How to Get Heirloom Shards in Apex Legends (2026)

Heirlooms are the one cosmetic every Apex player eventually chases, and almost everyone misunderstands how the drop actually works. There are two paths: a random lottery you cannot influence, and a guaranteed pity timer you can track. This page is about not wasting money on the lottery.

The numbers that actually matter

• Random drop rate: 0.045% per Apex Pack. That is roughly 1 in 2,222 per opening. It is a chance on each pack, not a countdown.
• Pity guarantee: 150 shards within 500 eligible Apex Packs. If you have not received shards, the 500th eligible pack is guaranteed to pay out. One set of shards = 150, which buys one Heirloom or one Tier-1 Prestige skin in the Mythics store.
• One shard set per Heirloom. Packs cannot be aimed at a specific heirloom — the shards are what let you choose.

Which packs count toward the 500 (most people get this wrong)

Only ordinary Apex Packs advance the counter. These do not count, so stacking event packs does nothing for your pity:

• Collection Event Packs
• Thematic Event Packs
• Milestone Event Packs
• Collection Retro Packs
• Replacement-item packs

You also cannot see your lifetime pack count in-game, so keep your own record if you want a real estimate — and separate event packs from ordinary ones.

The two real ways to get shards

1. Open eligible packs through play. Account leveling and the Battle Pass both pay out ordinary Apex Packs. This is the slow, free route, and the pity timer only moves on the eligible ones.
2. Collection Events (the fast free route). EA’s own guidance says you can often earn Heirlooms through Collection Events — collect every item in the set during the event window and a bonus Heirloom is unlocked. The Blood Pact event (October 13 – November 3, 2026) is the current live example. After the event, that Heirloom moves into the permanent Mythics store for 150 shards.

What does NOT work

• Buying packs chasing a drop. At 0.045% you are funding EA, not accelerating your heirloom. A single pack is 100 Apex Coins; ten is 1,000. Set a budget, then stop.
• Crafting Metals. They unlock Common through Legendary cosmetics only (30 / 60 / 400 / 1,200 Metals). Mythic and Iconic items — Heirlooms included — are locked out of that system entirely.
• Assuming “500 packs” means any 500 packs you opened. Excluded event packs do not count, and the counter pauses once you own every available Base Mythic or already hold enough shards.

If your goal is a specific Heirloom, the pragmatic play is to grind the Battle Pass for eligible packs and grab the free Collection Event reward when one is live — not to open your wallet. For the guns you will be using while you wait, see the Apex weapon tier list, and pair the grind with stable Apex settings so the climb does not stall.