Forum Widgets
Why did you make the game unplayable..
I was trying to be a returning player so I decided to load into the firing range and get a feel for what's new, only to be devastated by sheer incompetence and THEE most annoying thing about all the new changes. WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY, would you make me left click to heal? do you know how many times one heals in a short 1-hour session of apex gameplay? why make an extra step? you took away the glorious point then let go and it does job function to heal? why not just fix your code so we are no spamming the heal to geta heal off? Heart is just as broken as when it was with the old Devs. I will return to check again in idk maybe 10 years, y'all reinvented the wheel congratulations. Bring it back and ask me for more advice if you want your player count to go up.
Feedback on the Ranked Experience on Asian Servers
Apex Legends has reached a point where the weapon balance, legend balance, and ranked balance all feel terrible. I’ve been playing this game since Season 12, but I’ve never felt that the game had been ruined this badly before.At this point, I honestly can’t tell whether this is supposed to be a shooter or a superhero game. I miss the old Apex so much. I’m genuinely worried about the future of this game. I’ve played Apex for a long time, and I truly loved this game. But I’m leaving not because of the players or anything else, but because I’m exhausted by the way you handle game balance. Ranked on Asian servers has been completely ruined. Honestly, if I wanted to spend my time constantly fighting sniper battles, I’d just play PUBG instead. And if you want to make legend abilities this ridiculously overpowered, I might as well play Overwatch. I don’t know what vision you have for this game, but I want you to bring Apex back to what it used to be. Stop forcing your personal gameplay preferences on your player base. Players constantly sit at a distance and spam sniper shots while using legends like Pathfinder and Valkyrie to avoid taking fights. Sniper damage is way too high. Even on Olympus, it feels like everyone is using snipers. After you buffed Vantage, you can now get killed by just two shots from her ultimate sniper rifle, which is ridiculous. Honestly, do you really think it’s reasonable for a single Sentinel shot to knock someone with Level 1 armor? On top of that, the buffs to legends like Loba and Pathfinder have made third parties arrive faster than ever before. On the Asian servers, there are still 15 squads alive by the time the third ring starts closing. You made it easier for players below Platinum to climb all the way to Diamond by introducing the dropship-based landing system. Honestly, in Platinum, squads disappear so quickly that players can gain RP simply by avoiding fights. But here’s what I want to ask: Is it fair to have players with such vastly different skill levels competing in Diamond ranked? Once players reach Diamond, the system switches to predetermined landing zones. Players who climbed to Diamond with little difficulty now find themselves in a completely different environment, and many of them don’t even know how to take fights properly. Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to solo queue and get paired with duos who constantly spam sniper shots, refuse to fight when they need to, and run away from every engagement? Some players pick Rampart just to sit behind cover and shoot snipers all game. As a solo-ranked player, I have no control over this. No matter how many times I ping, my teammates ignore me and continue camping. The real problem is how widespread this playstyle has become. I honestly don’t know when Apex Legends became a sniper game. On Asian servers, players land in their designated zones, find a position, stay there without moving, and spend the entire game shooting snipers. When another team starts fighting, they move in and third-party them with snipers. Then, when things get dangerous, they escape using Valkyrie or Pathfinder. Are the players the problem? No. I believe these issues ultimately stem from your weapon balance, legend balance, and ranked system. When you removed helmets, did you not anticipate that snipers would become this powerful? When you buffed so many mobility legends, including Pathfinder, Loba, Octane, and Axle, did you not consider that prioritizing mobility to this extent would make the game more chaotic and encourage players to avoid fights rather than commit to them? And what about weapons like the Prowler, Mozambique, and RE-45? Do you really think it’s acceptable for a fight to be decided not by who has better aim, but by the overwhelming damage output of whichever weapon someone happens to be using? The decision to give the Kraber unlimited ammo, in particular, really made me question whether weapon balance is being given any serious consideration at all. Apex Legends is being ruined not because of the players, but because of the fundamental problems with your approach to game balance. This game was so much better in the past. All you had to do was crack down on cheaters and keep the servers clean. Instead, you keep messing with things nobody asked you to change: audio, weapon balance, legend balance, and now even the visuals on our screens. Please stop changing the game for the sake of changes. Bring back the Apex we fell in love with. I could say a lot more about the problems with ranked, but I’ll leave it at that