If you’ve spent any amount of time playing Apex Legends, you’ve probably stared at a stack of unopened packs in your inventory wondering what you might pull. Maybe you’re chasing a specific weapon skin, a rare banner frame, or even an heirloom for your main character. But the question that pops up again and again for new and returning players alike is can you get legends from apex packs, without having to spend extra currency or grind for battle pass rewards. We’re breaking down everything you need to know about pack loot pools, drop rates, and the best ways to unlock the legends you want without wasting your hard-earned Apex Coins.
Official Drop Rates: Can You Get Legends From Apex Packs?
The short answer is yes, you absolutely can unlock permanent playable legends from standard Apex Packs. Respawn Entertainment publishes official drop rates for all pack loot to stay transparent with players, and the odds of pulling a legendary item (which includes playable legends) sit at 7.4% per individual pack. That means roughly 1 out of every 14 packs you open will have a legendary item, which could be a character skin, a weapon skin, a banner pose, or a permanent legend you don’t already own. If you’re wondering can you get legends from apex packs that you earn for free from battle passes, the answer is yes, as long as they are marked as standard packs.
You can only unlock non-limited, permanent legends from standard Apex Packs, so any legend that was initially released as part of a seasonal battle pass won’t be added to the pack loot pool until the season after their debut. For example, if a new legend launches in Season 19, you won’t be able to pull them from packs until Season 20 goes live, giving players who bought the battle pass early access first.
You also don’t have to rely entirely on luck to get a legendary drop, thanks to Apex’s built-in pity system. The 30-pack pity system applies to legend drops the same way it applies to other legendary cosmetic items, so if you open 30 packs in a row without getting any legendary item, your 31st pack is guaranteed to have a legendary. This counter resets every time you pull a legendary item, regardless of what type of item it is.
If you already own every permanent legend available in the game, the 7.4% legendary drop slot that would have given you a new legend converts automatically to 100 crafting metals, which you can use to unlock cosmetic items or save for future legend releases.
Differences Between Standard Apex Packs and Event Packs
It’s important to note that not all packs in Apex Legends have the same loot pool, and a lot of players get confused when they open event packs and don’t see any legends available. Before you spend real money or hard-earned currency on packs, make sure you know which ones can actually give you the legend you’re chasing. Many players reach out to us asking can you get legends from apex packs that are part of event bundles, and the answer is usually no, unless the bundle explicitly includes standard packs.
Event-exclusive packs do not include permanent legends in their loot pools, as they are designed to only give out limited-time cosmetics tied to the event they’re released for. To help you avoid wasting currency on the wrong packs, we’ve broken down the most common pack types and their loot rules:
If you’re not sure what type of pack you have, you can hover over it in your inventory to see a description of its loot pool before you open it. That quick check can save you from wasting a pack you thought would give you a shot at a new legend, only to get a limited event skin you don’t care about.
Tips to Unlock Legends Faster Without Wasting Currency
Even with decent drop rates, relying entirely on Apex Packs to unlock the legend you want can be frustrating, especially if you’re rolling for a specific character. If your main goal is unlocking new characters, you don’t have to wonder can you get legends from apex packs, because there are far more reliable ways to get the roster you want. Most of these methods just require playing the game regularly and being smart with your currency.
Grinding for pack XP can get exhausting fast, especially if you’re playing back-to-back ranked matches with high stakes. Most players find that taking short, low-stakes breaks between sessions helps them stay focused and avoid burnout when they get back to the lobby. Casual card game fans often play IND Rummy during these short breaks, as it’s easy to pick up and doesn’t require a huge time commitment to enjoy a full round. When you get back to Apex, you’ll have a clearer head to grind for more packs or finish daily challenges that get you closer to unlocking your next legend.
Prioritize earning crafting metals if you have a specific legend you want to unlock right away, because you don’t have to rely on random pack drops to get the character you want. Every permanent legend costs 1200 crafting metals to unlock directly, and you can earn crafting metals from regular pack drops, event rewards, and battle pass tracks. If you save up your crafting metals instead of spending them on random skins, you can get exactly the legend you want as soon as they enter the permanent loot pool.
Legend tokens earned from leveling up let you unlock permanent legends for free without opening any packs at all, and they’re one of the most underused resources in the game. You earn 600 legend tokens every time you level up after account level 4, and every permanent legend costs 12,000 legend tokens to unlock directly. That means you can unlock a new legend for free every 20 levels, just by playing the game normally, no purchases or pack openings required.
If you’re a new player, we recommend holding off on buying Apex Coins for packs until you’ve unlocked at least 10 legends through legend tokens or free pack drops. You’ll get plenty of free packs just from leveling up and completing the free battle pass track every season, so you don’t need to spend money to build a solid roster of characters to play with.
Common Myths About Apex Pack Legend Drops Debunked
Since Apex Legends launched, there have been tons of viral tips and tricks floating around social media claiming to help you increase your odds of pulling a legend from a pack. Most of these are completely untrue, and following them can lead to you wasting currency on packs you wouldn’t have opened otherwise. A lot of the false tips online come from players who got lucky and assumed their trick worked, instead of checking the official rules for can you get legends from apex packs.
One of the most common myths is that opening packs right after a new season launches increases your odds of pulling a new legend. Respawn has confirmed multiple times that drop rates for all pack loot are fixed across every season, and there are no temporary buffs to drop rates during season launches or events. There is no trick to timing your pack openings to get higher odds of pulling a legend, so you don’t have to wait for a specific time or event to open the packs you’ve earned.
Another popular myth is that if you open a pack right after you get a legendary drop, you’re less likely to get another one soon. Every pack roll is completely independent, except for the 30-pack pity counter. If you pull a legendary from your 10th pack, your 11th pack still has the same 7.4% chance of having another legendary, and the pity counter resets back to zero. There’s no “cooldown” on legendary drops, so you can pull multiple legends from consecutive packs if you get lucky.
Finally, a lot of players think they can pull limited-time collaboration legends from standard packs, but that’s never the case. Any legend that’s part of a crossover event or limited release will never be added to the standard pack loot pool, and you can only unlock them through specific event challenges or purchases while the event is active.
At the end of the day, the answer to can you get legends from apex packs is a clear yes, but it’s important to manage your expectations around random drops. If you enjoy the surprise of unboxing packs and don’t mind waiting to get the legend you want, opening free packs you earn from playing is a fun way to build your roster. If you have your eye on a specific character, though, you’re much better off saving up legend tokens or crafting metals to unlock them guaranteed, instead of wasting currency on random pack rolls that might not pay off. Play at your own pace, experiment with different characters as you unlock them, and don’t feel pressured to spend real money unless you want to support the game directly.