Highguard Battle Pass explained – Everything in the free Pit Fighters War Chest at launch

A Highguard Battle Pass doesn’t exist in the typical sense. Leave it to a disruptive live-service title backed by the industry veterans to do something a little different. Instead of a linear progression system, you’ll instead open War Chests that must be purchased for cosmetic items in the popular free-to-play shooter. 

We’re going over everything you need to know about Highguard War Chests further down the page, including how to get started and what’s included for new players. The first one, Pit Fighters, is free and offers 44 in-game cosmetics, ranging from character and weapon skins to charms, emotes, banners, and a new bear mount skin. Future ones will cost 900 Highguard Gold (around $9) to access, but are they worth it? Let’s find out. 

---

The Escapist recaps 

• The Highguard Battle Pass is called a War Chest, of which players (once unlocked/purchased) can earn premium cosmetics. 
• The first Highguard War Chest, Pit Fighters, is free and features 44 cosmetic items, including weapon and character skins, emotes, charms, and banners. 
• Everything in a Highguard War Chest is purchased through Vigil Tokens, which are earned through playing (and winning) games, similar to the CS2 Armory Pass. 
• Future Highguard War Chests are said to cost 900 Highguard Gold ($9); however, their duration once active is currently unknown. 
• We recommend grinding through the Pit Fighters War Chest for all the premium items. Keep in mind, though, that Vigil Tokens cap at 3,000, so be sure to spend them often. 

---

What are Highguard War Chests? 

Highguard War Chests function similarly to other live-service Battle Passes available in games such as Fortnite or Helldivers 2, in that you’re given a limited-time window to buy cosmetics using earned (or bought) in-game currency. 

New players can get their hands on a free Highguard Pit Fighters War Chest that features character skins, emotes, weapon cosmetics, banners, and charms that can help to customize their in-game experience. Once opened, each item must be purchased with Vigil Tokens (earned by playing games), with items currently ranging from 200 to 500 Vigil Tokens in price. 

How to claim a free Highguard War Chest

You can claim your first free Highguard War Chest, Pit Fighters, just by booting up the game. Opening this one gives you access to the Highguard Battle Pass, with access to 44 items to claim, which are split across four distinct chapters. 

All Highguard Pit Fighters War Chest rewards

As touched upon above, there are a total of 44 War Chest rewards available in Highguard with its introductory Battle Pass. These range in price from 200 to 500 Vigil tokens to unlock and are tiered behind four chapters. You need to complete each tier of the War Chest to unlock bigger and better rewards. Keep in mind that Vigil Tokens cap at 3,000, so spend them often. 

Highguard character skins in the Pit Fighters War Chest

Highguard character skins are among the most expensive items in the Pit Fighters War Chest, with Legendary cosmetics available for Una, Redname, Atticus, and Bear. We may see future Battle Passes explore more character cosmetics in the future, but what’s available here does look distinct from the stock visuals. 

Highguard weapon skins in the Pit Fighters War Chest

Current Highguard weapon skins are divided into three distinct cosmetic families: Skyborn, Glory’s Flame, and Nightgleam, which are classed as Rare. Legendary skins include the Shining Fury, Golden Beast, and High Champion, and are worth double the Vigil Tokens to unlock. 

Highguard emotes in the Pit Fighters War Chest 

What kind of live-service game would this be without emotes? Just as we’ve seen from the likes of Fortnite and Destiny, Highguard emotes are available to let you flex (and dance) on your foes. There’s not a huge amount here yet, but we’re expecting Wildlight Entertainment to get more creative as time goes on. 

Highguard banners in the Pit Fighters War Chest 

Want to fly a flag for your team of three fighters? That’s where Highguard banners enter the conversation; there are a few distinct options available in varying colorways, including blue-on-black, blue-on-gold, and orange, and black-on-gold, which are visually striking. 

Highguard charms in the Pit Fighters War Chest 

Lastly, there are new Highguard charms that can be fixed to your weapons for a little extra pop of personality out on the battlefield. Many of these are made to resemble the Wardens you’ll play as in the game, and could be good to mix and match with. 

Is the Highguard Pit Fighters War Chest worth it? 

Yes, the current Highguard Battle Pass (Pit Fighters War Chest) is worth it for new players as it’s available at no extra cost to you. Once you log in, you’re granted access to it, and then you can make your way through the four pages and 44 total cosmetics just by playing the game. You can store up to 3,000 Vigil Tokens at a time, so in dozens of hours of playtime, you have enough. 

It’s a different story as to whether these premium Highguard cosmetics are worth paying for. The first War Chest (Battle Pass) is free, sure, but that won’t be the case going forward. It’s said that future War Chests will be available for 900 Highguard Gold ($9), of which you’ll be able to “earn” everything on the page for a limited time. There’s no accounting for taste, but some of these skins do look better than others. 

In actuality, Highguard’s War Chest system works more akin to the CS2 Armory Pass, with its play-to-earn mechanics and exclusive items. It’s currently unknown how often new War Chests will be revealed (they’re not mentioned on the first year’s roadmap), or if there will be multiple concurrent at once, so the actual value you’ll get from these crates will (largely) be dictated by how much you play the game, as you need to win games to earn enough Vigil Tokens for what’s inside. 

Ask The Escapist 

The post Highguard Battle Pass explained – Everything in the free Pit Fighters War Chest at launch appeared first on The Escapist.