for now. There are hundreds of issues you can notice just by playing Diamond rank and above on Asian servers for a little while. The fact that you seem unable to recognize these problems while continuing to adjust other aspects of the game’s balance makes me question whether you actually spend enough time playing your own game. Your approach to managing this game has already driven away many of Apex’s core players. Now, even those who remain are saying that the game has become fundamentally different and increasingly frustrating to play. Everything that used to matter in high-ranked Apex is being undermined by your unreasonable buffs. The way teams manage rotations, take advantageous angles, choose when to engage, and cover their teammates has always been fundamental to Apex’s gameplay. Do you understand the fundamentals of taking fights in Diamond rank and above? The strategies that players have spent countless hours studying and sharing with one another? The principles that used to matter so much more in this game? I’m talking about game sense, fight management, and why it’s so important to finish a fight within 30 seconds, among many other things. This information has already been discussed extensively in countless YouTube videos. If you’re going to manage this game and adjust its balance, at the very least, please understand what kind of game Apex Legends is before making changes to it. Stop prioritizing unnecessary new features and start focusing on what made this game great in the first place. I’m leaving this game now. I’ve spent 4,000 hours playing Apex, but I honestly can’t see a future for it anymore. Keep pushing out updates with excessive buffs and unnecessary features if that’s what you intend to do. At some point, this stopped feeling like Apex Legends and became an entirely different FPS game. Players played this game because they loved it. You changed the very thing they fell in love with. Completely. There may be plenty of players willing to give you nothing but positive feedback, but I believe the number of core players leaving this game speaks for itself. If you want to create a different kind of game, then develop a different game. Don’t change the game I loved enough to spend 4,000 hours playing. I started playing Apex in Season 12. The sense of wonder and excitement I felt when I first discovered this game is now gone. Congratulations on bringing a game that meant so much to its players to this point. These aren’t just my personal opinions. They reflect the combined experiences and opinions of my friends who have reached ranks ranging from Diamond to Master as well. This isn’t an attack on you. This is feedback. Honestly, if you returned to the approach you used in the past and focused on server stability, anti-cheat measures, matchmaking, and proper ranked-tier management, I believe players would gladly come back. I wish you the best of luck with the way you choose to manage this game.Takes too long to get into a game, wasting so much time it’s not worth it
I appreciate the effort into balancing the games with the extra Q time, but I’m spending way too long in Qs now and I don’t even see much of a difference in quality. On top of that, so many games where teammates don’t load in or one of us has packet loss. Putting me off it but maybe I’m an outlier.This halloween event sucks
Haven't been playing Apex long, but come on, this is the worst event so far. Pull up your pants, new owners. Stop the cheaters for starters, turn off crossplay, make new legends and make the game good again. Miss the good old days when developers actually made masterpieces.
Horrible lag take away crossplay
The lag when meeting up to a fight is rediculous. I have very high speed connection and I never had a problem until the crossplay. Also I constantly lose connection with server and have to reset my game multiple times. It's not worth it and it's just getting worse every day.Constructive Feedback on the Ranked Matchmaking System
Hello. I have a question about this game that I would like to raise respectfully. Why does this game match Master and Predator players against Diamond players? In almost every other competitive game, developers try to maintain fair matchmaking by introducing restrictions on high-ranked premade squads, increasing queue times at higher ranks, or implementing other measures to ensure competitive integrity. But just like the recent solo ranked test, the end result seems to be the same: Masters get matched with Masters, Predators get matched with Predators, and they end up fighting against Diamond players. Could you explain why you continue to design the ranked system this way? I have spent almost 4,000 hours playing Apex Legends, and I genuinely want to ask the developers this: Are shorter queue times for a small number of top-ranked players, along with the opportunity to farm kill points by killing lower-ranked Diamond players, really more important than providing a fair experience for everyone else? All of my friends have quit Apex Legends. Please, put stricter matchmaking restrictions on high-ranked Master and Predator players. If you genuinely believe it is fair for top Predator players to fight against Diamond players, then shouldn’t Diamond players, regardless of whether they are Diamond 1 or Diamond 2, also be able to reach Master simply by earning enough kill points from killing Platinum and Gold players? If that sounds unreasonable to you, then doesn’t that prove