6 years ago

The apex legends experience from a below average player’s POV

The implementation of the SBMM mechanism is supposed to help the below average players, but as a below average player myself, this does not reflect my experience whatsoever.

My stats? 1200 kills, 0.8 K/D, max kills in one game is 8. Just so we can agree that I’m definitely below average. My overall gaming intelligence might be decent, but my potato aim is what holds me back.

My experience? If I play 10 games, I have 1 game where I’m decent, 1 game where I’m actually good, and 8 games where I just get stomped on. I have no problem with losing, but I do have a problem with not standing a chance. Getting destroyed over and over and over again until the game starts to feel like self-abuse. Getting killed in my first fight happens at least 75% of the time, and not because I’m slightly worse than my opponent. More like my entire team isn’t even able to crack a shield, that’s the insane difference I’m talking about. In the past, I was able to relax in ranked (from bronze to gold) but the current smurf-infested bronze has made that impossible.

My mood? Getting obliterated over and over again is the reason why apex legends has become extremely frustrating. And so is the mood of the vast majority of my random teammates. Thousands and thousands of players cursing this game, everyone and everything just because they’re having a crappy experience like me.

My SBBM? At least I know the system doesn’t look at gun accuracy because I would get easier lobbies. Match placement seems to be the biggest contributor. That’s why I’m better off dying quickly rather than making it to the last few squads with very few or no kills. If I happen to win a game in season 5, I immediately get launched to the predator lobbies which is just stupid.

My conclusion? Having fun once every 10 games is downright sad. The amazing potential that this game could bring is the only thing that keeps me going, but even that is starting to fade away. That’s why I would really like the developers to answer this simple question: how should a below average player enjoy this game? Because I honestly don’t know what the answer is. If this is how the developers want me to experience apex legends, then I should make the smart decision to abandon this game because it’s just not worth the negativity in my life.

I will probably get a lot of criticism but I needed to get this out there. The last few weeks, my experience has reached a new low and it's just not playable anymore.

gameplay discussion

16 Replies

DaleWWilson95
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
@Solim66 Been like this for months nothing changes ive played 4 games a day since new season if that, not worth playing until they start caring about the community
Solim66
6 years ago
The last two weeks, I couldn't even reach a 0.5 K/D anymore. Today I played 12 games and there were only two games where my team was able to win our first fight.
The game is completely unplayable for me at this point. The developers seem to be happy with its current state. It's just making me miserable. There is not a single shred of joy left when playing this game. Only frustration. Screw this endless cycle of negativity. I'm done.
SugaryJuice
6 years ago
I'm sorry to hear that. As a professional player myself, I feel there should be a wider range of SSBB lobbies, because right now there seems to just be a fresh noob lobby, and then a lobby with literally everybody else.
Also, your point about having bad aim is a massive issue. Aim is almost everything in this game. You absolutely need to tune your sensitivity and controller settings to both accommodate your comfort zone, and give you a speedy edge in gun fights. If you don't resolve that, you are always going to have a bad time.
KelRiever
6 years ago
SBMM will never succeed, so stop hoping for it.
This game moves you up in ranks in many different ways, which makes it very hard for any SBMM to be properly calculated. You could kill a lot of people and be thrown out of the game before 15 other teams. You could not klll anyone and place top 5. You can do any combination in between.
So ranked play or not, SBMM is going to try to calculate based on that. And what's going to be the determining factor? Wins? Kills? How much you help your team mates? And if you say all of it, what if I only do one thing? How does that rate when I do nothing of the other things? I could meet someone my 'rank' who SUCKS as a team player but gets some kills maybe. He's going to move up. I could leave my team (like I do) in King's Canyon to die, then go into top 5. I could hurl shields and heals and revives into my team, contribute nothing else, and ride their coattails. I could actually do nothing to help my team at all, die, and just wait until my rng matching gets me up in wins.
None of that tells me if I'm playing with the right people for what I want to do.
So SBMM was always going to be a joke. Stop worrying about it and play like a fool.
ValkoorMoon
6 years ago
@Solim66 Ok so I am roughly an above average player in Apex and in most shooters in general. Keep in mind i am not trying to be toxic or put you down in any way but i stopped reading your post after i read "potato aim". If you arent actively seeking ways to improve your aim then maybe shooters, especially battle Royales, you shouldnt play.

Now aim is extremely important and is easily one of the easiest things to work on in Apex in general due to the trainning ground being an amazing place to work on that. Having said that once your aim improves that doesnt mean all your games are gonna go well. All battle royales have a degree of rng to them due to their nature so dieing off the drop can still happen even with the best aim.

