Completely agree. Honestly, I really appreciate how well you put this. You're absolutely right that the decline we’re seeing was probably inevitable to some extent, but the matchmaking system certainly accelerated it. And yes, the rise of smurfing and cheating absolutely feeds back into that same broken loop.
I also give Respawn credit where it’s due: showing the pre-match lobby skill makeup and letting players skip out early is a small but meaningful change. I’ve been doing the same, bailing on 60/40 lobbies where I know it’s just going to be a one-sided grind. You’re right: it’s not ideal, and it shouldn’t be on us to fix the system manually… but at least there’s "some" agency now.
But even that comes with a hidden penalty. When you dodge too many bad lobbies, the system seems to “punish” you by placing you in a match with a missing squadmate. So you load in as a duo while facing full trios. That’s not a bug, it’s matchmaking flexing its control, trying to coerce you back into accepting unbalanced games.
Also, in my case, I'd say 80% of my lobbies show my team in the bottom third of the skill distribution. And it’s baffling, I’m a top gold / low plat player, which is supposed to be where "most" of the population sits. It shouldn’t be that hard to place me with people of similar skill and throw in an occasional challenge. Instead, I’m in constant uphill battles.
And honestly, I believe !!this unfair matchmaking is one of the biggest root causes of toxicity in games!! When players are constantly thrown into impossible fights, frustration builds. That frustration turns into toxicity, blame, and eventually players either quit or lash out. EA keeps promoting *Positive Play*, but if the system itself is what creates negativity… then what’s the point?
"A keeps promoting *Positive Play*, but if the system itself is what creates negativity… then what’s the point?"; the epitome of 'truer words have never been spoken'.
They just report me for abusing the kd system when they specifically say there's no EOMM involve. So who's lying now ?
Of course there’s EOMM in this game. The fact that they outright deny it only makes it obvious that they’re lying about other things too. For example, they claim that most players have a K/D "around 1", which is clearly another lie.
And even if I generously accepted that as true, then how do you explain why in almost every single game I run into opponents who knock me in two seconds while I barely even scratch them? There are way too many things being manipulated behind the scenes in Apex.
I genuinely don’t think there’s another mainstream game with matchmaking this unfair. At this point, beyond never spending another cent on them, the only thing left is to get their single-player titles through means that don’t put money in their pocket. They’ve already made it clear that loyalty or fairness means nothing to them.
"There are way too many things being manipulated behind the scenes in Apex."
I go one way on this subject on any given day, and on the next I go the other. Sometimes you can have something that looks suspicious or even sinister, and in reality it's just plain neglect and ineptitude. Sometimes.
But where I'm really going with this is here: Maybe they manipulate things, maybe they let the chips fall where they may, but WE have more latitude to manipulate our experience than most of us realize. The one thing you absolutely cannot do in this game is enter every match thinking things are fair or that there is any such thing as an easy time in this game. Matchmaking will punish you, but as long as you avoid ranked then you can look at the skill curve for the match and instantly quit and re-queue if you don't think what you see is viable. Or fair. You also have the option to develop a play style that puts you less at the mercy of bad or hyper-aggressive or over-confident teammates. You have the option to develop a play style that allows you to assess enemy capabilities before you get so close to them that the only possible outcome is vaporization.
Most players believe the game consists of "finding enemy," "shooting at enemy," "winning or losing," "waiting for res or quit & re-queue." But there's a lot more to it than that. IF you have the patience to explore those aspects of the game, learn those aspects of the game, and use them to your advantage. Your squadmates will think you're dumb. Or crazy. Or "afraid." I always love that one. And the idea of playing counter to the groupthink may not be something you have an appetite for. But if you do then you'll learn to solo without getting killed, or maybe even seen, until engagements are on terms you choose or become unavoidable. If you're really lucky your squadmates may even still be alive. Either way you decide at every turn whether the match is still worth pursuing, and when you decide that it no longer has anything to offer but a free kill for your enemy, then you leave the match. The more you demonstrate to the game that you're not willing to just wade into any engagement no matter how bad the odds then the more you're taking control of your own experience. And the more the matchmaker says, "Hey, I guess I should probably stop throwing this guy at master tier three stacks."
I guess the short version of this is: some shooters are for shooting, but battle royale is for THINKING. And sometimes shooting. But a lot less for shooting than most people think. And the less you shoot, assuming a basic level of competence has already been attained, then, I find, the more satisfying engagements are. Even when I lose them. And I still lose 'em a whole lot.
And if you're ready to manipulate your experience to the next level then you can start a new secondary account every week. You can get a xim or a Cronus or a Titan or any strike pack or aim box. Or a PC, the cheaters' platform of choice. None of that is a road I'm willing to go down, but it isn't hard to see why people do. Oh, and I almost forgot the most important gaming accessory of all that isn't an actual cheat: Adderall. If you don't think half these kids are strung out on Ritalin or Adderall or actual amphetamines then you're living in a fantasy world. I swear you can easily tell when a player is flying high. Pretty sure ALGS is a pharmacological spectacle.
Manipulate away, my friend!
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