Apex Legends Smurfing and Matchmaking

@RC_Ocean

I don’t support Smurfing at all, and I think it should be entirely harder to create new accounts.

But you DO understand why some people smurf right? I’m a Masters player and I am CONSTANTLY thrown against other Masters and Preds in pubs. I’m not running through lower tier lobbies like people like to complain about. I play a couple hours daily and I haven’t won a match in about 13 days (just shy of two weeks).

That’s the kind of thing that prompts players to create new accounts.

@lightning_5oNot being able to play with friends (because the SBMM is determined off of the highest ELO player) is absolutely positively the most egregious facet of modern SBMM in games.

Online multiplayer should literally NEVER deter you from playing with your friends. But Apex in particular is super punishing for lesser skilled players trying to enjoy their time with friends. I’m open to debating some of the other aspects of SBMM and it’s implications on gaming in general, but this particular issue really cements my hatred for forced SBMM in pubs. 

Again, ranked should absolutely put restrictions on the experience of playing with friends— but public matches? Really? It’s ridiculous. The fact that people support this (because it’s “the lesser of evils”) is ridiculous too.

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@Axs5626Sxa5001 wrote:

@RC_Ocean

That’s the kind of thing that prompts players to create new accounts.

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This is out of control now.......smurfs over a span of an HOUR that I came across tonite (Gold I).....not to mention 2 obvious ESP/aimboters besides (a whole different discussion).

One account, that's it.....it's ridiculous now.  I quit Apex for over a year and came back.....and considering another break...

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@Axs5626Sxa5001 wrote:

@lightning_5oNot being able to play with friends (because the SBMM is determined off of the highest ELO player) is absolutely positively the most egregious facet of modern SBMM in games.

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All multiplayer games I played works like this. Its a reason, its to keep newbies interested so they invest in the game.

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@DrenMadre wrote:

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@Axs5626Sxa5001 wrote:

@RC_Ocean

That’s the kind of thing that prompts players to create new accounts.

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This is out of control now.......smurfs over a span of an HOUR that I came across tonite (Gold I).....not to mention 2 obvious ESP/aimboters besides (a whole different discussion).

One account, that's it.....it's ridiculous now.  I quit Apex for over a year and came back.....and considering another break...

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The sad fact is that Apex does not define smurfs as smurfs, they have their own definition of smurfing that enables you to make traditional smurfs to ravaging newbies so they quit the game at your own leisure, in pubs you get tossed up into high lobbies fast but doing ranked you can safely play bronze to gold and have simple lobbies without getting handled by the SBMM. I just watched a stream from hideouts to get a proper view on what is referred to as a smurf and he was playing a lvl 20 farming silver lobbies in ranked at the time, and clearly said that that was fully legal. I am still not fully sure what an Apex smuft is to be honest.

The high levels that dont want to play at the level they belong, I understand the fun in utterly ruining the day of 57 other players for your own fun but if you turn that around, do you think its fun to get farmed by the top preds - I just think EA and Respawn need to clean up and redefine smurfing, All my old Apex friends stopped playing because of this so I had to find new Apex buddies to keep playing.

@ZkepzAll MODERN day multiplayer games do this, because they realized that if they maximize the likelihood that below average-skilled players win, they can make a bit more money.

While I almost don’t blame the company’s using this strategy, we shouldn’t turn a blind eye to how this specifically targets above average skilled players for profits.

Again I can’t help but speak solely on my own experience:

the game places me in a situation that encourages my continued play to improve to win more— yet I win less overall because I improved myself too far— to Masters level, where I am designated to lose to Preds and Better Masters players. Lmao. Pubs shouldn’t be like this. 

When above average players lose more than below average players (because the game is intentionally putting them in situations to lose) that’s an issue, no? 

But the majority of the playerbase are average/below average, so most people don’t care. Anything that increases their chances of winning gets a green light. 

In your dreams and logic the majority of the playerbase would play ranked and master and pred pubs. It's a reason they model it on sports division system. Where lesser athletes can win their division and lower competition to help develop talents to raise to elite level. This is also the reason apex can float 100mil players while games without barely manage and many shut down within a year. This is also why pubs has sbmm, if it caters for only 1% of the player base the game will become a proper dessert. You want the 1% to have a place to let their shoulders down and make fun of the rest, where the rest going to do that? It's a reason that master and pred is 1%, the AVG guy with a proper job and perhaps a family won't be able to do that without loosing one of said things and that is the people who actually able to buy things.

It's the 99% that caters for the 1% to have a vibrant game going where they can excel, even if it's sweaty and hard.