EA released Apex Legends in an unusual way. Rather than spending months or years announcing it and developing anticipation, the company announced and released the game the same day. No hype, no marketing cycle, just a release and a lot of sponsored streams.
The main reason for this approach was the Apex packs, which are essentially loot boxes. EA’s relationship with loot boxes was so radioactive at the time that it was all but certain players would distrust it from the start if they found out about them beforehand. It seems they made the right call because players accepted Apex packs without much fuss. Here’s an overview of what they are and how to get them.
What Are Apex Packs
As stated above, Apex packs are akin to the standard loot boxes. The game’s business model relies on a variety of cosmetic items that you get from packs. These include weapon skins, banners, and finishers. Notably, though, you can’t get character skins via Apex packs.
Every pack has a chance to contain crafting materials. The crafting materials can be then used to create character skins. However, the chance of getting crafting materials is relatively low.
Packs are also the only way to get heirloom items. Heirloom items and sets are extremely rare but if you open a pack containing a set, it will not be consumed. Apex packs have a feature called bad luck protection, so you’re guaranteed to get a legendary item every 30 packs and an heirloom set every 500 packs.
How to Get Them
There are three ways to get packs. You can buy them for real money, or rather, an in-game currency called Apex Coins. A pack costs 100 coins which is roughly equivalent to one US dollar. Another way to get packs is by leveling up. Between level one and level 100 players can get 45 free packs. This is the only way to get packs for free so it’s appealing to most players.
There’s another paid way to get packs — by purchasing a Battle Pass. The Battle Pass allows players to collect various rewards by completing challenges during a season. Players can purchase a Battle Pass for 950 Apex Coins or a Battle Pass Bundle for 2800.
Finally, season two players get five Apex Packs for free. Along with the Hot Rod Watson skin and season two stat trackers.
The Best Way to Get Packs
Getting packs with Apex coins is certainly an option, but the chances of them containing the item you need are low. It’s a better use of coins to buy specific cosmetics that are on offer in the store. Leveling up ends up being the best way to obtain them because you get free packs. Here are some tips on how to level up fast and get those packs.
- The first one is to get kills. Every kill nets you 50 XP, which may not sound like much but it adds up pretty quickly.
- Don’t die. This one is probably the most important way to speed up your leveling process. Winning the match is obviously the goal, but don’t prioritize it over staying alive if you’re trying to level fast. Survival XP is counted by the minute and every minute you stay alive you get a cool 180XP. To put that into context, finish a 15-minute game without ever getting dropped for a nice 2,700 XP bonus.
- Get your friends in on the action. Playing in a group helps you in a couple of ways. If you finish in the top three with your friends, that’s 300 extra XP. The other perk of playing like this is a five per cent bonus to survival XP. 5% is not a whole lot but every bit counts.
- Hunt the champion. Every game has a champion, which is the player that did best in the previous match. It’s probably the winner from the last match so they won’t be easy to kill but if you manage to do so it’s another 500 XP. If you’re the champion in a match, congratulations and good luck trying to survive.
- Last but not least, win matches. Every match you win is 500 XP. Therefore, a great way to level up fast is to win more matches than you lose.
All Packed up with Nowhere to Go
There are no two ways about it — Apex packs are loot boxes. But before that term triggers you, they’re not that bad. The monetization model for Apex Legends is actually quite fair and the game’s user base is steadily growing.
To get Apex Packs you can shell out real money, sure, but you can also get them pretty easily by leveling up. There are several things you can do to level up and get your packs faster. If you don’t want to wait, you can buy some but you’ll find that the ones you get for free have quite a bit of content, too.
Do you think the Apex Packs are worth buying? Share the best item you ever got from a pack in the comments below.
