Apex Legends launched in February 2019 from Respawn Entertainment (an EA studio) and hit 10 million players within 72 hours of release. As of 2026, the game has passed 130 million registered accounts across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. It sits in a peculiar position: mechanically one of the tightest battle royales available, genuinely free-to-play without pay-to-win elements, and completely locked behind a payment wall for players in regions where EA doesn't process payments.
The game itself costs nothing. Apex Coins — the premium currency — are spent on cosmetics and Battle Passes only. No purchased item improves accuracy, damage, armor, or survivability.
What Apex Legends actually is
Apex is a squad-based battle royale set in the Titanfall universe. Sixty players (20 three-person squads) drop onto one of several maps — King's Canyon, World's Edge, Olympus, Storm Point, Broken Moon — and the last squad standing wins. Standard format for the genre, but the execution separates Apex from its competitors.
The ping system is the most influential design choice. Every callout — enemy spotted, item here, go this direction, enemy heard here — can be communicated with a single button press without voice chat. This makes Apex among the most team-functional games in the genre even with strangers.
Legends are the characters, each with three abilities: a passive, a tactical (with a cooldown), and an ultimate. Valkyrie launches rocket swarms and flies. Bloodhound tracks enemy footprints and scents. Loba teleports nearby dropped items to her. Horizon creates a gravitational lift. Choosing your legend changes your team's tactical options at a fundamental level — this isn't a cosmetic choice.
The movement system is Respawn's clearest inheritance from Titanfall: sliding down slopes builds speed, bunny-hopping maintains momentum, and the physics of positioning and repositioning have a skill ceiling that players spend hundreds of hours approaching.
Why Apex stays relevant
Respawn releases a new season every three months, typically including a new legend or weapon, balance changes, map updates, and a new Battle Pass. The pace keeps the meta shifting without making previous knowledge obsolete.
The ranked system (Bronze through Predator, with Masters and Predator being the top ~1% and ~0.1% of the player base respectively) provides a competitive ladder for players who want stakes beyond casual matches. Ranked Apex is genuinely competitive — Predator lobbies are played by professionals and near-professional players.
The character roster has grown to 25+ legends as of 2026, giving teams a wide variety of composition choices. The game rewards team coordination in ways most battle royales don't — a well-executed legend combination (for example, Bloodhound + Octane + Caustic for push-and-hold) performs measurably better than the same three players running without synergy.
All legends are unlockable with Legend Tokens — a free in-game currency earned by playing. You accumulate enough LT to unlock a new legend (12,000 LT) after roughly 20–30 hours of play. Apex Coins don't give access to anything that affects your survival.
What you can buy
Apex has multiple currencies with distinct roles:
Apex Coins (AC) — the premium purchasable currency. Packs: 1,000 AC (
$9.99), 2,150 AC ($19.99), 4,350 AC ($39.99), 6,700 AC ($59.99), 11,500 AC (~$99.99). Spent on Battle Pass, select legends, and cosmetics from the storeBattle Pass — seasonal pass at 950 AC (~$9.99), unlocking 110 reward tiers: legend skins, weapon skins, trackers, music packs, Apex Packs, and Legend Tokens. The Bundle at 2,800 AC adds 25 pre-purchased levels
Apex Packs — loot boxes containing three cosmetic items each (legend skin, weapon skin, banner frame, tracker, or voice line). Cost 100 AC each or earned through leveling. Guaranteed Legendary within 30 packs, guaranteed Heirloom Shards within 500 packs (cumulative)
Legends — most unlock via free Legend Tokens. A handful of newer legends are available for 750 AC during their launch season
Store bundles and skins — individual Legendary skins for legends and weapons typically cost 1,800 AC. Themed event collections run higher
Heirloom Shards — extremely rare currency from Apex Packs, spent on Heirloom cosmetics: unique melee animations specific to each legend. Purely cosmetic, not purchasable directly
Legend Tokens (LT) — free currency earned by playing, not purchasable. Used to unlock legends and rotating store items
Apex Coins on the EA App and on Steam are separate wallets. If you play through Steam, buy Steam Wallet credit — not EA App Apex Coins. Confirm your platform before purchasing.
