Apex built a system that keeps players hooked but not valued

Could not agree more.

For me they demonstrate their contempt by being both unable and unwilling to deal with various aspects of the cheating problem. Which creates a matchmaking nightmare. Then suddenly the real game no longer has anything to do with game sense or gun skills, or teamwork. The game becomes trying to find ways to beat the matchmaker. Trying to fool it into giving me what I want instead of what the streamers want. Bots looked like being that thing and then this season's update allowed the streamers to run riot through what was supposed to be the one place in this hell hole of a game where you could get away from them for five minutes. That, to me, was nothing short of a betrayal. I don't know any other way to describe it.

I guess this game really does belong to a handful of top-tier players living on their secondaries. The rest of us exist for their pleasure. Respawn will never understand this, and that means there will never be anything done to address it. We either figure out ways to exist in the hostility or we go to other games. I've tried the latter just lately, and I never would have believed it but Marathon is even worse. I can't understand what keeps people playing that trash game. I hope it ends Bungie and drags Sony into bankruptcy.

Well said, I feel the same. 

I feel like the Respawn Devs have basically said - "to the casual player base, we don't want you to play our game, its not for you, we don't want to make things fair, so stop playing our game." 

If you are not a streamer or pro streamer, then you are punished severely at their expense. You know its perplexing really when you think about it... Respawn caters completely to the streamers and pros, for mainly the reason of the amount of followers that they have and generate. They use them to push skins and make suggestions on what to buy, as they showcase items given to them - in most cases for free.

Their whole purpose of catering to them is sorely to use them to increase the player base, thus increasing the profit through the cosmetic store. However...  it is hilarious, that they do all that work to increase the player base, which are casual players, because we are the 90% of their player base... all that work to get these new players into the game and what does Respawn do with them? They punish them once they arrive and throw them at the mercy of the streamers, pros and cheaters at the top of the skill bar. 

All that work to increase your player base just to screw them over and use them to keep your pros and streamers happy. 

So I have done exactly what you Dev's have told me to do... don't buy anything or spend money if the game doesn't treat you fairly, and to stop playing if you don't wish to be fodder. 

Thank you, message received.