Does Apex Legends have skill-based matchmaking?

When you first start playing Apex Legends, you may breeze through your initial matches if you have just a little bit of experience with battle royale games. Don’t get used to that feeling, however, since each match you play can get relatively more challenging based on how you perform.

Apex Legends uses a skill-based matchmaking system that lets players compete against opponents with similar skill levels. This system gets to assess your capacity over time based on your performance in matches. You can improve as a player and continue to face tougher opponents, meaning you may not stomp lobbies after you complete more matches.

Some players may believe that regular public matches are completely matchmade at random because Apex Legends also has a ranked matchmaking system. This isn’t the case, though, since Respawn Entertainment also balances regular matches to keep the game fun for new players. While you’ll have your rank to show off your skills, you’ll also receive a hidden matchmaking score for public matches. This score will fluctuate based on your performance and allow you to play in lobbies with players closer to your skill level.

You can’t see your hidden matchmaking score for public games, but the matchmaking system will use it in its calculations. These formulas can loosen based on the time of the day you’re playing and the game mode of your choice. If you’re playing a less popular game mode during an off-peak hour in your area, then chances are you might get into a lobby filled with players from different skill levels. This is mainly due to the number of players available in the matchmaking pool. When there are fewer users to work with, the algorithm makes compromises to keep players from waiting for excessive periods to find a match.

When there are enough players in the matchmaking pool, the system will do its best to create the most balanced matches possible. The algorithms working in the background can change over time, which usually happens for the better since developers look forward to optimizing players’ gameplay experience across all skill levels.