How to earn Weapon XP quickly in Apex Legends

How to earn Weapon XP quickly in Apex Legends
Images via Respawn Entertainment

Written by 

Coleman Hamstead

Published 

19th Jun 2023 17:12

Contents

Progressing weapon levels in Apex Legends can be rewarding, with all sorts of goodies up for grabs. Follow the strategies outlined below to earn Weapon XP in the game and reach level 100 on your favorite weapons pronto!

Find your target weapon ASAP

To fully "master" a weapon in Apex Legends, you must earn a total of 1,000,000 XP and complete five weapon-specific challenges known as trials. So, to optimize your Weapon XP gains, you will want to equip your target weapon as soon as possible.

You can't earn Weapon XP in Apex Legends if you don't have a gun equipped!
Click to enlarge

Loot in Battle Royale and Apex Legends ranked is entirely random, so make it a priority to find your favorite weapon(s) quickly if you want to accumulate Weapon XP. The longer you go without a gun, the less Weapon XP you will rack up throughout a match.

Note that you can earn Weapon XP in the Apex Legends Mixtape playlist too. If you like the idea of pocketing small bits of Weapon XP for a bunch of weapons, consider hopping into Gun Run. If you'd prefer to spawn in with a predetermined loadout of your choosing, play Control or Team Deathmatch.

Never holster your weapon

As strange as it may sound, the best way to earn Weapon XP in Apex Legends is to simply play the game with your weapon unholstered. You earn Weapon XP naturally as long as you have your gun out and about. If you keep your weapon out at all times, you will find that it nets you more Weapon XP at the end of a match than anything else.

Keep your weapon out at all times to earn Weapon XP fast in Apex Legends.
Click to enlarge

By now, most Apex Legends veterans are probably used to holstering their weapons whenever they aren't actively in a gunfight. You move slower with your weapon out, so it's usually a good idea to holster it when you're traveling. But if you want to earn Weapon XP fast in Apex Legends, you must break this habit and deal with the sluggish movement.

If you can't stand moving at a snail's pace with your weapon out, try playing characters like Ballistic or Mad Maggie. Ballistic Tempest Ultimate temporarily boosts armed move speed for the entire squad, and Mad Maggie's Warlord's Ire Passive allows Mad Maggie to move faster with shotguns equipped.

Drop hot and play aggressively

While holding weapons in hand generates the most Weapon XP, you can increase the rate at which you earn Weapon XP by playing aggressively. Dealing damage, securing kills, and landing headshots all produce some more XP. Furthermore, fighting with style by sliding, jumping, and ziplining mid-combat kindles bonus Weapon XP.

Placing highly in matches yields Weapon XP too, but nowhere close to the amount you can get by playing aggressively and actively using your weapon against foes.

Mastering weapons in Apex Legends is no easy task. With 29 weapons available in Apex Legends, you will need to earn a grand total of 29,000,000 Weapon XP to master every weapon. 

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Which of the Apex Legends weapons do you plan to master first?

Coleman Hamstead
About the author
Coleman Hamstead
Coleman is a freelance journalist at GGRecon. While gaming has always been his passion, it wasn’t until he worked as a Sports Journalist at the Community College of Baltimore County that he found his enthusiasm for writing. In the time since Coleman has had his work featured in publications such as The Washington Post/Launcher and ESTNN. Coleman is a graduate of Towson University with a degree in Sport Management and Business Administration.
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