Apex Legends’ ranked games haven’t been the same ever since season 17’s overhaul happened. Despite Respawn bringing some statistically successful damage control with season 18, it wasn’t convincing enough. And now, the recently announced ranked improvements for season 19 have also failed to impress the fandom.
On Oct. 17, Respawn announced three new ranked updates for the upcoming season, set to commence on Oct. 31, alongside declaring the numbers behind eliminating a few blaring issues prevailing in Apex’s ranked matchmaking and climb system.
“The new dev update for ranked is disappointing, to say the least,” one very popular post on Reddit read, attracting several nods from the community.
“Season 0 player here. My ranked play time has absolutely tanked the last 3 seasons,” another player wrote. “Only playing 10% of what I used to. This system is not fun, rewarding, or engaging.”
From extended queue times to being forced into much higher-skilled lobbies, Apex players are rightfully tired of the battle royale’s degrading ranked experience. Many have shifted to playing pub (casual) games only, while some have left playing altogether.
According to official numbers, with the ongoing season of Resurrection, Respawn has managed to offer players a much fairer and more enjoyable experience than Arsenal (season 17). The rank distribution is currently balanced, although the devs did mention room for improvement.
While the claims don’t seem that bad, the comments clearly show the player base’s frustration. In fact, players think the upcoming changes do nothing to change one of the biggest issues.
According to several comments, it has become incredibly difficult for Apex players to rank up to their deserved tier, with previously Diamond and Platinum players being forced to be Bronze and Silver while being matched against Predator and Master players. Players are even blaming the shift from skill-based matchmaking to hidden MMR for messing up the matchmaking system.
“It’s silly to have to consistently win in diamond lobbies to get from bronze to silver,” one player wrote. “Ranking up went from one extreme to another, and there is little reason to care about your displayed rank because it’s not an accurate representation of your skill now unless you grind hundreds of games.”
The upcoming ranked changes for Apex’s season 19 will focus on offering more rating bonuses to help players rank up to their skill level faster, alongside slapping lesser Ladder Point drops after provisional matches. This should solve some, but not all, of the player base’s complaints.
You’ll also be able to play in premade parties of three without any ranked restriction, albeit you’ll have to face lobbies at par with your team’s highest rank.
It’s worth noting season 19 of Apex is yet to go live, and Respawn might be planning to add more changes to ranked with the official launch on Oct. 31.
Published: Oct 18, 2023 03:04 am