Why some players can't buy Apex Coins directly
EA's payment infrastructure is blocked or unavailable in a number of countries. Russian players lost access in 2022 when EA stopped accepting Russian-issued Visa and Mastercard cards. Similar restrictions apply in other sanctioned territories or regions where EA's payment processors don't operate.
PlayStation Store and Xbox Store face the same regional restrictions when the account is registered in an unsupported region. The result: a player with a working game account and no way to spend money on it through official channels.
How to buy Apex Coins through Marix
Marix (marix.cc) handles Apex Coins top-ups for players who can't reach EA's payment page:
- Go to the Apex Legends section on Marix
- Select your platform (PC/EA App, PC/Steam, PlayStation, Xbox) and coin amount
- Pay with your local payment method
- Receive the coins or a code to redeem
The platform distinction matters: make sure you specify whether you're buying for EA App or Steam, as the wallets are separate.
Buy Apex Coins on Marix
Marix carries Apex Coins top-ups for all platforms with payment methods that work outside EA's supported regions. No account credentials required — no password sharing. Support is available if something doesn't land correctly.
Advantages of buying through Marix
- Works with local payment methods EA doesn't support
- All platforms covered: PC (EA App), PC (Steam), PlayStation, Xbox
- No VPN, no region change required
- No account password sharing
- Support available if delivery has issues
FAQ
Is Apex Legends really free-to-win?
Nothing purchasable improves your damage, accuracy, health, shields, or abilities. Legends unlock with free Legend Tokens earned by playing. Apex Coins buy cosmetics and Battle Passes. The game is genuinely free-to-compete.
Is the Battle Pass worth it?
At 950 AC for 110 reward tiers, the Battle Pass has good value if you play through a season. It returns roughly 1,500 AC in embedded rewards (through Legend Token equivalents and pack value), meaning you get close to recouping the cost in content. A single Legendary skin from the store costs 1,800 AC — worse per-item value than the Pass.
Do I need to buy a new Battle Pass every season?
No. Playing without it is completely functional. The free track of the Battle Pass still gives some rewards. But the paid track gives roughly 10x more cosmetics per season.
What is a Heirloom and is it worth chasing?
An Heirloom is a unique animated melee cosmetic tied to a specific legend — a distinctive weapon or object with custom animations. They don't affect gameplay. The guaranteed Heirloom Shards at 500 Apex Packs cost roughly $500 at the minimum. They are collector items, not performance upgrades.
Can I transfer progress between platforms?
Cosmetics (skins, banners, trackers) sync across platforms when accounts are linked. Ranked progress and stats don't transfer. EA App and Steam Apex Coin wallets are separate and can't be merged.
Which platform has the most players?
PC has the largest active player pool, which matters for ranked queue times at higher tiers. PS5 and Xbox Series X/S run the game at 60 fps with 120 fps support. Cross-play is on by default but can be restricted to same-platform only in settings.
What are Legend Tokens and how do I earn them?
Legend Tokens are a free in-game currency earned from match experience points. They accumulate automatically as you play. Spend them to unlock legends (12,000 LT each) or buy rotating cosmetics in the store. They cannot be purchased and are entirely separate from Apex Coins.
Does Apex work on console with a mouse and keyboard?
Yes, the game detects mouse and keyboard input on PlayStation and Xbox. Using M+KB on console puts you into PC-input matchmaking, which tends to be more competitive. Most console players stick to controller.
Conclusion
Apex Legends does something rare in the free-to-play space: it keeps the money completely out of the gameplay. Coins, packs, and passes are for cosmetics only. For players whose payment methods don't reach EA's storefront — whether due to regional restrictions or unsupported card types — Marix handles Apex Coins top-ups across all platforms without requiring account credentials or a VPN.