The recent launch of Apex Legends Season 15: Eclipse has introduced some new features to the game, including stickers, a UI overhaul, and the ability to send gifts to your friends. But when so many new game mechanics are implemented at the same time, bugs are bound to pop up here and there. Most are irritating at best and game-breaking at worst, but every once in a while, a truly unique one appears, like the newly reported bug that unlocks Heirloom Weapons free of charge.
According to a recent thread in the official Apex Legends subreddit, some players have found themselves in possession of an Heirloom Weapon they do not yet own. The bug appears to be related to an issue that causes the game to lag when calculating a player's in-game currencies upon first logging in. These currencies include Apex Coins, Legend Tokens, Crafting Metals, and Heirloom Shards, which are used to purchase the coveted cosmetic weapons. Based on footage of the bug in action, it appears that this glitch applies to both Heirloom Weapons and Prestige Skins.
I got bloodhound’s heirloom? No idea how? Never got heirloom shards or from the store. It sorta just appeared when I logged in. Any explanation?? from apexlegends
In the comments section of the Reddit post, the author of the post asked other players how exactly they'd managed to unlock Bloodhound's Heirloom without actually buying it.
"When you’re in the lobby and the server is too slow (AC, crafting metals and legend coins are loading) you can go to a legend and equip the heirloom," explained Reddit user /u/Real-Snoxy.
The bug appeared sometime in the last few days, and could be the result of the 2.10 patch, which was released yesterday with no patch notes or acknowledgement from Respawn. Because of this, there's no way of knowing exactly what the update contained.
According to those who have experienced the bug, navigating to a legend's loadout page immediately after logging in will give players the option to equip that legend's Heirloom Weapon--even if they haven't unlocked it. It's not yet clear if this is a platform-specific issue, but we've seen some players successfully pull it off on PC. Now, players are wondering whether they'll get to keep their free Heirloom Weapons (unlikely), and how Respawn will go about removing all un-purchased Heirloom Weapons from player inventories.
Although Heirlooms are functionally useless and have no effect on gameplay, the cosmetic melee weapons are well-loved by Apex players. Despite being difficult and often quite expensive to unlock, the striking weapon designs and rare animations have won over a good deal of the playerbase (though there is certainly room for improvement when it comes to Heirloom designs).
Normally, Heirloom Weapons are introduced via Collection Events. Players who purchase all 24 cosmetic items included in the Collection Event (costing roughly $170 USD) will unlock that event's Heirloom Weapon. After the Collection Event ends, that event's Heirloom Weapon is then moved to the Mythic Store, where it (and all other Heirlooms) can be purchased for 150 Heirloom Shards.
But there's a catch: Heirloom Shards can only be obtained via Apex Packs, and they aren't always easy to come by. Players are guaranteed to unlock at least one set of Heirloom Shards for every 500 Apex Packs they open, meaning they must have a great deal of patience--or spare cash--to get their hands on an Heirloom. Some players are lucky enough get their Heirloom Shards from the very first Apex Pack they open, while others must wait patiently for the RNG gods to bless them.
Depending on how you go about unlocking it, a single Heirloom weapon will cost you anywhere from $170 to $500, so it's no surprise players are excited about the opportunity to "test-drive" Heirlooms they haven't unlocked yet. So far, the general consensus among the Apex playerbase seems to be that Respawn will certainly rectify the issue, and players will not be allowed to keep their ill-begotten gains. But that raises another issue, the 50,000 Apex Coin question: Is taking advantage of the bug a bannable offense?
"Considering how widespread this glitch [is] I would be very surprised if they issued permabans because they would be banning a good chunk of their playerbase if they did," said Reddit user /u/thornierlamb.
Still, we don't recommend attempting to replicate this bug. If you're really dying to get your hands on an Heirloom Weapon you can actually keep, the best way to do so (without spending loads of IRL cash) is to simply play the game. With the recently raised level cap, players can now earn a total of 544 Apex Packs just by reaching the maximum level, guaranteeing them at least one pack of Heirloom Shards, entirely free of charge.
But if you're itching to know exactly how close you are to the 500-pack threshold, check out the Apex Packs Calculator, an excellent fan-made tool that helps players gauge how many more packs they need to obtain to claim their first set of free Heirloom Shards and unlock an Heirloom they can actually keep.
Apex Legends is free to play on console and PC. A mobile version of the game, Apex Legends Mobile, is available for download on Android and iOS devices.