that you are giving Predators preferential treatment at the expense of everyone else? Please take competitive integrity seriously and stop sacrificing the ranked experience of the majority of players for the convenience of a small number of top-ranked players. More than 30 of my gaming friends have quit Apex Legends because of these issues. Honestly, there are barely any of my friends left online in my friends list anymore. Every time a new season comes around, they give the game another try, only to be disappointed and leave again. I’m sure many of them have moved on to other games, like ARC Raiders or Overwatch. I genuinely want to ask you this: Is reducing queue times for top-tier Master and Predator players really worth losing all the players who have quit the game because of this matchmaking system? In every competitive game, queue times naturally get longer as you climb higher in rank. Sometimes, that can mean waiting 20 or even 30 minutes or more than that. That’s simply part of maintaining a fair and competitive matchmaking system at the highest levels. Even if you change the matchmaking system to make it fairer, the players who are good enough to reach Master and Predator will still get there. And other players will no longer have to watch Predator highlight clips of top-ranked players farming kill points by killing Diamond players and wonder, “How is this fair?” Instead, they would have far more respect for Predators who compete exclusively against other Masters and Predators, pull off incredible clutches, and earn their wins against players at their own level. I don’t know whether you will actually listen to this feedback. Honestly, I’m worried that you will handle it just as poorly as the recent solo ranked test. Even so, I still care about this game, at least for now. And I recognize that you are making efforts to improve the game and its systems, even if those efforts don’t always lead to the right results. That’s why I’m taking the time to write this lengthy feedback once again.Apex legends
Dear Apex Legends Development Team, I am a passionate Apex Legends player, and I would like to share an original concept for three new Legends that could bring fresh gameplay possibilities to the Apex Games. 1. VOLTEX – The Explosive Engineer - Passive: Voltage Fuse – Grenades create a brief electrical effect on impact. - Tactical: Shock Grenade – Throws a grenade that damages and slows enemies in a small area. - Ultimate: Orbital Barrage – Calls down a targeted explosive strike that forces enemies out of cover. 2. KRAKEN – The Hunter - Passive: Tracker – Reveals nearby enemy tracks and clues. - Tactical: Hunter's Vision – Highlights enemies and traps for a short time. - Ultimate: Beast Summon – A raven scouts the area and helps reveal enemy positions to the squad. 3. SYNTH – The Reclaimed - Passive: Phase Breach – Briefly phases through certain surfaces. - Tactical: Arc Snare – Throws an energy tether that damages, slows, and reveals enemies. - Ultimate: Death Recall – Places a beacon and, after a short delay, teleports back to it with restored shields, subject to appropriate balance limitations. Team Ultimate Combo: Explosion + Hunt + Recall Voltex forces enemies out of cover with an explosive barrage. Kraken identifies their positions and helps the squad track their movements. Synth then uses advanced mobility to reposition and complete the attack. The goal is to create a team that rewards coordination, timing, and tactical decision-making while remaining balanced for competitive play. These are original fan-made concepts, and I understand that any new Legend would require extensive testing, balancing, and evaluation by your development team. Thank you for your time and for continuing to develop Apex Legends. I hope these ideas can inspire future gameplay possibilities. Best regards, An Apex Legends fan North Macedonia Just an idea no more 😅😅
Ranked modes
Dear ea and respawn, As we all know that some people want arenas back, why not just bring arenas back or even better, new ranked modes like solos, duos or quads ranked or just use the old ltms as ranked mode, like three strikes or revival which is the same as wildcard, Please consider a new ranked mode because apex has been feeling really dry right now because everything is going in circles with doing the same thing over and over againThe Future of Iconic Skins in Apex Legends
I’ve been wanting to bring attention to something that I feel deserves more discussion within the Apex Legends community: the future of Iconic skins, particularly those introduced through collaborations. In November 2023, Apex Legends introduced its first Iconic cosmetics through the Post Malone collaboration. These skins were genuinely unique, not simply because of their rarity, but because they brought an entirely different approach to character customization. Octane’s Touch of Style, for example, featured details we rarely see in his cosmetics: visible tattoos, rings, painted nails, and a fashionable, tailored outfit. It gave the character a distinctive personality beyond the usual futuristic or combat-inspired designs. I believe this is exactly the type of creativity that makes collaborations valuable. However, nearly three years later, these cosmetics have yet to receive another release, leaving newer players and those who missed the original event without an opportunity to obtain them. With Apex increasingly making older event cosmetics available through