How to get Heirloom Shards in Apex Legends

To get Heirloom Shards in Apex Legends, open eligible Apex Packs. Shards can drop at random, with a bonus protecting eligible players from opening more than 500 qualifying packs without receiving them. Earn packs through account levelling and the Battle Pass, then use your Shards in the Mythics shop.

This route covers Season 30, Marked, launched on 4 August 2026, including Split 2 from 15 September, with the currency rules checked on 16 October. It applies on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Switch 2. The original Switch version stopped being playable on 4 August 2026.

Earn packs before buying more

Play matches to raise your account level and work through the Battle Pass rewards available to you. Both provide ways to earn Apex Packs through play. Check the rewards on your current pass before choosing an objective, especially when your aim is a pack rather than another cosmetic. Pack availability varies by region.

You can also buy ordinary packs through Store, then Apex Packs. A single pack costs 100 Apex Coins; ten cost 1,000. Check the pack name and quantity before spending. Buying packs gives you more openings, so decide on a budget before starting rather than buying repeatedly after an unlucky run.

Separate the drop chance from the bonus

The published random Heirloom Shard probability is 0.045% per Apex Pack. Treat that as a chance on an opening, rather than a countdown you can convert into a promised number of matches. The 500-pack protection is a separate safeguard. A run of ordinary cosmetic drops can still happen before you reach it.

Plan your next opening around the pack you actually have. A guaranteed Legendary cosmetic and a Heirloom Shard award are different rewards: a gold item alone is not the result you are collecting. When Shards drop, the bonus opening does not deduct an Apex Pack from your inventory, so check your remaining packs before assuming the opening failed.

Count eligible packs, not every event opening

Leave these types out of any estimate towards the 500-pack Heirloom bonus:

• Collection Event Packs
• Thematic Event Packs
• Milestone Event Packs
• Collection Retro Packs
• Packs that may provide replacement items

Check your Mythics collection and Shard balance too. The protection has ownership and currency conditions: you must still have an available Base Mythic cosmetic to obtain and lack enough Shards to obtain an unowned qualifying item. Collaboration items are excluded. Once you own all available qualifying Base Mythics, openings stop counting towards that bonus until more are added.

You cannot view your lifetime pack-opening count in-game. Keep your own record of pack types and openings if you want an estimate, and separate excluded event packs from ordinary ones. At the end of a session, log only packs you actually opened; unopened rewards have not advanced your estimate. A high account level by itself cannot tell you that the next opening will award Shards, especially when your history includes several different pack types.

Choose the Mythic before spending your Shards

Open Store, select Mythics and choose the item you want. Check its listed currency and cost before selecting Purchase. Keep a note of the item name before confirming your selection. Keep Exotic Shards for their separate role in Artifact customisation and other offers. If you are choosing a playable character instead of a cosmetic, use the Legend unlock route and its own currencies.

Read a Heirloom Pack offer separately: it grants an unowned Heirloom drawn from its available pool, rather than letting you spend Shards on a specific choice. For a particular item, inspect that item's Mythics listing first. After your purchase, check your owned Heirlooms in Mythics to confirm the result.