Suggestion: Tournament / Cup mode
Hello Respawn team and community,
This post proposes an ALGS-inspired “soft” tournament mode for Apex Legends: a structured competitive format designed to sit between Ranked and professional ALGS play. The intent is to introduce a ruleset that changes player incentives and produces more strategic, end-game-focused matches.
Format Overview
Solo, Duo, or Trio queue
If entering as Solo or Duo, players are matched once and remain with the same teammate(s) for the entire tournament
- 3–5 matches per tournament
- Fixed lobby (same teams across all games)
- Cumulative leaderboard
- Placement and kill points are aggregated across matches
- Winner determined by total points after the final game
- Competitive scoring model (placement-weighted, optional kill cap)
- Optional / rotating Legend bans
- Estimated duration: ~1.5–2.5 hours
Incentive Structure & Player Behavior
A cumulative, multi-match scoring system materially alters decision-making:
- Performance persists across games, increasing the cost of early eliminations
- Consistency, rotations, and late-game positioning are prioritized over isolated high-risk engagements
- Teams are incentivized to manage risk across the full tournament rather than optimize for a single match
This closely mirrors ALGS-style strategic play, where disciplined mid-games and dense end circles emerge naturally from the incentive structure. Compared to standard Ranked—where risk is often localized to a single game—this format introduces longer-term stakes that encourage more deliberate play.
Competitive Integrity & Commitment
Because this mode involves fixed teams and extended duration:
- Leaving, going AFK, or abandoning the tournament should result in a 1-hour requeue penalty
- This penalty is proportionate to the time investment and helps preserve lobby stability
- Stronger enforcement reduces negative externalities for remaining teams
Social & Spectator Elements
- Playing multiple matches against the same teams enables adaptation, learning, and longer-term rivalries
- Eliminated teams may spectate ongoing matches
- Optional chat between eliminated teams while spectating:
- Enables light banter and post-fight discussion
- Allows teams to discuss ongoing games, previous interactions, and key moments
- Helps create shared context and tournament “narratives” across matches
Ranked Progression Integration
To ensure the mode complements Ranked rather than competes with it:
- Award Ranked Points (RP) based on overall tournament placement
- RP scaling can account for match count and lobby strength
- Maintains progression relevance for competitive players so they don’t feel they are losing out on regular ranked grind
Summary
An ALGS-soft tournament mode would:
- Offer a higher-stakes competitive environment without requiring esports-level commitment
- Encourage strategic, consistency-based play
- Produce more competitive end circles and higher-quality late games
- Expand Apex’s competitive ecosystem alongside Ranked
