Apex Legends betrays loyal players with Shadow Society event

The Shadow Society event is leaving some of Respawn’s most loyal Apex Legends players behind by locking players out from buying the specific skins they want for their favorite Legends or guns.

Crafting metals was introduced into Apex Legends years ago as a way for players to obtain cosmetics and skins without spending real money on Apex Coins. Players earn the in-game currency by opening Apex Packs. These are obtained through completing sections of the battle pass and leveling up.

Players have spent time grinding through previous seasons and events or have leveled up their accounts so they can use crafting metals for their favorite skins in new events. Even those who didn’t have the money to drop on a skin for their favorite Legend could grab the skin they want with crafting metals during the event.

However, they’re now being short-changed for the Shadow Society event. Those who put time and effort into earning their cosmetics in Apex Legends can’t get the skins they want, something that stands as a betrayal to some of the game’s most loyal players in the years since Apex Legends came out.

In the Shadow Society Event, which features six Legend skins and eight weapon skins usually unlockable through crafting metals, players cannot select specific skins to unlock. Instead, players have to take a chance on the event-specific packs and could have their hard-earned crafting metals go to waste on a skin for a character they don’t play or a gun they don’t use.

Past events of this kind had only 24 items, with every single one being individually available for purchase with crafting metals. Now they’re all locked behind a roll of the dice, forcing players to fork over potentially hundreds of dollars or thousands of hours worth of grinding for crafting metals to get a skin for their favorite Legend or gun.

This is a stark change of pace from Respawn, as the Apex developer has been pretty consistent with how players can unlock cosmetics and give players who don’t want to spend money a chance to pick out their favorite event-specific cosmetics.

Previously, Respawn has said that it didn’t want to make Apex Packs the only way for players to get the best skins, similar to the loot box mechanics from other titles. However, that thinking has seemingly gone to the wayside for this event.

Whether this about-face is due to the recent gaming industry turmoil and layoffs, or something planned months ago is unknown. All dedicated Apex Legends players know is that Respawn isn’t the same as it once was when it comes to monetization practices, and the steep price behind the game’s cosmetics is something players have never been particularly fond of to begin with.