the Legend Locker, I think it’s worth revisiting how Iconic cosmetics are handled. I understand that collaborations may involve licensing agreements, contractual restrictions, and other considerations that aren’t publicly disclosed. However, I think greater transparency about the future availability of Iconic skins would be valuable to players. There are a few questions I’d genuinely appreciate EA or Respawn addressing: Are Iconic collaboration skins intended to be permanently exclusive, or can they return under certain circumstances? Is the absence of the Post Malone cosmetics related to licensing restrictions, or simply a decision not to rerelease them? Could EA consider negotiating the return of popular collaborations when there is continued community demand? Could future Iconic collaborations include clearer information about whether cosmetics may return? I also believe there’s a strong business opportunity here. Players who missed the original event may be willing to purchase these cosmetics directly, and returning collaborations could generate renewed interest in Apex Legends without requiring an entirely new cosmetic collection. Exclusivity can make cosmetics desirable, but accessibility also creates opportunities for both players and developers. I’m not suggesting that every limited-time cosmetic should automatically become permanently available. Rather, I’d love to see EA consider occasional collaboration reruns, anniversary releases, or special opportunities for players to obtain previously released Iconic cosmetics. Even if the original Post Malone skins cannot return, I hope Apex continues exploring similar fashion-forward collaborations, particularly for Legends like Octane. Ultimately, I’d love an official clarification on whether the original Post Malone Iconic skins could ever return, even if there are currently no plans to rerelease them. I believe this is a conversation worth having, especially as Apex continues expanding its cosmetic offerings. Thank you for considering this feedback!Visual Discomfort and Aim Issues Since S29 Update
Hello, Dear Respawn Team, I would like to provide some feedback regarding the material and lighting changes introduced with the recent update. Since the Season 29 material and lighting update, I have noticed a significant change in the visual experience of Apex Legends compared with the previous version of the game. Unfortunately, this change has affected not only how the game looks, but also how comfortable and consistent it feels to play. 1. Olympus has become excessively bright and visually harsh On Olympus, many bright outdoor areas and illuminated surfaces now feel significantly more intense than before. When moving between different lighting conditions, the contrast can feel very strong. Bright areas can become visually overwhelming, especially during fights, and I often find myself being distracted by the lighting rather than being able to focus entirely on the enemy. The problem is not simply that Olympus looks brighter. The overall image feels much more visually aggressive and tiring than it did before the material update. 2. The updated World's Edge has the opposite problem The newer version of World's Edge seems to have almost the opposite issue. Many darker areas feel significantly darker than before, creating a very strong contrast between bright and dark environments. As a result, the two maps can feel visually very different: Olympus: excessively bright and visually harsh World's Edge: excessively dark Transitions between lighting conditions: much more noticeable and distracting I personally found the previous material and lighting presentation much more balanced and comfortable. 3. The biggest problem occurs during gunfights The most serious issue for me is not simply the static appearance of the maps. During actual gunfights, especially while aiming down sights, firing weapons, or taking damage, I experience a noticeably stronger sense of visual shaking, flashing, and visual discomfort compared with the version of the game before the material update. This becomes particularly noticeable when I am trying to track a moving enemy. Instead of being able to maintain a stable visual focus on the target, the combination of lighting, weapon effects, damage effects, and the new visual presentation can make the image feel much more visually stimulating and unstable. As a result, it directly affects: Enemy target acquisition Visual focus ADS tracking Smooth target tracking Aim consistency during gunfights I am not asking for the game to make aiming easier. The problem is that the visual presentation itself seems to be interfering with my ability to use the aiming skills I already had before the update. 