I love Apex Legends, but the Matchmaking is driving my friends away

How would it be fair to the rest of the lobby to let you at a pack of beginners just because you queued in with your beginner friend?

The only solution is for the two of you to stop queueing together, hope he does well enough on his own to want to stay, and then maybe team up later when your mmrs are a little closer together. Though I have to say that the matchmaking in this game is so bad that he'll probably keep getting the same brutal matches whether you queue together or not. It's as if the game was designed to actively push away newcomers.

I completely agree with everything you said. You’ve pointed out the harsh reality of why this game feels like it’s actively pushing newcomers away, and I understand the fairness concern regarding high-level players entering beginner lobbies.

 However, I believe there should be a middle ground where we can find a balance.

If the current Unranked MMR is designed to prevent 'stomping' in public matches, then Bot Royale needs to be a truly safe and private environment.

 My suggestion for a compromise would be:

• Private Bot Royale: Allow us to create a session with 100% Bots and zero real player interference. This way, I can act as a mentor and let my friend practice with different weapons and mechanics at their own pace without affecting the 'fairness' of the rest of the community.
• Better Bot AI: If Bot Royale is meant to be a bridge, the bots need to be reactive enough to provide a real sense of the game's gunplay, minus the frustration of being 'one-clipped' by a Master-level player.

It’s heartbreaking to see a game I love become the reason my friends quit. I’m not asking for an easy win in public lobbies; I’m just asking for a functional space where I can share the Apex experience with them without the matchmaking system turning it into a nightmare. We need a solution that preserves both the competitive integrity of the game and the friendships of its players.

Let me share what just happened. I (experienced) took Friend A and Friend B (beginner) into Bot Royale, and we were matched against Master-level players.

They wiped us out and T-bagged our boxes in a mode meant for practicing against AI (LOL). It’s absurd. There is literally zero space for a newcomer to learn or even try different guns when the MMR is this aggressive. This is why we desperately need a Private Bot Royale option—so veterans can actually mentor friends without the entire lobby's interference.

Don't even get me started on how they've ruined bot royale with live players. I don't want all-bots for the same reasons as you, but I definitely want all-bots, and this is just one example of how the means can serve more than one end.

Right now I'd have to say that the firing range is really your only fall back. There's a lot you can do there to help your buddy get up to speed, although, as noted, bots are a far cry from live enemies no matter which difficulty setting you choose.

Best of luck to both of you. I hope he sticks it out - not sure there are any games out there that are any better than this one. And I mean that in both senses - the good and the bad.

​"I’m right in the middle—I’ve been playing for a long time, but my MMR isn't that high. I’m no pro, but I truly enjoy this game. It’s actually funny because I’ve tried so many other games out there, but I always end up coming back to this one. I love the theme, the characters, and the gunplay is just top-tier. I genuinely love Apex, and that’s why I still want my long-time friends of 15 years to give it a real shot.

​Here’s an update on my squad:

Friend A felt stressed at first because his high MMR was making the game too brutal for a beginner, but he is doing better now and is ready to get back in.

Friend B (the beginner) is actually back with a vengeance. Instead of quitting, he is now motivated to push himself and get good enough to take revenge on those who looked down on him.(lol) 

​The three of us strongly believe that a 100% Bot mode is essential. We really want the developers to bring it back as a private option.

It’s the only way for veterans to mentor their friends in a safe environment without the broken matchmaking interference. We’ve decided to stick together and will be spending time in the Firing Range for now. We aren't letting a bad system or toxic encounters ruin a 15-year friendship. See you in game!"

I’ve spent some time reflecting on our discussion. It seems we’ve reached a common understanding regarding the complexities of Matchmaking in Unranked and Ranked modes, so I’d like to move past that.

Instead, I want to focus on Bot Royale—specifically for those of us who simply want to introduce the game we love to our friends. I want to share a story about my friend, 'C'.

In our group of long-time friends, only Friend A and I are experienced Apex players. We’ve been trying our best to welcome Friend B and Friend C into the Outlands as newcomers. C, in particular, genuinely loves Apex—the theme, the characters, and especially the top-tier Gunplay.

Now, let me be clear: C is capable of playing Unranked or even Ranked matches. She understands the mechanics, but after a long, exhausting day at work, she finds those modes far too stressful. She just wants Apex to be her 'safe space' to unwind. She isn't a hardcore FPS pro, but she loves how this game feels. She wants to play 'chill,' complete her Daily Challenges, progress through the Battle Pass, and admire the skins she collects. She is exactly the kind of loyal, long-term player and customer that any live-service game should strive to protect.

However, she became a victim of the current system. Instead of a sanctuary, she was repeatedly hunted down by Master and Diamond-level players who entered her Bot Royale lobbies. And the worst part? She was even T-bagged and mocked by these high-level players in a mode meant for practice. It’s heartbreaking that even in Bot Royale, she can't escape being ridiculed while just trying to finish her Battle Pass quests or practice with weapons she isn't familiar with.