Now in wining fights maybe it isnt your aim that is getting you killed but how you approach your fights as well. I have seen it allot, especially Octanes lol, run into a fight with no backup with them and get killed. Learn different strategies on approaching fights.

Finally man, all players start at the bottom and improve from there. Actively practicing aim, positioning, and awareness will improve your games and also your fun. If you arent willing to take the time to improve these areas then please by all means stop playing the game. About SBMM, i do agree with the other gentleman in saying that its about as good as it can get becuse there are to many factors and impossible to get it exactly right.

And yes you are right in saying that the devs dont give a *, after all it is a EA game so i am afraid ylur complaints will fall on deaf ears. Every event they have only proves this fact when if you want an heirloom weapon you have to spend over 200 dollars to get it.
LordloshBang
6 years ago
I wouldn`t say you are below average. There is players that are way below you, so your stats, aren`t bad at all. And 0/8 k/d/r is probably below average ratio, so you are fine.
But many factors play a role at Apex Legends. There is a lot of stuffs t hat ruin the gameplay and make you even more frustrated.
As far as the aim goes, and what ValkoorMoon say i totally disagree.
I just don`t see how will improve your aim by just playing the game and hitting the firing range, its ain`t going to happen.
And to build a top aim, you need a years of grinding, and not only grinding, but to know what you are doing, and to constantly look and seek for improvements.
I see a lot of tube videos with streamers or so call "content creaters" that are claiming they are getting godlike aim in a 14 days, months or a so, which is a complete b.c.
Why i`m saying all this, Apex is game that in order to enjoy it at it highest, you need to be solid, and that require to put a lot of time in it, and to constantly improve.
I really don`t see what they can do to improve the matchmaking that much, to help such players, so my only suggestion is if you are serious about this game, to build yourself a good daily routine for training, which will help you improve.
Solim66
6 years ago
@SugaryJuice I agree having poor aim is a massive issue. That's why I'm spending quite some time in the firing range of Apex Legends + also using Aimlab to get some more "dynamic" exercises. Especially in Aimlab I see a lot of improvement which is great. But it just doesn't seem to change anything in game. Of course I don't want to quit this game, but the skill gap remains huge and improving a bit is just not gonna cut it unfortunately.
Anyway, thanks for your thoughts.
Pure_Funk_Nugge
6 years ago
@Solim66 I'm below average for sure, but still addicted to this game.
I'm old (47), eyes are going bad, and the reflexes aren't what they used to be.

Lifetime k/d 0.89, 9 kill max game with 1963 dmg. and can usually get multiple wins every day even with my horrible aim. Like you said overall gaming intelligence can compensate for bad aim, many times I win from good rotations and positioning.

Between those good games yes I get stomped on, squad mates quit and all that jazz, but I keep coming back for more! I must be a glutton for punishment.

I will say I believe US servers are less forgiving due to more aggressive players. And I have found some servers in other countries do feel a little more relaxed. And from playing on other servers I have met some super nice people from all over the planet playing Apex, I really like that.

I still have fun as a casual, but I do play other games towards the end of seasons after I complete battle passes and ranks.
Solim66
6 years ago
@Pure_Funk_Nugget Having fun as a casual is exactly what I'm looking for. Getting enemy teams to teabag with me has kinda turned into a hobby now. It makes my games more enjoyable and apparently some enemies like to play with their food. I don't care whether I win or lose, I just want to have fun.

My win rate must be a lot lower than yours but I totally agree that good positioning is key when you're below average. In other cases it's mainly because of good teammates or just pure dumb luck. Winning based on my own skill in a "fair" 1v1 is quite rare. I absolutely need to train this.

I only play on EU servers so I can't compare. Third parties are always hiding around the corner though. Also, the majority of my random teammates has a very agressive playing style and completely abandon defense when going into a fight. I'm not a lurky lion but knowing which fights to avoid can be a game changer. But if the team pushes, I also push (to certain death). After all, I want to be a good teamplayer. They can have all the good loot.

I hope one day I can get your mindset. Season 5 has been brutal to me so far and this combined with increased stress levels unrelated to gaming has caused me to be irritable (as my second post regrettably proves in this thread).
Shredpai
6 years ago
I'm at 1.5 k/d/r and i got qued with apex predator/ 4k/ 20kills badge and lvl 500? Apex this is why I quit ranked! I pretty good player but my last match i got lazed by a 20 kills predator pathfinder with wingman (145 dmg) And i don't even landed 1 shot on him with my hemlock! WTF this is SBMM? NO