Apex Legends Heirlooms: Shards, Odds and How to Get One

Heirlooms in Apex Legends are Mythic tier cosmetic sets built around a unique melee weapon for one Legend, usually bundled with a banner pose and an intro quip. You get one either by spending 150 Heirloom Shards in the Mythic section of the Store, by completing all 24 items of a Collection Event that features a new Heirloom, or through an Heirloom Pack offer, and as of November 2026 shards still drop from fewer than 1 in 2,000 Apex Packs. This guide covers exactly how shards drop, how the 500 pack safety net works, the other routes to a set, and how to choose the right one when the shards finally arrive.

We checked these details against the official Apex Legends FAQ, EA Help's currency guide, the Apex Legends Fandom wiki's Heirloom page, the cross progression announcement and the Season 31 patch notes in November 2026.

What an Heirloom Set Includes

An Heirloom changes the skin and animations of your melee weapon, and the Fandom wiki notes that most come as sets containing a banner pose, an intro quip and the melee skin itself, with a few sets swapping in a kill quip, a banner frame or an emote. When you knock or kill someone with one, the kill feed replaces the usual "Melee" label with the Heirloom's name, which is a small but noticeable flex in every lobby.

Some Legends have more than one. The wiki lists two sets each for Wraith (Hope's Dusk and Hope's Dawn), Octane, Revenant (Dead Man's Curve and Death Grip) and Crypto (Biwon Blade and Durumi Blade), alongside single sets for many others such as Bloodhound, Lifeline, Pathfinder, Caustic, Gibraltar, Bangalore, Wattson, Valkyrie, Loba, Seer, Ash, Horizon and Fuse. Heirlooms are separate from Apex Artifacts, which are universal Mythic melee weapons any Legend can use; you obtain a base Artifact with Heirloom Shards or through an event, then customize it in a fixed order with Exotic Shards.

Collaboration Mythics, such as the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Buster Sword or the Gundam Epyon Heat Rod, are a third category. EA's FAQ is clear that partnership event Mythic items are not part of the Mythic Shop, so you cannot buy them with shards after their event ends.

How Heirloom Shards Drop

The official FAQ gives the numbers. Every time you open an eligible Apex Pack there is a 0.045 percent probability of receiving Heirloom Shards, and a pack that drops shards is not deducted from your inventory, so you still get its normal three items. EA Help describes the same odds as less than one percent, and the Fandom wiki notes that a shard drop is worth 150 shards, the price of one Heirloom set.

There is also a safety net. A player cannot open more than 500 eligible Apex Packs without receiving Heirloom Shards, but only if two conditions hold: you do not already own every base Mythic item in the Mythic Shop, and you do not already have enough shards to buy one you are missing. Once you own every available base Mythic item, packs stop counting toward the 500 until new items are added to the shop.

Not every pack counts. The FAQ excludes Collection Event Packs, Thematic Event Packs, Milestone Event Packs, Collection Retro Packs and any packs that might provide replacement items. If you are counting toward the 500, count only standard Apex Packs.

To spend shards, open the Store tab, choose Mythics, pick the item and select Purchase. Because shards are bound to your EA Account, the balance is the same on every platform you play on.

Other Ways to Get an Heirloom

Shards are the classic route, but they are not the only one. The Fandom wiki explains that a new Heirloom set typically debuts in a Collection Event, where unlocking all 24 of the event's items also unlocks the set; afterward the set moves into the Mythic Store for 150 shards.

EA has also sold Heirloom Pack offers in the store. According to the FAQ, each Heirloom Pack always contains an Heirloom you do not already own, drawn with equal odds from the sets you are missing. You cannot buy one if you already own every Heirloom, or buy a bundle that would exceed the number you are missing; the FAQ's example is that a player with 23 of 24 Heirlooms cannot buy a two pack bundle. Check the store for whether an offer is running, since these are limited offers rather than a permanent shop item.

