Apex Packs explained: Item drop rate, frequency and Heirlooms

Apex Packs are the Apex Legends equivalent of loot boxes, and are the primary way Apex Legends players can unlock skins, legend finishers and other in-game items. We've put together this breakdown of how to earn them, item drop rates and how you will eventually be rewarded even if you have terrible luck.

You earn Apex Packs through levelling up. In total you will earn 199 as level up rewards between Player Levels 2 - 500. To level up you need to gain experience through in-game actions such as kills, respawns and damage.

How to level up fast in Apex Legends

Outside of earning experience in-game, you can also claim them by levelling up a BattlePass through complete challenges or purchasing them for 100 Apex Coins. Apex Legends often runs Collection Events, which offer limited time skins in event-themed packs.

Apex Packs include in-game items, with the drop rate changing depending on the type of Apex Pack; Standard, Epic or Legendary. Each contains three items with at least one item being rare or better.

As part of what EA have called "Bad luck protection" - more commonly known as a pity system in gacha games - if you continue to have bad luck with drops the system will reward you after a while. You can not open more than 30 Apex Packs without receiving a Legendary Item. You also can not receive duplicates, which is a refreshing change from other games.

There are currently four item rarities in Apex Legends; Common, Rare, Epic and Legendary.

The type of items available are:

Cosmetics you already own will not drop, so you don't need to worry about duplicates. The only item you can receive duplicates of is Crafting Metals, which can drop within any rarity tier. Crafting Metals can be used to unlock skins, voicelines and quips amongst other things.

You can check how many Apex Packs you have opened via your Player Account level number. You can also use the Apex Pack calculator on Apex Legend Status, but it will require you to register first.

The frequency you receive them changes depending on your level. At lower levels you will receive Apex Packs more often.

EA confirmed this in their Apex Legends FAQ.

Every time you open an Apex Pack there is a <1% chance of Heirloom Shards dropping. However, you will receive guaranteed Heirloom Shards after opening 500.

Given you can only earn 199 Apex Packs from Player Account leveling, it means if you want to get the guaranteed "free" Heirloom, you'll need Apex Coins to buy the extra packs required. Alternatively purchasing the BattlePass or participating in events is another method. If you're lucky with RNG however, you'll get that Heirloom much quicker.