Forum Discussion

DeadlySilence77's avatar
2 years ago

Apex Ranked Matchmaking

Opening Statement

Matchmaking in Apex Ranked is fundamentally broken. Matchmaking is no longer according to your rank but your MMR. What then what is the point of ranks?

Info About Me

I have 1600 hours on Apex. I reach diamond consistently in ranked (not going to count master from season 17 as it was a joke). I do very well and am usually the top player in my mixtape games. All in all, I feel like I am pretty good at the game.

As a solo, my preliminary matches put me in Bronze 1. I played two matches in which I got 6 and 9 kills. The 9 kill game was a win. I made it to Silver 4.

I played 5 more matches and lost every single one.

Here's what happened.

After the two good games, the matchmaking paired me with Bronze players (even though I was Silver) and put me against current Diamonds, Masters, and Preds. Obviously, we were no match for any team in the lobby and died off rip every game. Even though I am a competitive player and might outplay single players on another team, I CANNOT be expected to 1v3 every team since my teammates are not near as skilled as the opposing team.

It seems to be a complete waste of time for me to struggle as a Silver against Diamonds, Masters, and Preds. I am being punished by my MMR in ranked.

So again I ask, what does ranked actually mean?

If I get stuck in Silver playing against other Diamonds, Masters, and Preds while having Bronze teammates, does that mean I truly belong in Silver?

If a much lower MMR player is only matched against players his MMR or slightly better and is able to climb to Master, does that really mean he is a Master? Look at what happened last season with over 30% of players reaching Master.

My Final Thoughts

Solo high MMR players are literally being punished by the matchmaking system. Ranked doesn't make sense if we don't play against players in our current rank as we climb.

Ranked matchmaking should be determined by the rank that you are currently in. That way, if you cannot climb out of your rank, it truly means you belong in that rank. If you are much more skilled than your rank, then you can climb out quickly and waste less time.

The matchmaking currently implemented is done so in order to allow all MMR levels to reach the rank they want with enough time invested. This is because the top skilled players make up a much smaller percentage of the player base.

EA is concerned about revenue, so they want to please the majority of the player base which is low to medium MMR.

That's the smart move for revenue but completely ruins ranked as it is now meaningless and punishes players who invested the most time getting better.

Worried about smurfs ruining lower ranks? Know how to fix that? Require a phone number to have an Apex account. Smurfing fixed. Know why they won't do that? Because more accounts means more revenue.

8 Replies

  • I think a large portion of the playerbase is avoiding ranked altogether.

    But the newer pubs MMR is doing a great job of helping lower skilled players achieve outcomes similar to higher skilled players.

    A lot of higher skilled players are losing far more frequently and even seeing their KD’s and average damage drop dramatically.

    This is a VERY good thing for Respawn, as it helps them prime lower to average players into “feeling good” and spending money. Is this true for all lower to average players? No. But definitely enough that we’re starting to see “this is my best season ever” from lower skilled players, and “this is my worst season ever” from higher skilled players.

    Respawn is looking for equalization because that’s what their projected profit models encourage.

    Apex is a zero-sum activity and EVERY SINGLE individual player who has outcomes exceeding the average player represents a threat to their financial model.

  • @DeadlySilence77 I agree that not MM by rank is a huge mistake. As a rookie I died to a current Masters player. I have never played to masters and never ever could get there in the old system. I get that they wanted to protect against smurfs but there are other ways to do that. Give a crazy bonus for high damage and high kill games up to gold that moves the smurf up ranks faster.
  • @hayhor Agreed 100%. Even if they have smurfs, they won't be in the lower ranks long at all. Maybe 5 total games and they're in a higher and more challenging rank.
  • DeadlySilence77's avatar
    DeadlySilence77
    2 years ago
    @Axs5626Sxa5001 Exactly. It's all about money. They are appeasing the lower skilled players which make up the majority of the player base by completely removing the point of ranked play.

    Now it's not ranked. It's how much time do I want to waste grinding to a rank that anyone at any skill level can achieve.

    The whole point of a "ranked" system is to show which players are best. Apex is just using it as a feel good system to make money.
  • @DeadlySilence77 I couldn't agree more, I am about to quit apex after 4 years of playing. Stucking me playing with master lobby when I am in bronze. Acquiring infinite time of ratting to reach top 10. There is no excuse for such an awful experience. First time after long time that I managed to hate playing a game. Sorry for the emotional comment, just altF4ed the game.
  • Axs5626Sxa5001's avatar
    Axs5626Sxa5001
    2 years ago

    The majority of players don’t really care though. And even the people here on this forum constitute less than 1% of the overall player base. Definitely some great people here, but if you’re looking for a majority of people who understand your exact concern, the majority here won’t.

    The sad truth is that a large portion of people simply want to win and progress as much as possible. For them its dog eat dog. It could be a legitimate and dramatic issue effecting the top _____% of players and many people will almost be happy said thing is happening, because “boo hoo for high tier players”, lmao. 

  • djseraphimps3's avatar
    djseraphimps3
    2 years ago

    The majority of players don’t really care though.

    Kingzhenshen Serious inquiry only

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