For a free to play game, Apex Legends is awesome. It’s a top quality game from a respected studio, it genuinely plays well and is not, so far, pay to win. To help keep the lights on, there are microtransactions and in-game currencies within the game. One of which is Legend Tokens. This tutorial is going to show you how to get earn Legend Tokens in Apex Legends.
Lots of us were really nervous when we were told that Apex Legends was going to be free to play. We had seen the formula before. Release a mediocre game with an in-game store and nickel and dime players until we all go broke.
Fortunately, Apex Legends didn’t do that. There is an in-game store. There are microtransactions. There are in-game currencies but they are completely optional. So far at least, the store items are cosmetic and while they look cool, they don’t impact gameplay at all. There are two unlockable characters which you can buy to play but you can also earn the currency to play them.
It is a very well balanced system that earns money for the publisher without getting in the way of the game itself. It is a system that even though we don’t have to pay, we want to pay to encourage more developers to use a system like this.
Legend Tokens in Apex Legends
Apex Legends has three in-game currencies. Apex Coins which you pay for with cash. Legend Tokens which you earn in game and Crafting Metals which enable you to craft items.
You can pay real money for Apex Coins and unlock everything immediately if that’s your thing. Otherwise you can earn Legend Tokens through playing the game and acquire Crafting Metals as you level in Apex Packs. Apex Coins will unlock anything in the store but so will Legend Tokens. It may take a while to earn them, but you don’t have to pay a dime for the game if you don’t want to.
Apex Coins come in various amounts:
- 1,000 Apex Coins – $10 / £8
- 2,000 (+ 150 Bonus) Apex Coins – $20 / £16
- 4,000 (+350 Bonus) Apex Coins – $40 / £32
- 6,000 (+750 Bonus) Apex Coins – $60 / £48
- 10,000 (+1500 Bonus) Apex Coins – $100 / £80
These amounts will likely change as currencies fluctuate but these are the current values. You can exchange your Apex Coins for in-game items in the store.
Earning Legend Tokens
When you play a game, your reward at the end depends on how well you did. Get taken out within seconds and you will receive a paltry reward at the end. Make it into the top ten or top six and your reward will be much more generous. Your reward will come in the form of XP which helps you level. Every time you level you get 600 Legend Tokens and an Apex Pack.
Those Legend Tokens will mount up to be spent later as you see fit. Apex Packs are made up of a random mix of Crafting Metals, emotes, weapon skins, player skins and other good stuff. Most of it cosmetic and will not affect gameplay.
Spending Legend Tokens
The way the store is set up in Apex Legends is superb. Everything has an Apex Coin value and a Legend Token value. Sure, everything seems quite expensive right now but at least it isn’t PTW.
There are two characters you can unlock, Caustic and Mirage. There are also weapon skins, player skins and other cosmetic items. These items change fairly regularly to keep you spending.
To spend your Legend Tokens, go to the Store tab in the main screen and select an item to buy. Select to use your Legend Tokens to unlock, confirm your choice and your items will be unlocked and placed in Legends or Armory depending on what you unlocked. You just need to select the item and use it as you do with the Apex Pack unlocks.
You are free to spend your Legend Tokens how you wish but most players will unlock Caustic and Mirage first. Even if you’re happy playing one of the others, having those two in your inventory is more satisfying than a few weapon skins. If you like showing off your achievements, playing Caustic or Mirage shows the world you’re going far. Plus, Mirage is actually a cool player to play!
I think Apex Legends has built the in-game store to beat all in-game stores. The items are expensive right now for sure but the ability to pay with earned coin or bought coin and only cosmetically change the game while making those items worth having is a work of genius. This should become the blueprint for all future in-game stores!
