When you create an account on Apex you make two separate choices: an account type, which sets your trading and banking restrictions, and an experience mode, which sets how fast you level and how much drop rate bonus you carry. The two are independent, so any account type can be paired with any experience mode.

Both choices are permanent for the account, so it is worth reading this page before you confirm them.

Account types

Regular

No restrictions. You can trade freely, use the Grand Exchange, and bank normally. This is the right choice if you are new to Apex or want to take part in the player economy.

Ironman

You cannot trade with other players. Everything you own has to be gathered, killed for, or bought from shops yourself. Banking works normally.

Ultimate Ironman

You cannot trade and you cannot bank. Your inventory and equipment are all the storage you have, which makes inventory management the central challenge of the mode.

Hardcore Ironman

Ironman restrictions plus a single life. Dying revokes your hardcore status and converts the account to a standard Ironman. If your total level is 100 or above when it happens, the death is announced to the whole server along with your total level and what killed you.

Group Ironman

Ironman restrictions, except that you can trade with the other members of your group. Groups also get shared group storage.

Hardcore Group Ironman

Group Ironman with lives at stake. You keep group trading and group storage, but the group can lose lives on death.

Experience modes

Your experience mode sets three separate rates: one for combat skills, one for non-combat skills, and one that takes over for any skill past level 99. Lower rates come with a higher drop rate bonus, so the slower modes are compensated with better loot.

Mode	Combat XP	Skilling XP	After level 99	Drop rate bonus
Easy	200x	100x	150x	None
Normal	100x	50x	75x	+6%
Hard	50x	25x	33x	+15%
Elite	25x	12x	17x	+17%
Zezima	3x	3x	3x	+20%

Which mode to pick

Easy reaches end game content fastest and is the least punishing if your play time is limited. It carries no drop rate bonus, so gear progression comes from volume of kills rather than better rolls.
Normal is the balanced option. Levelling is still quick and you pick up a modest drop rate bonus.
Hard is the usual choice for players who want the drop rate bonus to matter without the grind becoming the whole game.
Elite trades roughly half again of Hard's XP rate for two more points of drop rate bonus. Worth it only if you intend to play heavily.
Zezima is the long haul. Three times rates across the board, with the largest drop rate bonus in the game.

How drop rate bonus stacks

The bonus from your experience mode is not the only source. It adds together with the others into one figure:

Supporter rank: up to +5%
Ring of wealth equipped: +3%
Amulet of avarice equipped: +5%
Revenant Caves while skulled: +15%, inside the cave only

See the Donator Benefits guide for the full supporter rank breakdown.