Finally, there is the long route through free packs. Leveling from 2 to 2,000 awards up to 544 Apex Packs, and the free Battle Pass track adds a handful each split. Our account level guide breaks down when those packs arrive, and the Battle Pass guide covers the packs in the current Cipher pass. Since 544 is more than the 500 pack threshold, a player who levels far enough without buying a single pack still reaches the safety net, as long as they keep opening eligible packs and still have unowned base Mythics.

Heirloom Changes in Season 31

Cipher did not add a new Heirloom set, but two fixes in the patch notes matter to owners. First, Respawn says the Street Fighter Deathbox is now equipped on certain Heirlooms, after it was not working properly on Hadoken and Horizon's Heirloom. Second, Heirlooms with bright visual effects can no longer be seen through cloaking abilities, closing a visibility issue that had nothing to do with how good the cosmetic looked.

The season's Mythic attention went elsewhere. The new Mythic of Cipher is the Cryptic Core, a Mythic Volt SMG skin available as a possible drop in the Cipher Seasonal Packs. Its rethemes are bought with Exotic Shards, not Heirloom Shards, and Respawn notes the Seasonal Packs are not available in all regions.

Choosing Which Heirloom to Buy

A shard drop is rare enough that the choice deserves some thought.

• Buy for the Legend you actually play. An Heirloom only appears when you play that Legend, so a set for a Legend you never pick is wasted, however good it looks in a video.
• Check whether the Legend has two sets. For Wraith, Octane, Revenant and Crypto, compare both before committing, since you will only get one per drop.
• Think about bans if you play high Ranked. In Diamond and higher lobbies two Legends are banned each match, so a set for a very popular main may sit unused more often than you expect.
• Do not rush, but do not hoard. Shards keep until you spend them, yet the FAQ says the 500 pack bonus does not apply while you already hold enough shards to buy an unowned Mythic. Sitting on 150 shards for months therefore costs you progress toward the next drop.

Cross progression makes the purchase portable. Since October 2023, Heirloom Shards, Crafting Metals and Legend Tokens are bound to your EA Account with the same balance on every platform, and non exclusive cosmetics follow you between PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch 2. Our cross progression guide explains the exceptions, and our EA account guide covers linking so a platform change does not strand your Heirloom on an old account.

Heirloom Myths Worth Ignoring

Because shard drops are so rare, plenty of folklore has grown around them. These are the common claims that EA's own documentation contradicts.

• "Opening packs in bulk improves your odds." EA lists a single probability per eligible pack. Opening ten at once or one a day makes no difference to each pack's chance; only the 500 pack counter rewards volume, and it counts packs the same way regardless of timing.
• "You can craft an Heirloom with metals." No. EA Help says Mythic and Iconic items cannot be crafted, and the FAQ says base Mythic items can only come from Heirloom Shards or limited time events.
• "Event packs push you toward shards." Collection, Thematic and Milestone Event Packs are specifically excluded from the 500 pack bonus.
• "Heirlooms give a melee advantage." EA states that nothing it sells offers a gameplay advantage and that Apex Packs never contain items that do. An Heirloom changes how your melee looks, not how strong it is.

Treat any video or post that promises a trick for better shard odds with suspicion. The only levers that genuinely change your timeline are how many eligible packs you open and whether you meet the conditions for the 500 pack counter.

Starting With an Heirloom Already Unlocked

If waiting on a 0.045 percent drop is not appealing, the store lists a PC Apex Legends account that comes with 150 Heirloom Shards, so you choose any Heirloom yourself. The listing includes full access to the account's email with email login, says it works on PC, and notes that a Steam link is available. It is a PC only product.

Before buying any account, know the publisher's position: EA's User Agreement says your EA Account is yours and should not be shared, and its rules of conduct tell players not to be involved in account buying or selling. You can view the PC heirloom account listing or go back to the Apex Legends hub for the other services.

Frequently Asked Questions