Leave Ranked as is and give Us this...
Apex Legends is a wonderful game, with unmatched movement expression, addicting gunplay and a rich lore background set in the Titanfall universe. With all of the platitudes out of the way it's time to get down to the nitty gritty, RANKED! For many years Apex Legends had the best ranked system for Battle Royale games, and it wasn't close. Slowly over time the game began to show decline in player engagement, and this led to a shake up for the game and radical changes. Ranked was one of those changes, the Ranked system saw a shift in season 13 which was a step towards bringing ALGS style scoring to the masses. The change was received well with Pros and high-level players looking for a bit more competitive challenge aside from just a kill race style format. Apex later modified the system that season and continued to tweak Ranked here and there until another major shift in season 20 adding a rookie division and reshaping the point/matchmaking system. Later seasons also saw changes such as adjustments to KP and the most recent Dropship/POI system. All this to say that Ranked has been through many iterations over the years to no one's satisfaction.
Some may think we need yet another system overhaul to ranked and that hopefully this change will be the one to bring Apex Ranked back to its former glory...I disagree. For the longest time I too believed that we needed to restructure Ranked to satisfy the competitive hole. No longer do I have those beliefs and have come to a conclusion. Apex should leave the Drop Ship and point system in Ranked as is but create a new mode a competitive/tournament mode. Introduction to ALGS or a "Tiny Tourney" set every weekend based off of a mix of MMR (not hidden) that can change based off gameplay in Ranked. Leaving the point system of Ranked the way it is and allowing players to play the way they want in Ranked but with a secondary motive of reaching a certain level in order to compete in the Tiny Tourney weekend. Adding to the Ranked experience and at the same time providing the scratch to the itch of ALGS downtime and also acting as a steppingstone for players into competitive.
A tab that updates every game giving players feedback about their game's success and failures. A fresh new number to strive to improve upon other than just your rank, which has lost its luster over the years. EA driven tournaments that incentivize players to still have fun in Ranked without sweating every single match due to the MMR not being hidden, the transparency will give players the feeling of improvement with no pitfalls of confusing matchmaking to get in the way. The tournaments will be held on Saturday and Sunday the two most common days for such events. I am no Dev and cannot give the logistics of how exactly it will work but a rough outline would be holding a sign-up phase at the beginning of the week and a cut off the day before with a set number of spots on first come first serve basis. The groups would be broken down into ratings brackets, since MMR isn't hidden players will see their ratings as well as others. Players would be grouped from a range for example someone with an MMR of 90 would not be matched with a player with a 40 MMR, though if they had 70 MMR that would be within the parameters. Filling a lobby with 20 teams and no more than a total of 30 difference in MMR to keep things fair and balanced. The prize pool for said tourney would not have to be some massive dollar amount, in fact simple Apex packs or skin cups that other game (who shall not be named) have done for years. This would allow players the freedom in Ranked to play their best when their best is required without changing the Ranked system so greatly that it is unrecognizable, while adding a fresh new aspect to the Apex Legends experience that is needed.
In closing, this is a love letter to the once proud Apex Ranked system that I knew but understanding that with any love it was a moment in time and we can't ever go back to those times because it's impossible to recreate that lighting in bottle. Although just like a love grows over time and you constantly find new ways to fall in love. My enjoyment of the POI system in Ranked showed me that my favorite part of Apex is the fast-paced high octane (not the Legend) intense gameplay during end game. That is the closest I ever felt to what I watch on ALGS Sunday when my favorite team is fighting and clawing to win and prove themselves the Apex Champions! Please EA/Respawn allow me, no, to allow US this opportunity to experience that thrill and add a new layer to the game we loved and try desperately to still love. As stated earlier this is love and both parties must be willing to compromise and make it work while trying new things and being transparent. I wonder if I'm the only one who feels this way and if not, I hope it reaches all those who do and maybe bring about a new dawn of Apex for all to enjoy.
