New dropping system is terrible

Another good post. And you are right to point out that I have a great disdain for people who play games professionally. Not limited to video games, if that makes any difference.

And to that point let me start with a quote from your post: "pro players advocated for more "structure" because the stakes are too high." This is the same attitude that is killing "professional" sports across the board. Football players can't play football because they might get hurt. Racecar drivers won't race anymore unless temperature and precipitation are "perfect" because there's too much at stake. There are a million other examples of delicate flowers not wanting their ecosystem upset by anything foreign or dangerous or unpredictable.

And I have to say that I think it's possibly a little naive to assume that pros have left the game because ranked rewards were inadequate or because they couldn't cope with random drops. I think most left because no one can do anything at that level for six years. This game is just plain old. I'm not saying Respawn has done an otherwise flawless job of managing the game, much less the ranked experience, but don't let's pretend fixed drops is some kind of magic bullet that will restore competitive integrity to the game. It might be a necessary first step, but it will amount to nothing in the end because, downplay it all you like, but nothing in ranked can ever have any meaning without a high-functioning anti-cheat. Which this game does not have. I know it. You know it. Everyone knows it. And that means that when you get one-clipped while executing complex motion at a great distance from your assailant... you would be a fool to assume they were doing it legitimately, even though they may have been.

"Once all the changes have been implemented cheaters will have a much harder time because more eyes will be on Ranked." I don't know how else to characterize this other than to repeat: Naive.

"Additionally, spectators/fans of the ALGS appreciated the change because we don't want teams sabotaging each other's games."

On this I would be curious to hear more. I'm not a spectator of anything, so I don't pretend to understand why people would want to watch others do something that they could simply do themselves, and I also don't understand why one tactic would be considered less watchable than any other - assuming that confrontation is the result. Why else do people watch? On this one I'm ready to be educated.

If you don't like structure then you're going to hate A.I..

Bashing sports for having more protective measures, etc., doesn't make sense. Let's just go back to the 1960s and start over (with everything). If something has changed then it has changed for a reason, hopefully to improve a situation. But you know that Recon, you're just playing devil's advocate. 

Apex has been out for almost 7 years and that's not a long time. How long has Escape from Tarkov, World of Warcraft, GTA 5, Counter Strike 2, Dota 2, League of Legends, Warframe, Fortnite, Warzone, Destiny 2, Minecraft, Overwatch, etc. been out? I don't understand your point. My apologies. 

Also, it's impossible for you to know why pros don't play Apex anymore if you're not paying attention to the comp scene. Nothing I've stated about this situation comes from me alone. It's what I've heard from pro players, coaches, and others within the comp scene. So are you keeping up with the comp scene or not? I'm confused. You can't have your cake and eat it.

Trust, I'm far from naive. I said what I said and I meant it. 

Okay, you're not a spectator. But don't bash the people who are entertained by competitive Apex. Do you care about happy mediums or does everything have to conform to your way of thinking? I'm just curious.

Recon, throughout human history people have been watching other people do what they can't do themselves. I'm not the biggest football fan, but you're telling me that I should throw a football to myself or join a league instead of going to watch the Carolina Panthers. Aight man. 🤨 

Furthermore, to bash the thousands of people who will be attending Champs in a couple of weeks in Japan is extremely out-of-touch with the game you claim to love. Because if you don't love this game, franchises, and studio then why are you here? Politely speaking. 

No need to explain anything further.... Here's the links. 

ALGS Website

The Best Final Circles in ALGS History

Twitch Directory

There you go buddy. 😀

Obviously everything should conform to my way of thinking. Right? I mean... right????

"If something has changed then it has changed for a reason, hopefully to improve a situation."

In this game things don't always change for any reason at all other than for the sake of change. Worst kind of change imaginable. That's the opposite of changing to improve the situation. But as regards fixed drops, I can easily grant that that was not a change made for the sake of change. Did it improve the situation? Sure. For some. It all depends on whose ox is being gored, as the saying goes. But please, let's don't pretend that all change is change for the better, any more in this game than in real life.

