How to unlock legends in Apex Legends

Every new account in Apex Legends is given six free characters to choose from to play the battle royale. But there are many more than that in the game which you can play as—provided you unlock them first.

The good news for new players is there are multiple ways to unlock characters, and they can be unlocked for free. That’s because there are multiple types of currency in Apex, and two specific types of currency that can be used to unlock legends: Legend Tokens and Apex Coins.

Unlocking a legend with Apex Coins in Apex

Apex Coins are the fastest way to unlock legends for most new players. It is, on the other hand, the most expensive way since Apex Coins must be purchased in the store on most occasions. You can usually earn them as a premium battle pass reward or in an event prize tracker, but most of the time, players will add to their Apex Coin total by purchasing them in the store.

To purchase Apex Coins, players must go to the store tab in the Apex Legends lobby. Once in the store tab, players will see a small prompt for Apex Coins in the top right corner of their screen, just below the number of Crafting Metals the player has. Once the player hits the corresponding button or key, they can purchase Apex Coins. 

After the Apex Coins have been purchased, players can unlock legends by navigating to the Legends tab. All the legends the player has unlocked will appear in their legend portraits in color, while locked legends will show up in black and white. Simply select the legend you wish to unlock, and when the game asks you if you want to unlock a legend, you can do so with Apex Coins by selecting “Unlock with Apex Coins.”

Each legend costs 750 Apex Coins to unlock, so choose wisely. 

Related: The 5 least played legends in Apex Legends

Unlocking a legend with Legend Tokens in Apex

Legend Tokens are a different currency in the game that can only be used to unlock new legends and purchase specific recolor skins in the store. The nice part about Legend Tokens? They’re absolutely free!

Players unlock Legend Tokens by gaining experience points and leveling up their account. Every time the account reaches a new level, the player receives 600 Legend Tokens.

While this is certainly a more cost-effective way to unlock new legends, it does have one drawback: it takes a lot more time. New legends cost 12,000 Legend Tokens to unlock. In the early stages of a player’s account, this might feel like an insurmountable hill to climb.

But if players progress and continue to play the game consistently, it’s not uncommon for them to never have to pay to unlock a legend again. Since legend tokens can’t actually be used to unlock most items in the game, it’s surprisingly easy to save them up.

Once players have enough Legend Tokens, they can unlock a new legend with those tokens the same way they unlocked a legend with Apex Coins. When the game asks if you want to unlock a legend, just select the “Unlock with Legend Tokens” option.

What character should I unlock first in Apex Legends?

If you’re trying not to spend a lot of money, you’re probably wondering which legends are the best to unlock first with Legend Tokens, which can take a while to gather up enough to unlock all the available legends. The real answer to this question is truly up to you, as you’ll want whichever legend you find the most cool or fun.

However, there are a couple of pointers to take here. If you want to see whichever characters are most popular, you can always check which legends have the best pick rates in the game.

If you’re like me and tend to value legends that have some interesting and fun-to-use abilities in the game, I would suggest unlocking legends like Valkyrie, Ash, or Horizon. Valkyrie and Ash both have tactical abilities that can damage and stun opponents, and their ultimates give their team interesting ways to rotate around the map. Horizon has cool movement options for her and her team with her tactical ability, while her ultimate is a great way to open a fight.

If you prefer to sit back and defend a position, you’ll probably be more interested in legends like Wattson or Catalyst that excel at locking down buildings and other areas with their abilities. Or, if you just want to do a ton of damage, you could always go with Fuse, Mad Maggie, or Ballistic, all of whom have good abilities for fighting.

There are plenty of options, and ultimately whatever you find the most fun about Apex should determine which character you unlock first.