(no) comparison
Season 18 at Apex will soon be over and I didn't want to miss the opportunity to share a few thoughts beforehand. For impatient readers: this text actually has only one goal. To take away the fear o...
Forum Discussion
@saurerDropsXXL
First, it's okay to mention the game by name. I don't play enough of anything else to even be able to guess. Overwatch? Valorant?
Second, we could go on all day about eomm but I think people largely make a bigger deal out of it than it really is. There's a white paper out there somewhere. It's another boogeyman gamers can point to when the real culprit is almost always compromised matchmaking. And on the subject of matchmaking, I'm glad if you're finding it better in your new game. I've never found it good anywhere in 25 years of gaming so I'll just hang on to my skepticism a little longer.
Third, comparing a br shooter to an arena shooter is, for me, like comparing apples and bricks. Your points aren't lost on me, but they're irrelevant since I will NEVER play any arena shooter again. Ever.
Finally: I too get frustrated and stray from time to time. Lately I put in four or five DMZ matches in Call of Duty. Extraction battle royale seems pretty appealing to me on the surface. And would be if I didn't have to create yet another account, download multiple updates, restart twice, wade through endless user agreements... all to finally end up in a game where I literally have no idea what's going on, except that I actually do: after spending more time in a load out menu than IN THE ACTUAL GAME I just completely lost interest. Back to Apex where they love to sell you stuff, but where I can honestly say that the drive to make money has never even once interfered with any actual gameplay. Fail Activision.
In the end I would be the last person to discourage anyone from looking for greener pastures and I'm glad you've found them. I'm still looking. Even with all its flaws, Apex keeps beating everything else I see or try.
First, it's okay to mention the game by name. I don't play enough of anything else to even be able to guess. Overwatch? Valorant?
Second, we could go on all day about eomm but I think people largely make a bigger deal out of it than it really is. There's a white paper out there somewhere. It's another boogeyman gamers can point to when the real culprit is almost always compromised matchmaking. And on the subject of matchmaking, I'm glad if you're finding it better in your new game. I've never found it good anywhere in 25 years of gaming so I'll just hang on to my skepticism a little longer.
Third, comparing a br shooter to an arena shooter is, for me, like comparing apples and bricks. Your points aren't lost on me, but they're irrelevant since I will NEVER play any arena shooter again. Ever.
Finally: I too get frustrated and stray from time to time. Lately I put in four or five DMZ matches in Call of Duty. Extraction battle royale seems pretty appealing to me on the surface. And would be if I didn't have to create yet another account, download multiple updates, restart twice, wade through endless user agreements... all to finally end up in a game where I literally have no idea what's going on, except that I actually do: after spending more time in a load out menu than IN THE ACTUAL GAME I just completely lost interest. Back to Apex where they love to sell you stuff, but where I can honestly say that the drive to make money has never even once interfered with any actual gameplay. Fail Activision.
In the end I would be the last person to discourage anyone from looking for greener pastures and I'm glad you've found them. I'm still looking. Even with all its flaws, Apex keeps beating everything else I see or try.
Thank you for being happy for me. In fact, I'm really quite happy with my "new" shooter.😃
You're right, of course, that you shouldn't compare a BR shooter with an arena shooter. However, my superficial comparison was not about specific BR or arena mechanics, but much more about matchmaking, the other players (opponents as well as mates), the cheater and bot issues and other things that can make a player feel better or worse (for example the report system or the player statistic board during the match).
About EOMM: Of course I don't know if and how strong EOMM is in Apex, but the deterioration I felt from S16 on smells strongly of EOMM. If it's not, also OK, but then the MM has become significantly worse or hopelessly overpowered (due to the player base).
Otherwise: Remain skeptical, because at least you already have doubts and look critically. That was also a goal of my post. It should lead all dissatisfied to the important question whether they are still so happy with Apex that it is not worthwhile to look for alternatives.
I'm not saying my alternative is pure gold, but it's more fun for me than Apex lately. Sorry, but I'm really afraid that cheaters, bots or other weirdos will ruin my alternative, so I won't name it (yet).
By the way, I was lucky because of the account. I have the same attitude as you. The less I have to create new the better. I was lucky because I could log in with my google email account....
I really wish that your search for an alternative finally ends and you are satisfied with "your" shooter 🙂...or that Apex finally becomes really good again (though I have little hope there at the moment).
- @saurerDropsXXL
I suspect you were quite a bit higher up the skill ladder in Apex than I am. I experience shoddy matchmaking and the odd player here and there who I'm sure is probably cheating, or at least playing on pc, which imo is pretty close to cheating. But none of these problems are game-breaking as I suspect they are for players who are flirting with diamond tier or higher. At that level of grind I would be questioning everything and happy with nothing. Gutter tier is relatively free of the worst excesses I hear about. Although even then, I often find myself saying that the only thing wrong with competitive multiplayer shooters is the multiplayer part. Give me Halo firefight any day. Player vs. environment. Why is there no developer anywhere that takes that kind of gameplay seriously?To give credit where it's due, I played Apex from S3 to (and including) S17 and would still only rank myself in the Gold range. Once I really pushed myself and made it to Platinum IV. So yes, skill in terms of map knowledge and what better not to do to survive longer, I have/had. Skill that would have given me more kills and wins in later seasons, I didn't have. I guess I had my peak in the time S7 to about S12, which was not only because of my skills but also because of a reasonable game.