4. My experience after the update There is also a more personal reason why I feel strongly about this issue. After the Season 29 material and lighting update, I genuinely felt that my aiming performance had changed. My ability to acquire, track, and stay focused on targets during fights no longer felt as consistent as it had before the update. At first, I assumed the problem was entirely my own. I thought that perhaps I had simply become rusty or had not been practicing enough. Because of that, I actually increased my practice intensity and spent more time working on my aim than I did before. I kept telling myself: "If my aim has become worse, I just need to practice harder." But after spending a considerable amount of time practicing, I found that the improvement was very limited. That was when I started questioning everything else. I became increasingly focused on my settings and started changing my sensitivity, resolution, brightness, monitor settings, NVIDIA settings, graphics settings, and even the game's configuration files. I kept trying different combinations because I wanted to find the settings that would allow me to regain the same visual consistency and aiming experience I had before the update. Unfortunately, none of these changes meaningfully solved the problem. Eventually, I started comparing my experience before and after the material update more carefully. The more I played, the more I began to suspect that the problem was not simply my mechanical skill or my settings. I started to feel that the new lighting and visual effects themselves were affecting how my eyes process and track targets during fights. When there is a large amount of contrast between bright and dark areas, combined with the visual effects from firing and taking damage, I find it much harder to visually lock onto an enemy and maintain smooth tracking. At the same time, my eyes become noticeably fatigued much faster than they did before the update. This has honestly been quite frustrating. I spent a lot of time blaming myself, thinking that I had simply become worse at the game, and trying to compensate by practicing more and constantly changing my settings. Only after exhausting these possibilities did I seriously begin to suspect that the visual changes introduced by the update might be contributing to the problem. I don't expect the game to make aiming easier for me. I simply want the visual environment to be consistent enough that my performance is determined by my own aim rather than by how much visual strain I experience during a fight. 5. My hardware and settings For reference, my current setup is: GPU: NVIDIA RTX 4060 Monitor: SANC N50Pro6 Resolution: 1920×1080 Refresh rate: 240 Hz HDR: Disabled In-game brightness: 50 I have also tried changing: In-game graphics settings Brightness Monitor settings Windows HDR settings NVIDIA settings Resolution Sensitivity videoconfig.txt configuration I have specifically tried disabling or reducing various visual effects, including shadows, volumetric lighting, volumetric fog, ambient occlusion and other graphics settings. Unfortunately, these changes have not meaningfully resolved the problem. This makes me wonder whether the issue may be related to the new material system, lighting, exposure, reflections, post-processing, or combat visual effects themselves, rather than simply being caused by my hardware or individual settings. 6. Possible solutions If possible, I would really like to see the previous material and lighting presentation restored. I understand that the development team has invested significant effort into improving the game's visual quality, and I am not suggesting that every graphical improvement should simply be removed. However, from a gameplay and visual-comfort perspective, I personally found the previous material presentation much more comfortable and consistent. If completely reverting the new material system is not feasible, I would like to suggest another possible solution: Could Respawn consider adding an option that allows players to choose between the new and previous material packs? For example: New Material Pack or Legacy / Previous Material Pack Players who enjoy the new visual presentation could continue using it, while players who experience visual discomfort or simply prefer the previous presentation could choose the older material system. I believe this could be a reasonable compromise. It would allow Respawn to continue improving the game's graphics while giving players some control over a visual change that can have a very different impact on different people. At the very least, I hope the team can investigate and optimize: Excessive brightness on Olympus Excessive darkness on the updated World's Edge Strong brightness/contrast transitions Visual effects during firing Visual effects when taking damage Visual stimulation while aiming down sights Target tracking during visually intense fights Increased eye fatigue during extended gameplay Conclusion I really enjoy Apex Legends, and that is precisely why I am taking the time to write this feedback. I have spent a lot of time trying to adapt to the new visual presentation rather than immediately assuming that the update was the problem. I practiced more, changed my settings, changed my sensitivity, changed my resolution, adjusted my monitor and NVIDIA settings, and even experimented with the game's configuration files. But eventually, I had to consider the possibility that something fundamental had changed in the visual experience itself. I don't want an easier game. I don't want a competitive advantage. I just want to be able to look at the game comfortably and focus on the enemy the way I could before the material update. I sincerely hope the Respawn team can investigate this issue and consider whether the new material and lighting system can be further optimized. And if the previous material presentation cannot be restored globally, I really hope a New Material / Legacy Material option could be considered in the future. Thank you for taking the time to read this feedback and for continuing to work on Apex Legends. Best regards, An Apex Legends playerPlease Bring Back Shadowfall / Fight or Fright This Halloween.