After being 'stomped' and mocked match after match, she felt discouraged and hasn't logged in for a month. Her parting words to me were: 'When I can finally practice and relax in a true Bot Royale (100% Bots), I’ll come back to play, finish my quests, and buy all those skins I’ve been eyeing.'

She is still waiting for that change because she truly loves this game, but I’m honestly terrified that this change might never come. Is it possible for a 100% Private Bot Royale to be an 'Option' that we can choose? Sometimes we just want a place to relax after work, or a space where players like C can practice with weapons they aren't comfortable with yet, without the fear of being mocked by strangers.

I truly hope the developers realize that by letting this 'broken promise' and toxic interference persist, they are driving away the very players who are ready to love and invest in this community long-term. I don't want technical excuses—I just want a sustainable way for us to share this game with the people we care about.

There's no longer any mode in this game where you can "play" in peace.

Ranked - anything above D4 is unprofitable due to terrible matchmaking, numerous cheaters, and 3-stacks.

Pubs - people immediately leave games after being killed.

Wildcard - the biggest sweat, 3-stack kill grinders, and a huge number of cheaters.

Generally speaking, Apex is no longer worth playing for casuals or those with low or average skill.

The worst part is that even though a lot of people cheat in Wildcard, I still see the same names in every lobby I play every day. It's impossible to play with matchmaking like that. SBMM should be completely removed from public games so you don't waste half your day playing with cheaters.

A couple of things here really hit home.

I'm currently going through the same thing that your friend C is, except I'm doing it in Marathon. Which it turns out I hate. Oh well. It's just another sweaty shooter with no space to learn other than by abject and repeated failure for someone else's benefit. So that's been shelved indefinitely.

I truly believe that most of these games are built and run by people who love and live and breathe the shooter genre. And they all of them came of age in the era of team-based multiplayer games. For me it started with Halo 2 and Xbox Live, and I bet that's an experience a lot of these devs could relate to. And sadly it's locked them into a way of looking at their own games where they see it as one thing and one thing only: a team-based multiplayer shooter. Halo is now 26 years old and it still hasn't grown beyond team slayer in any meaningful way. CoD at least bought into battle royale as a game mode. But most of these titles are still all about the team, and they are all about player vs. player. Even Respawn has said that they view bots as a mode for warm up or wind down. Before or after a grind session. And that's the problem right there. They need to stop designing the mode around how they think people will use it, and start making it completely use-agnostic so that any individual player can use it in whatever way they want and for whatever purpose they want.

Player vs. Player is not the answer to all shooter questions, Respawn. It just isn't.

I may not be at a high rank, but I completely agree with your assessment. Despite the flaws, I still genuinely enjoy Apex, which is why my group of friends (A, B, C, and myself) is so persistent about wanting a True Bot Royale.

You hit the nail on the head regarding Pubs. We see it all the time—people hot-dropping 1v3, dying instantly, blaming the team, and then quitting. That’s exactly why we try to rotate our group so we can always have a full 3-man squad just to have a functional match.

As for Ranked, it might sound contradictory, but since my friends (B and C) have never touched Ranked and I haven’t played for several seasons, we are starting from Bronze. Do you think there’s any hope for us to use the lower ranks as a learning ground, or will we just run into the same 'sweaty' issues there too?

I’ve tried Wildcard a few times and it was fun, but you’re absolutely right about the intensity and the players there. This is why I keep advocating for a 100% Private Bot Royale. I want to be a Mentor, not a 'Smurf.' I want a space where I can actually teach my friends the ropes without the toxic interference of the current live modes.

Based on your experience with the game, do you think there's any chance or trend that the developers might actually implement a Private Bot Royale? We really, truly want this to happen.

Thank you so much, You captured exactly what’s missing in modern shooters. The phrase 'Use-Agnostic' is perfect.

As for Marathon, that was actually a game my group of friends was considering! But hearing your experience definitely gives us pause (lol)—thanks for the heads-up. We might have to reconsider that one.

I also really appreciate you understanding C. She’s quite sensitive about being mocked or ridiculed for not being 'good enough,' which is why the toxic interference in Bot Royale hit her so hard. She just wants to enjoy the world of Apex at her own pace without that fear hanging over her.

At the end of the day, we are just a group of working adults who happened to fall in love with Apex Legends (lol). Our skills might not be what they were in our younger days, but we certainly have more purchasing power now. We still find ourselves browsing through skins, admiring the designs, and wanting to own them. But right now, B and C are hesitating to invest because of the current state of the game.

Respawn shouldn't decide how we use Bot Royale. Whether it’s for warming up, practicing a new gun, or simply enjoying the game's beauty after a long day at work without being someone else's 'target practice,' that choice should belong to us.

Is there any way we can actually get our voices heard by the Devs regarding this Private Bot Royale? I truly hope they hear your closing words: PvP is not the answer to all shooter questions, Respawn. It just isn't.