See Title.
Trying to introduce my wife to the game.
Go into an "Orientation" match.
Me level 8, her level 1.
Get absolutely steamrolled by a player above level 500.
How is this fair, or even a welcoming experience for new players?
Orientation is for "Training", for "Learning in a level playing field", no?
Why are sweats allowed to join this mode?
Well now your wife gets to play more orientation matches which is the only casual mode there is in Apex at the moment.
Due to declining player numbers you would get steamrolled in your first regular match too.
Playing orientation matches you at least have some bots in it which give you that training.
My son just installed Apex on Xbox and similar thing happened to him. Problem was that this +500 level sweat was on his team which meant that the sweat dropped a 30 bomb win and son didnt get to shoot his gun for once in his orientation match. Really prepared him for what comes next LOL.
Please add PvE mode available to all Apex players. This would give new players a more casual way to join in and get them more ready for the PvP enviroment.
Game has been out for so long that the skill & game knowledge of average casual player is already so high that the new players will instantly turn away when some superstrafebunnyhopwallbounce octane plays with their food.
Like I wouldnt even go near CS due to same skillgap but since you can opt to play bots might just give it a try.
Apex Legends has a constantly moving SBMM system. Once you complete your orientation matches, the system guesses what your SBMM should be and tries to assign you what it considers a fair estimate.This estimate is quickly adjusted after 1 or 2 matches to what your true SBMM rating should be. Your performance is then re-evaluated after every match, in every game mode. Player level realistically has very little to do with Apex's matchmaking, in fact, it doesn't factor into it at all.
At player level 8, it's likely that you've already completed your orientation matches and several other matches on top of that. It isn't outside the realm of possibility that:
1. Your SBMM rating is higher than average thus causing you to draw in better players in your matches due to how the matchmaking system works and
2. Just like how you were playing in orientation matches with your wife, a veteran player could also be doing the same with someone else.
Honestly, this is probably the worst competitive shooter to attempt to introduce someone to that isn't already great at FPS games. It has an extremely high skill ceiling and has been around long enough for a majority of the playerbase to have mastered the mechanics, legends, and weapons in the game
This doesn't even account for the game actively encouraging people to smurf, and streamers to do rookie to master/pred challenges on new accounts just so they can stomp genuinely new players to the amusement of their audience.
@ComradeWeebelo
You are correct about the SBMM idea but unfortunately it doesnt work due to not having enough players.
https://www.reddit.com/r/apexlegends/comments/18j8asa/matchmaking_theory/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
In above reddit post there is some math on why there are "leaks" in the system.
+ Sample size in that was 800 000 as at the moment actual player count is around 300 000 players online.
+ There is always a peak in player numbers at the beginning of the season as the casuals join in. Now its mid to late season so only the sweats are still grinding multiple hours a day. So skill pool is awfully unbalanced. Big part of those online players are higher skill level players.
Community ManagerCommunity Manager