I've been playing Apex Legends for years, and one of the experiences I genuinely want to return is the original Shadowfall / Fight or Fright mode. I've spent the last two years hyping this mode up to my friends because I want them to experience what made it so special. The atmosphere, the tension, the Shadows hunting survivors, and the completely different way you had to approach the game made it one of my favourite Apex experiences. My suggestion is simple: bring the mode back for one month around Halloween. I understand that development, testing and balancing take time. I'm not expecting a completely new mode. I'd love to see the existing experience revisited, adjusted where necessary, and potentially supported by a rotating selection of compatible maps rather than being restricted to one version of Kings Canyon. A rotating map pool could help keep the mode fresh and give players more reasons to return throughout the event. Apex has so many different ways to play, but sometimes I miss an experience that is simply fun, atmospheric and different from the usual competitive grind. I know I'm not the only player who wants these older experiences back. I'd love the opportunity to play Shadowfall again with my friends and introduce it to people who never got to experience it. Please consider bringing it back for Halloween. It would genuinely mean a lot to players like me who still remember how special this mode wasPlease let players gift skins they already own
Please let players gift skins they already own It is extremely frustrating to repeatedly get skins for Legends or weapons I never use from Apex Packs, while friends who actually use them cannot receive those skins from me. Please add an option to transfer owned skins to friends. The skin could be removed from the sender’s inventory after gifting, with friendship requirements and transfer limits to prevent abuse. The current gifting system requires another purchase instead of letting us share what we already own. Please give unwanted skins some value instead of leaving them unused in our inventories.About pads
I usually play Apex on PC, but I'm currently traveling and only have a PS5 with me. Is it bannable to transfer my account to PS5 to play? Also, the controller I brought isn't compatible with PS5, so I'm considering using a Brook converter—is using one bannable in Apex? Note that I won't be using any cheats, macros, or RC filtersDo Not Change the Rules at Diamond
Hi Respawn team, I want to raise a concern about the current structure of Apex Legends Ranked. This is not a request to make Diamond, Master, or Predator easier. My concern is much more fundamental: Why should the rules of the game change when a player reaches the higher ranks? A player can climb through Ranked playing traditional Battle Royale with the Dropship, but once the lobby contains enough Diamond, Master, and Predator players, the game can switch to Drop Zones. At that point, Ranked is no longer simply giving the player stronger opponents. It is changing the competitive environment itself. I believe this creates a structural advantage for players who are already established in the highest ranks, while making it unnecessarily difficult for new players to enter that ecosystem. THE BASIC PROBLEM: DO NOT CHANGE THE RULES HALFWAY THROUGH A RANKED LADDER Imagine a football tournament where every team plays under normal football rules until the semifinals. Then, starting with the semifinals, the rules suddenly change. Even if the new rules are perfectly fair by themselves, there is an obvious problem: The tournament is no longer testing every team under the same competitive rules. I believe Apex Ranked currently has a similar problem. From the lower ranks through Platinum, players learn and demonstrate their ability under traditional Battle Royale conditions. They choose where to land. They observe enemy squads during descent. They decide whether to contest or disengage. They evaluate POI value and risk. They adapt when another team unexpectedly lands nearby. They manage imperfect loot. They decide whether an early fight is worth taking. They recover from bad situations. These are not accidents that exist outside of Apex. They are Battle Royale skills. Then, around Diamond and above, Ranked can switch to Drop Zones. Players are assigned POIs and much of the uncertainty surrounding the initial drop is reduced. That may create a more controlled competitive environment. But it is a different competitive environment. My objection is not that Drop Zones are inherently bad. My objection is that they are being inserted halfway through the same Ranked ladder. If Drop Zones are better for competitive Apex, that is an argument for a competitive mode. It is not necessarily an argument for changing the rules of standard Ranked after a player reaches a certain level. WHO IS RANKED DESIGNED FOR? This leads to a second question. Who should the main Ranked mode primarily serve? I understand why professional players, streamers, and established high-rank players may prefer Drop Zones. They reduce chaotic early contests. They reduce the possibility of losing large amounts of RP because several teams happened to land at the same POI. They create more structured matches. They may also reduce certain problems associated with predictable player drops at the highest levels. Those are understandable concerns. But professional and