Apex Legends microtransactions guide: explaining Crafting Metals, Legend Tokens, and Apex Coins

Apex Legends has already proven its popularity with 10 million players. While some of those players likely won’t stick around, for those that do, the game’s microtransactions and currencies will be the gateway to new skins and characters.

The game has three different currencies with slightly different uses and ways to earn them. Here’s our breakdown on what exactly each of the game’s currencies are used for.

In-game currencies

Apex Legends has three in-game currencies: Crafting Metals, Legend Tokens, and Apex Coins. In this section, we’ll explain what they do and how to get them.

Crafting Metals

Crafting Metals, which you get from opening Apex Packs, unlock cosmetic items. Each tier of skin costs the same amount of Crafting Metals: Legendary skins cost 1,200; Epic skins cost 400; Rare skins cost 60; and Common skins cost 30.

Technically, because you can earn Apex Packs by just playing the game, this currency is free. But you can also purchase Apex Packs with real money, netting you more Crafting Metals more quickly. It really just depends on how much of a rush you’re in to get lots of cosmetics.

Legend Tokens

Legend Tokens are Apex Legends’ only entirely free currency; you’ll earn them for every match you play. They unlock characters and store-exclusive cosmetics. There are variants of cosmetics that you can only buy with Legend Tokens when they are available in the game’s store.

In addition, when you first start the game, you have six of the eight characters unlocked. You can only unlock Mirage and Caustic with this currency (or by using real-world money, which we’ll get to soon). The characters cost 12,000 Legend Tokens each. You earn 600 Legend Tokens every time you level up, so it takes 20 levels to earn a character.

Apex Coins

Apex Coins (AC) are Apex Legends’ real-money microtransaction currency. You can get 1,000 AC for $9.99, with bonus AC coming along with higher-priced bundles like 2,150 for $19.99 or 4,350 for $39.99.

You can use Apex Coins to purchase Apex Packs (which cost 100 AC per pack and are effectively cosmetic loot boxes). Apex Packs give you a chance to earn various types of loot.

You can also use Apex Coins to buy specific loot items. Everything you can buy with Apex Coins, you can also buy with Crafting Materials or find inside of Apex Packs. Legendary items cost 1,800 AC (about $18). You can buy characters with Apex Coins, too. Mirage and Caustic each cost 750 AC (about $7.50).

Founder’s Pack

The Apex Legends Founder’s Pack is designed to help new players get on their feet early, while also offering a few exclusives for those who are willing to put some money into the game out of the gate. The pack costs $29.99 and includes a slew of items:

• 2,000 Apex Coins
• exclusive Legendary Demon Hemlok weapon skin
• three exclusive Roughneck character skins (for Wraith, Bloodhound, and Gibraltar)
• three exclusive banner frames (for Wraith, Bloodhound, and Gibraltar)
• one exclusive founder’s badge

Technically, the Apex Coins in the Founder’s Pack would be worth about $20, while the skins and banners are a little harder to put a value on, since they’re exclusive to players who buy the Founder’s Pack. If you think you’re going to stick with the game for a while, and cosmetics mean a lot to you, the $29.99 pack probably isn’t a bad deal (especially if you enjoy playing Wraith, Bloodhound, or Gibraltar and were planning on unlocking Caustic and Mirage right out of the gate).

Respawn also announced that a battle pass is on the way. There aren’t many details on what the battle pass will include, but it’s probably a safe bet to think that it will bring at least a few more skins and banners into the game. We’ll have to wait until March for more word on the pass’ contents, though.