Mythic-tier cosmetics used to consist of only Heirloom Sets, but have since included Prestige Skins - appearances for Legends that evolve when enough damage is accumulated. Bloodhound is currently the only character with a Prestige Skin, having been introduced during Apex Legends’ Third Anniversary Collection Event. However, the cosmetics’ lackluster design and the unimpressive finisher at the third-tier evolution have given players incentive to save their Heirloom Shards for an Heirloom Set instead.
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Prestige Skins Versus Heirloom Sets
To understand why Apex Legends players prefer Heirloom Sets over Prestige Skins, one must look at what each pack includes. Opening a Prestige Skin pack starts players off with just one skin that can be leveled up two more times to change its appearance. Bloodhound’s Prestige Skin evolves to its second tier once players accumulate 30,000 damage, and its third tier at 100,000 damage. Players can freely swap between any of the skin tiers they have unlocked, allowing for three alternate skins in total. Unlocking the final tier also rewards players with a special finisher that can be used to eliminate downed enemies.
Heirloom Sets consist of a special banner pose, an intro quip, and an heirloom weapon. Heirloom weapons have multiple unique animations that show off the Apex Legends cast’s personalities and backstories (Valkyrie’s Suzaku, for instance, plays an animation of her holding her father’s helmet). These animations play when characters run, attack, inspect, crouch, or perform actions specific to their movesets. Recent heirloom weapons have even more unique first-person and third-person animations than their older counterparts.
Heirloom Sets Have More Value Than Prestige Skins
Counting in the number of animations an heirloom weapons has, Heirloom Sets have numerically more content than Prestige Skins. The heirloom weapon and its animations can be fully seen at all times by the owners, as compared to Prestige Skins which are mostly seen by other players. There is also an interactive element to heirlooms, as players can change their animations by performing different actions. By contrast, the only interactive elements of Prestige Skins that players have control over are the finishers - which can’t be used all the time considering how vulnerable they make players.
Most importantly, heirloom weapons are unique cosmetics that can only be unlocked by purchasing the associated Heirloom Set. Prestige Skins, on the other hand, can be replaced by any of the multitude of skins in Apex Legends (some of which look more visually appealing). Players have to put in the damage to upgrade the Prestige Skins, which adds grinding to a pre-purchased cosmetic.
How Can Prestige Skins Be Improved?
Instead of accumulating damage over multiple matches to upgrade Prestige Skins, players might prefer skins that evolve over the course of a single match. Much like the evolving weapon skins found in the final tiers of the Apex Legends’ battle pass, players can upgrade Prestige Skins by knocking down or killing enemies. These skins would reset with every new match played, but the incentive to level them up and strike fear into enemies is something players would appreciate.
Another point of contention is that Prestige Skin packs don’t have enough content. Adding more cosmetics like a ground emote that lets players inspect their Prestige Skin progress in-game would make them more inclined to spend their Heirloom Shards or money. Making Prestige Skins more unique and visually appealing would elevate them to the cosmetic rarity level they are associated with. As it stands, however, players would be better off with Heirloom Sets rather than a Prestige Skin.
Apex Legends is currently available on Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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