top-ranked players represent only a small part of the total Ranked population. The main Ranked ladder is played by a much broader population. If highly competitive players prefer an ALGS-like environment, I believe Apex should support that preference. But it should not require the standard Ranked ladder itself to transform into that environment at Diamond. Competitive Apex and Ranked Apex do not necessarily need to be the same product. THE COMBINATION OF SYSTEMS MAY CREATE AN INCUMBENCY ADVANTAGE Drop Zones are not my only concern. The larger problem appears when several systems are considered together. Established Master and Predator players have already spent significant time playing in the high-rank environment. They understand its rotations. They understand its pacing. They have experience with Drop Zones. They are more likely to have established teammates. They are also placed relatively high again after rank resets. Meanwhile, a player reaching Diamond for the first time enters this environment without the same accumulated experience. That player may simultaneously encounter: Higher-ranked opponents A different drop system Players with extensive high-rank experience A much higher concentration of coordinated premade squads Different macro expectations And matchmaking expansion caused by the relatively small Master and Predator population Each of these systems may have a reasonable justification when considered individually. But game systems should also be evaluated by their combined effect. Together, they may create a feedback loop: Players who are already established in the high-rank ecosystem gain more experience in that ecosystem. Their previous rank allows them to return closer to it after resets. They are more likely to have established teams. They become increasingly familiar with the rules used there. This makes it easier for them to remain part of that ecosystem. Meanwhile, new players attempting to enter it must overcome both stronger opponents and an environment in which established players already have accumulated experience. I am not claiming that Respawn intentionally designed Ranked to protect existing Master and Predator players. I am saying that the combined system may produce that effect regardless of intention. And that possibility should be investigated. RANK RESETS CAN REINFORCE THIS EFFECT There is a legitimate reason not to reset former Predators into low ranks. Nobody wants genuine Silver or Gold players to repeatedly fight former Predators at the beginning of every split. But the opposite problem should also be considered. If established high-rank players consistently begin much closer to the top while new challengers must climb through the entire ladder, previous success becomes a continuing structural advantage. Initial seeding makes sense. Repeatedly recreating an ecosystem in which the same population begins closest to the top deserves more scrutiny. The objective should be to protect low-ranked players from elite players without making historical rank unnecessarily important to future rank. DIAMOND SHOULD NOT SOLVE THE MASTER/PREDATOR POPULATION PROBLEM Respawn has already acknowledged the difficulty created by small high-rank populations. When there are not enough Master and Predator players, matchmaking has to expand. But this creates another structural issue. If the Master and Predator population is too small to create fast matches, who should bear the cost? Currently, part of that cost can be transferred downward. Diamond players become matchmaking supply for higher-ranked lobbies. That effectively produces this relationship: Small Master/Predator population -> insufficient players for fast matchmaking -> matchmaking expands downward -> Diamond players face substantially stronger competition I believe the more reasonable relationship is: Small Master/Predator population -> longer matchmaking times for Master/Predator The highest-ranked players are already an extremely small and highly competitive population. Longer queue times at the extreme top are a reasonable tradeoff for preserving the integrity of the ladder below them. PREMADE ADVANTAGE MAKES THE TRANSITION EVEN MORE SEVERE Respawn’s own matchmaking analysis demonstrates that premade composition matters. A premade duo plus one solo player wins more often than three solo players. A full premade trio also wins more often. And the concentration becomes particularly extreme at Master, where Respawn reported that 85% of Master squads are full premades. This means a newly promoted Diamond player may not simply be facing better individual players. They may simultaneously be facing: Better players More experienced high-rank players More coordinated teams A different drop environment And opponents from ranks above their own That is not a smooth increase in difficulty. It is several advantages being stacked at approximately the same point in the ladder. WHY “THAT IS JUST YOUR TRUE RANK” IS NOT A SUFFICIENT ANSWER A common response to players who stop progressing after reaching Diamond is: “Then Diamond is simply your correct rank.” Sometimes that will obviously be true. But that explanation becomes too simplistic when the system itself changes around the same point. A player’s final rank is not determined only by mechanical ability. It is influenced by: Scoring rules Entry costs Matchmaking ranges Rank resets Premade composition Drop rules