But on a more serious note: It's true that I'm only tangentially aware of the workings of the professionally competitive side of this game. I know what I see while sorting through various YouTube creators. Like all people who make a profession out of something other than healing the sick or saving stray and abused animals... it tends over time to degenerate into varying degrees of self-aggrandizement where money becomes more important than.. whatever it was that caused people to do the thing in the first place. The tail wags the dog and "the deal" takes precedence over everything else. Pro football players. Actors. Politicians. And yes, gamers. So forgive me if my enthusiasm for all of it is tainted, and if I take anything they think or say or do with a grain of salt. They, like me, have their own opinions and their own axe to grind and are poster children for nothing other than late-stage capitalism. Certainly not for gaming integrity.

And not to get lippy about it, but the "structure" argument is **bleep**. Take that to its logical conclusion and we can just spawn two players onto a map, like they did with that horrendous 1v1 game type they came up with a season or two ago, and the first one to die loses and the survivor is the winner. THAT'S structure. Anything in between is just somebody looking for an angle because, truth be told, there is a lot of luck in the battle royale formula, and "more structure" is just code for "take away anything that challenges the primacy of my mechanical skills." That is what people mean when they talk about professionals and grinders "optimizing the fun out of the game." And why do they do it? You said it yourself: too much at stake. Which I read as "too much money at stake." To which I respond with, "get a real job."

"Apex has been out for almost 7 years and that's not a long time." I see where you're going with the games you listed. All of which I've heard of and none of which I have played. In my neck of the woods, console shooters, it's the likes of Halo, Call of Duty, and a handful of others that rule the roost, or used to, and none of those titles last more than a few years. Counterstrike and DOTA are, from what I understand, exceptions rather than rules. And there a lot of aspects of PC gaming, as distinct from console gaming, that could account for a longer shelf life, but who really knows? It could be as simple a dev who chooses not to annualize a franchise as is common on console. All I know for sure is that Apex is not the same game it was when it launched. The game has changed, and the player base has changed. I didn't say "declined," but there has been a population decline over time. But more importantly, when I see a pro post a "goodbye" video on YouTube they always have reasons why they're leaving, but those "reasons" are usually just wordy ways of saying "I think I can make more money somewhere else." Maybe in a game with better anti-cheat. Again, maybe I'm being too conspiratorial in my thinking. Maybe not.

"I'm not the biggest football fan, but you're telling me that I should throw a football to myself or join a league instead of going to watch the Carolina Panthers."

No, that's not what I meant to imply. What I meant to imply is that there is something seriously suspect in a society that worships people who throw balls, pretend to be other people, or offer to rule over us with or without our consent. By all means, admire achievement, even seek to emulate it. But for the love of Mike, stop throwing money at it as if those people are "worth" it and as if any of us have that much of it to throw away. Because that's what you're doing with it: throwing it away. You wanna give money to a charity or support an organization that tries to cure cancer or invent mechanical limbs for people who have lost their own? That's worth spending money on. Though, I get it, obviously not as entertaining as watching a teenager high on Adderall beating the digital **bleep** out of some other kid. Bread and circuses, my friend. Bread and circuses.

"Furthermore, to bash the thousands of people who will be attending Champs in a couple of weeks in Japan is extremely out-of-touch with the game you claim to love. Because if you don't love this game, franchises, and studio then why are you here?"

Now there, my friend, are some leaps of logic. I can't love the game if I don't love ALL of the game? ALL of the people who love the game? No matter how they chose to demonstrate their love? I demonstrate mine by playing it and by coming here to suggest to the developer that there is room for improvement. Vigorous discussion is, I believe, not only good for me and my experience, it's good for the game and the community. I don't have to get everything exactly the way I want it. And believe me, I won't. No, I just have to put my opinions out there and watch the chips fall. And keep playing. For as long as there is fun to be had. And with fixed drops there is less. For me. That's all I'm saying.