@nooblet123 I wasn't really trying to argue for no damage increase at all, but even just doubling or quadrupling the basic damage would be a fairly worthwhile deterrent imo. Certainly 15 is way way too high for early rings and means that just getting caught out a tiny bit or running across another team at wrong moment is more or less and instant game over.
@Koochi-Q I agree camping is a total pain but it's not something I have personally seen more of outside than inside the ring... some people camp choke spots just inside the ring for players coming in, some people camp buildings well inside the ring, and sure, some people camp passage areas outside the ring waiting players who are further out to come through - in my experience some players are more likely to camp and will still do it regardless of the ring.
Also if you get into a fight with a team as the ring is coming in what are you supposed to do? And why is fighting outside the ring such a problem anyway... so long as you're fighting, not just sat still waiting to ambush people. Turning your back and trying to run is often one of the fastest ways to die in Apex, and you can guarantee that many players out there will keep shooting you in the back to try and get the kill even if it ultimately means they end up dying too from ring damage themselves... so you're damned either way. Run you die, fight you die.
@Vhalei Yeah, I think damage ramping is already a good solution, but I also think it could be combined with a distance from safe zone thing, so as long as you are running/moving towards the safe zone the damage will stop ramping.
I never really thought camping outside ring camping was such a problem that this needed to be changed, but at the same time I think some increases are fair enough if people are finding it a major problem. And things like respawning... in my personal opinion if your teammates die in a fight but you can respawn them outside the ring near to their death boxes so they can get their stuff back then that is fair enough and not unsportsmanlike play. It just seems like so many legit reasons to be outside the ring for a bit are being penalized in order to stop a few campers who will probably camp anyway, just now they will do it inside the ring.
Late game I thought the damage was fine as it was, it hurt like hell and forced you to move fast but still left possibility to get caught outside a little bit without it being an instant death sentence. All I can see is you will now get people using creeping barrage/defensive bombardment or just nade spam to prevent other teams from approaching the ring for a few seconds, and the resulting ring damage will get you the win.
For me winning when you did nothing more than wait for other players to get knocked down by the ring is the most unsatisfying way to end a game and always feels like a total anti-climax.
At least we all seem to agree that the current solution is way over the top... like I said to David, is like using napalm to get rid of a couple of weeds on your front lawn! Thnks for thoughtful replies all!