Heirloom Sets can be obtained in one of two ways: Spending $168 USD to buy every single item in a Collection Event, or purchasing the Heirloom Weapon for 150 Heirloom Shards. A new Heirloom Set releases alongside each Collection Event, meaning players can only purchase that specific weapon via the event (though the game's annual anniversary event often includes Heirloom Shards as a reward instead of a specific Heirloom Weapon). But both the Collection Event route and the Heirloom Shard route have their pros and cons.
Collection Events
The cheapest way to go about purchasing all 24 cosmetic items included in a Collection Event is by opening Event Packs, special Apex Packs that cost $7 each. As mentioned above, purchasing all 24 Collection Event items via Event Packs will set you back $168, but there's a way to game the system a bit: Crafting Metals.
Each Collection Event features 12 Epic-tier cosmetics that can be purchased individually for 1,000 Apex Coins ($10 USD) and 12 Legendary-tier cosmetics that can be purchased individually for 1,800 Apex Coins ($18 USD). But these items can also be obtained via Crafting Metals, an in-game currency that can only be gained by opening standard Apex Packs ($1 USD each) or completing a Collection Event's free reward track. Legendary-tier Collection Event items can be unlocked for 2,400 Crafting Metals, and Epic-tier items require 800 Crafting Metals.
Because each $7 Event Pack is guaranteed to include one item from the current Collection Event (with no duplicate items), the cheapest way to obtain an Heirloom Weapon from a Collection Event is by using Crafting Metals to unlock as many of the event's Epic-tier cosmetics as possible. If you've managed to save up 9,600 Crafting Metals, you'll be able to craft all 12 Epic-tier cosmetics, meaning that any Event Packs you open after unlocking the Epic-tier items will be guaranteed to include one of the event's Legendary-tier cosmetics. With all 12 Epic-tier cosmetics unlocked, you'll only need to purchase 12 of the $7 Event Packs to complete the collection, reducing the total cost to unlock the event's Heirloom Set from $168 USD to $84 USD. If you have more than 9,600 Crafting Metals, you can use them to unlock some of the event's Legendary-tier items as well, further reducing the amount you'll need to spend to unlock the Heirloom Weapon.
Once a Collection Event ends, the Heirloom Set is moved to the Mythic Store, where it can only be obtained by spending 150 Heirloom Shards.
Heirloom Shards
Unlike the Collection Event method, which will unlock one specific legend's weapon, Heirloom Shards allow players to choose any Heirloom Weapon they want, which is great for anyone who may have missed out on an opportunity to get one via a Collection Event. But there's one major downside to Heirloom Shards: They are incredibly rare, and they cannot be purchased or gifted to other players.
With the exception of some anniversary Collection Events, the only way to get your hands on a set of Heirloom Shards is by opening standard $1 Apex Packs, and the odds are incredibly low. Players are guaranteed to get at least one set of 150 Heirloom Shards (enough to buy an Heirloom) for every 500 Apex Packs they open, meaning each Apex Pack has a 0.2% chance of producing a set of Heirloom Shards. Some players have gotten Heirloom Shards from their very first Apex Pack, others haven't received it until their 500th Apex Pack.
But on the bright side, players don't necessarily have to spend any money to get their hands on an Apex Pack. They're included in the game's premium battle pass each season (though the pass itself does cost $9.50 USD), and can also be obtained by completing event challenges during Collection Events. In addition to premium cosmetics, each Collection Event also features a free reward track that almost always includes an Apex Pack or two. Respawn has also been known to hand out a few free packs at other times, too--often during the holidays or the annual anniversary event. Keeping an eye on the official Apex Legends Twitter account is a good idea, since players can occasionally earn free Apex Packs from participating in certain Apex-related activities, like watching certain Apex streamers on Twitch. These opportunities are almost always announced on Twitter.
Apex Packs can also be obtained en masse and at a discount on a semi-regular basis by purchasing Apex Pack bundles, which often appear in the in-game store and usually include a cosmetic item or two, plus anywhere from 2 to 100 Apex Packs.
Obtaining Heirloom Shards with Apex Packs can be frustrating, especially since getting the Heirloom Shards can cost anywhere from $0 (from opening a free Apex Pack) to $500 (for the statistically unlucky). But the Heirloom Shard route also gives players the option to choose any Heirloom they want. Still, if there's a specific Heirloom Weapon you're dying to get your hands on, you're better off obtaining it via a Collection Event rather than waiting for it to enter the Mythic Store and hoping you get lucky with Apex Packs/Heirloom Shards.
Regardless of how you go about getting those elusive Heirloom Shards, what really matters is what you do with them. Below, you'll find a gallery that provides an item-by-item breakdown of every Heirloom Set's contents, including the two Mythic-tier, non-Heirloom Weapon cosmetic items included in each set. Additionally, you'll get a closer look at every Heirloom's rarest inspection/equip animations and some details on the lore behind each weapon to help ensure you don't experience any buyer's remorse once you've spent those precious Heirloom Shards.
