slightly worse gear beats missing it.

When you have to choose, third-party the fight. If you can either chase a team that is looting or rotating, or hit two teams already fighting each other, take the fight. Both teams are damaged and distracted, so you get more kills in less time than chasing down a full-health squad.

Late game: closing out the last kills

In the final rings, play smarter while staying aggressive. Third-partying matters even more, but timing is everything.

Say you're 2 or 3 kills away and three enemy teams are still alive. Let them start fights with each other, then strike when they're weak.

Don't always finish knocks straight away. A downed player can bait their teammates into a bad revive or a rushed push. Letting a team try to reset, revive or heal can give you more kill chances, not fewer. This is a risk call: if the team could escape or a fourth team is closing in, take the kill.

Advanced tips

Shield swap instead of healing. Rather than stopping to pop batteries, loot a fresh shield from an eliminated player's death box. It keeps your momentum up between fights.

Use finishers carefully. A finisher fully recharges your shield and can bait nearby teams into pushing you. It also locks you in an animation, so only do it when you're sure no one can punish it.

Keep comms short. Call damage numbers and enemy positions, nothing else. Your teammates should help push enemies into spots where you can take the kills.

Common mistakes that end a 20 bomb run

• Over-looting: Loot fast, then fight.
• Playing too passively: Waiting for teams to come to you wastes the lobby.
• Chasing full-health squads: A third-party on two fighting teams is faster.
• Ignoring rotations: Always be moving toward the next fight.
• Carrying long-range weapons: Poking doesn't get kills quickly enough.
• Playing scared near the end: Hesitating at 18 or 19 kills loses more runs than pushing does.

The mental game

Getting the 20 kill badge is as much about mindset as skill. You'll fail, probably a lot. Some attempts end at the drop. Others end at 18 or 19 kills. Accept that as part of the process. Each attempt teaches you something about timing, rotations and which fights to take.

Keep track of the lobby count and your kills, but don't let the numbers freeze you. Play to create chances, not to avoid failing. The moment you start playing scared, the attempt is usually over.

Lobby pacing matters too. Some games line up perfectly, and in others you'll struggle to find enough players.

What about the 4K Damage badge?

The 4K Damage badge (Legend's Wrath) needs 4,000 damage in one match, and it rewards a different style: poking from range and letting enemies heal so you can damage them again. You can get both badges in the same game, but going for 4K on purpose means slowing fights down instead of ending them fast. For legends, loadouts and the damage farming method, read our 4K Damage badge guide.

Need help? Try a 20 Bomb badge boost

The 20 Bomb is meant to be hard. If you've had dozens of attempts end short, you have a few options.

With a 20 Bomb badge boost, an experienced Apex player plays on your account until the badge unlocks. They play manually, with no cheats or third-party software, and you can track the order and chat with your booster. Boosting and account sharing go against EA's terms of service, so the risk can't be fully removed, even with manual play.

If you'd rather earn it yourself, Apex coaching can help with fight selection and rotations. And if you want a bigger career kill count rather than the badge itself, look at kills boosting.