Apex Legends high level loot guide: Legendary gold items, hot zones and high tier loot areas explained
The best weapons and gear in Apex Legends are legendary tier, but where do you get it and how does loot work?
As in most online shooters, collecting Apex Legends high level loot is going to help give you a competitive edge over your opponents. Obviously, any weapons you lay your hands on can get the job done eventually, but if you pick up some purple (epic) and gold (legendary) loot then these will give you a much greater chance of success – either by dealing greater damage to enemy squads, or providing great protection from incoming attacks. Generally there's a random nature to the item drops in each match, but our guide will provide pointers for finding high level loot in Apex Legends faster.
If you're playing as Lifeline, who is one of the best Apex Legends characters, her ultimate ability allows her to call in a care package too. Since she's a medic, it will usually be filled with healing items but sometimes you may get epic items such as armour or attachments. Her care package used to contain legendary armour, helmets, or knockout shields, but that was changed as it made her ultimate far too powerful.
Apex Legends tips | How to download Apex Legends | Apex Legends cross platform | Apex Legends battle pass | Apex Legends map | Apex Legends Finishers | Best Apex Legends weapons | Apex Legends heirlooms | Apex Legends crafting metal guide | Apex Legends loot tick locations | Apex Legends Nessy locations | Apex Legends loot vault
You’ll also notice that in the World's Edge map, there’s no loot ticks around. That’s intentional, as these robot-spiders have been replaced with floating cargo bots. These cargo bots can appear inside buildings, but are mostly seen outside. They change colours too, with gold being the perfect time to shoot them down to get legendary weapons and armour. But don’t worry, if the Kings Canyon map is available, we’re sure that you’ll be able to find legendary equipment in those too.
Understanding tiered loot areas
When you jump off the Apex Legends dropship and soar to your location of choice you'll see that it says either mid or high tier loot in the top left when you touch down. This gives you a good idea of what to expect when looting up. If you're in a mid tier loot location - or even worse, a location that doesn't specify - then you likely won't find any end-game gear there. If it says high tier loot on the other hand, then you'll be stacked by the time you move on.
Unfortunately, this is randomised in each game, which means that you can't return to a spot where you found high tier loot before - that would make the map far too congested and players would never drop anywhere else. So pick your spot and cross your fingers it's got high tier loot.
Hot Zone & Supply Ship
There are two locations on the Apex Legends map where you are guaranteed some solid supplies though: the Hot Zone and the Supply Ship. The actual whereabouts of both are completely random each game but, unlike the tiered loot areas, you will be told where they are before you jump.
The Hot Zone can be any of the named locations on the map, and it's indicated by a blue circle on the mini map. There's a chance of finding a fully kitted out weapon amongst other impressive stuff so it attracts a lot of players but if you're up for the challenge it's worth the risk.
With the Supply Ship, look for the ship icon on the mini map. It spawns on one of the four sides and slowly floats to its designated location, before anchoring down and deploying zip lines so players can access it from ground level. This place is also confirmed to have some solid loot, but as you'd expect, both the Hot Zone and Supply Ship are often very busy indeed.
Finding legendary loot
While there's a very slim chance of finding legendary gold loot lying around on the floor, there are ways you can increase your chances of obtaining some. Keep your eyes peeled for any care packages coming in from the skies. Your character will usually say something when there's one inbound, so pay attention to the voice lines. You can open your mini map to see a blue icon where it will land, and these often have a chance of spawning legendary weapons like the .50 calibre Kraber sniper rifle.
If you're playing as Lifeline who is one of the best Apex Legends characters, her ultimate ability allows her to call in a care package too. Since she's a medic, it will usually be filled with healing items but it's a great way to get your hands on some legendary armour, helmets, or knockout shields.
Keep an eye and ear out for any of the Apex Packs hiding in corners too. These little robot crates act similarly to the llamas in Fortnite; they're hard to find and from what we can tell and never in the same place twice. But when you do find one, shoot or punch it and it will drop some loot equivalent to the colour it glows.
What does legendary loot do?
Apex Legends' legendary loot doesn't scale up in the same way the rest of the rarities do. For example, rare armour will provide you with 75 shield, while epic armour increases that to 100. Legendary armour still offers 100 shield, but it also has a bonus perk. Here are the five bonus perks for the legendary equipment you can find in Apex Legends:
- Helmet - Tactical and Ultimate abilities regenerate faster
- Armour - Replenishes shields when you use a finisher
- Backpack - Health and shield consumables take half as long to use
- Knockout Shield - Offers one self revive when you're knocked down
- Digital Threat scope - Highlights enemies in red when you're aiming at them
That's all there is to it. You can never guarantee Apex Legends legendary gold items in-game, but if you know where they can possibly spawn then you've got a better chance of getting your paws on one.
Are you looking to make some quick progress in the game? Then here's how to level up fast in Apex Legends.
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
Give me a game and I will write every "how to" I possibly can or die trying. When I'm not knee-deep in a game to write guides on, you'll find me hurtling round the track in F1, flinging balls on my phone in Pokemon Go, pretending to know what I'm doing in Football Manager, or clicking on heads in Valorant.