And the population distribution created by those systems Apex’s own Ranked history demonstrates how dramatically rank distributions can change when these systems change. The players did not suddenly become massively better or worse between seasons. The ranking system changed. Therefore, we should be careful about treating every player’s current rank as a perfect measurement of their ability while ignoring the structure that produced that rank. THE SOLUTION: KEEP STANDARD RANKED STANDARD My preferred solution is simple. Standard Ranked should use the same fundamental Battle Royale rules from the bottom of the ladder to the top. Use the Dropship throughout standard Ranked. Let stronger ranks become harder primarily because the players are stronger. Do not introduce a different drop system halfway through the ladder. CREATE A SEPARATE MODE FOR COMPETITIVE APEX I do not want Drop Zones removed from Apex entirely. If high-level and competitive players prefer them, preserve that style of play. Create a separate competitive environment. For example: Apex Premier or Apex Competitive Such a mode could use: Drop Zones POI Draft ALGS-style scoring Premade teams Dedicated leaderboards Qualification requirements Tournament-related rewards or opportunities This would give competitive players an environment specifically designed around competitive Apex without changing the rules of the standard Ranked ladder for everyone else. REDUCE THE STRUCTURAL ADVANTAGE OF PREVIOUS RANK Previous performance can be used for initial placement to prevent former elite players from destroying low-ranked lobbies. But after initial placement, current performance should matter most. Rank resets should be reduced. Split resets should be reconsidered. Historical rank should prevent inappropriate low-rank placement, not continuously reinforce a player’s position near the top. TIGHTEN MATCHMAKING AROUND ACTUAL RANK Diamond players should primarily fight Diamond players. Master players should primarily fight Master players. Predator players should primarily fight the highest-ranked population. Some overlap is unavoidable. But when matchmaking must expand significantly, the RP system should recognize the difference in lobby difficulty. A Diamond player placed into a Master/Predator-heavy lobby should not be evaluated exactly as if that were a normal Diamond lobby. PREMADE STRUCTURE SHOULD MATTER IN MATCHMAKING Playing Ranked with friends should absolutely remain possible. But matchmaking should prioritize similar team structures whenever population allows it. Full premades should preferentially encounter full premades. Duo-plus-solo teams should preferentially encounter similar teams. Solo-heavy teams should preferentially encounter solo-heavy teams. The objective is not to punish people for playing with friends. It is to prevent party coordination from becoming another advantage stacked on top of rank, experience, and different competitive rules. RESPAWN CAN TEST WHETHER THE INCUMBENCY EFFECT IS REAL This does not need to remain a theoretical argument. Respawn has the data required to test it. Compare players reaching Diamond for the first time with previous Master or Predator players. Control for current performance metrics such as: Damage Kills Survival Win rate Top 5 rate And other measures of current performance Then compare: RP gained per match Probability of reaching Master Number of matches required to reach Master Solo versus premade performance Performance in Dropship versus Drop Zone matches Opponent rank distribution Performance immediately after entering Diamond And performance later in the split The key question is: After controlling for current player performance, how strongly does previous high-rank status predict reaching a high rank again? If previous Master or Predator status remains a very strong predictor even among players with similar current performance, Respawn should investigate which parts of the system are producing that persistence. That would help distinguish genuine persistent skill from structural incumbency advantage. MY MAIN REQUEST Please do not interpret this feedback as: “Diamond is too difficult.” That is not my argument. Diamond should be difficult. Master should be extremely difficult. Predator should be extraordinarily difficult. My argument is: Do not make high ranks difficult by changing the rules, stacking multiple structural advantages, and using lower-ranked players to solve population problems at the top. Make them difficult because the opponents are better. A player climbing from Platinum to Diamond should think: “The players are much better now.” Not: “The rules changed, the lobby structure changed, premade prevalence changed, and now I am also fighting players from above my rank.” A Ranked ladder should allow new players to challenge the established elite under the same fundamental rules. It should not unintentionally become easier to remain at the top simply because you are already part of the top-rank ecosystem. Apex has experimented with Ranked systems for many seasons. I believe it is time to establish a clear principle for what Ranked is supposed to be: Same Battle Royale. Same fundamental rules. Stronger opponents as you climb. And a fair opportunity for new challengers to replace established high-rank players if they are good enough. Thank you for reading.
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