If you’ve spent any amount of time playing Apex Legends, you’ve definitely seen other players running around with flashy, unique melee cosmetics tied to their favorite legends. These rare, character-specific items are only unlockable with heirloom shards, and new players constantly ask how do you get heirloom shards in Apex Legends without dropping hundreds of dollars on the game. I’ve been playing Apex since its launch, unlocked three heirlooms myself without spending extra cash outside of battle passes, so I’ve put together all the proven methods and common mistakes to avoid to help you get your shards faster.
How Do You Get Heirloom Shards in Apex Legends: The Core Mechanic Explained
First, you need to understand that heirloom shards only drop from Apex Packs, the game’s standard loot box reward. There is no other official way to earn heirloom shards directly from challenges, event rewards, or rank up bonuses as of the latest season. Respawn Entertainment set a hard pity system to make sure you don’t have to grind forever to get shards: you are guaranteed to get 150 heirloom shards (the exact amount needed for one heirloom set) every 500 Apex Packs you open, no exceptions. That means even if you have terrible luck, you will never open more than 499 packs without getting shards. I’ve hit the pity limit once myself, right around 487 packs, and I know dozens of other players who hit it between 450 and 500 packs too, so the system works exactly as advertised. But there are ways to get more Apex Packs faster, which in turn speeds up how quickly you get your shards.
Top Ways to Earn Free Apex Packs to Speed Up Heirloom Shard Drops
The fastest way to get heirloom shards without spending extra money is to maximize the number of free Apex Packs you earn every season. I’ve tested all of these methods over 18 seasons, and these are the only ones that consistently give you extra packs for no extra cost:
- Level up your account and battle pass: You get one Apex Pack every level from 2 to 500, plus 19 free Apex Packs from the free track of every seasonal battle pass, even if you don’t buy the premium version. If you hit level 500, you can reset your account level to keep earning more packs, with no cap on how many you can earn over time.
- Complete seasonal event challenges: Most limited-time events, from the annual Anniversary Event to Halloween’s Fight or Fright, give away 1 to 3 free Apex Packs for completing easy, low-effort challenges like winning one match or getting 10 kills with a specific weapon type. These challenges usually don’t require much extra grinding, so you can knock them out while you play regular matches.
- Climb ranked splits: If you hit Platinum rank or higher in either ranked split of a season, you get 1 free Apex Pack as part of your ranked reward, plus additional crafting metals you can use for other cosmetics while you wait for shards. Even casual players can hit Platinum with a little practice, so it’s worth pushing for if you play ranked semi-regularly.
A common mistake I see new players make is skipping free battle pass tiers because they think the premium track is the only one worth grinding. But the free track gives you almost 20 packs a season, which adds up fast if you play consistently. If you play 3 to 4 hours a week, you can easily finish the entire free battle pass track every season without breaking a sweat. I usually finish the free track two weeks before the season ends, and that’s only playing a couple of matches after work most days.
What to Avoid When Grinding for Heirloom Shards
There are a lot of bad tips floating around online about how to get heirloom shards faster, and most of them are either scams or completely useless. There are no “pack opening tricks” that change your odds of getting shards – the drop rate is fixed at 1 in 500 packs, and the order of drops is determined as soon as you earn the pack, not when you open it. That means opening packs at a certain time, or only opening 3 packs at a time, or equipping a specific legend won’t change your luck at all. I tested one of these tricks last year where you’re supposed to open packs only when you win a match, and I went 80 packs without a single shard drop, so it’s completely fake.
Another thing to avoid is buying individual Apex Packs with Apex Coins if you only care about heirloom shards. You get way more value by buying the seasonal premium battle pass, which gives you enough Apex Coins from its track to buy the next season’s battle pass for free, plus 25 extra Apex Packs on top of the free track rewards. I used to waste coins on individual packs when I first started playing, and I got zero shards from 70+ packs I bought that way, so I learned that lesson the hard way. Never use third-party sites that promise free heirloom shards – all of these are phishing scams designed to steal your account information, and Respawn will never give away shards through unofficial channels.
Alternative Ways to Get Heirloom Items Without Heirloom Shards
Wait, you don’t always have to wait for heirloom shard drops to get your favorite legend’s heirloom. Respawn regularly runs collection events that feature a new heirloom as the grand prize, and if you collect all 24 limited-time cosmetics in the event, you get the heirloom for free, no shards required. These collection events are the only way to get specific new heirlooms immediately when they launch, and you can often unlock 3 to 5 of the 24 required items for free from event challenges, so you don’t have to buy every item with coins or crafting metals.
If you already have some crafting metals saved up, you can use those to buy the lower-rarity event items first, which cuts down the total cost a lot. I got Wraith’s Kunai heirloom during one of the Anniversary collection events by combining free challenge rewards, saved crafting metals, and a small amount of coins I got from the premium battle pass, and I spent less than $20 total for it, which is way cheaper than buying 500 packs. If you only care about one specific legend’s heirloom, waiting for its featured collection event rerun is often faster than grinding for random shard drops, especially if you don’t play enough to earn hundreds of packs a year. Just keep an eye on official patch notes to see when older heirlooms are getting rerun in events.
At the end of the day, there’s no magic shortcut to getting rare heirloom cosmetics, but understanding how do you get heirloom shards in Apex Legends makes the grind way less frustrating. Stick to earning free packs from battle passes and events, avoid wasting coins on individual packs or falling for scams, and you’ll have enough shards for your favorite heirloom before you know it. I’m currently grinding for Valkyrie’s heirloom, and I’m already at 320 packs on my pity counter, so I’m expecting to get my shards sometime next season if I keep up my regular play schedule. If you have any tips that worked for you, drop them in the comments below!