SBMM Needs to cater to more than the minority
My son and I have played Apex since before season 1. We loved the game and it became our primary game of choice through every state that the game has gone through. I know SBMM (Skill based match making) has been a hot topic of debate for quite some time. I feel like the game in its current state is the worst its ever been and here's why. SBMM in the games infancy was very similar to the way it is now, except when the game first started the majority of the people playing were just learning how to play and most of the people were on an even playing field. As time went on a larger percentage of players became the top tier or the elite which accounts for about 10% of the player base. The rest of the players are either average or slightly above average. The one and only time that SBMM was actually functioning the way it should have been was I believe some time in season 3 for about a 3 month period. Players were all matched up accordingly to people specifically of their skill level. There were no longer the top tier players or elite players getting matched up with average player so there was no more PUB stomping or steam rolling. This meant that the best players had to always play against the best players. During this time several content creators that made Apex content (specifically YouTubers like Staycation and Zeusressurected) used their platform as a medium to whine and complain about how it was "unfair" that they had to constantly play sweaty every time they played PUBs. They couldn't play a casual game that didn't offer such a high challenge. Unfortunately because these content creators have the loudest voices in the community. Respawn caved and set the SBMM back to the way it was. The problem with this is multiple things. First, every player who plays the game has to sweat their * off. If average players play against average players they have to try their hardest. Same with new players against new players and above average against above average etc. So why should elite players be exempt from having to do the same thing especially when they only make up for 10% or less of your player base. High tier players shouldnt get to PUB stomp and have casual games where they slaughter out when literally no other skill level has that luxury. How is that fair to the other 90% of the people who play the game. What your essentially doing is dropping 6 sharks into a fish tank with 54 sea bass. The 6 sharks compete to see who can eat the most sea bass while the sea bass try their damnedest to survive. In particular, now when the games been out so long skill levels have increased even more. To the point where anyone who isn't getting constant daily practice has no chance to play casually and come in and have a match where hes matched up against players of his or her skill level. I've played approximately a total of 5 hours total in season 5 and instantly lose desire to play after 2 or 3 games because the SBMM makes it damn near unplayable for a casual player. I can't imagine I'm the only one who is feeling this. If you want your game to have longevity your going to have to start thinking about keeping your majority invested in the game. What good is making your elite 10% happy if they have no one to fight because everyone has quit playing the game. Apex is in such a sad state. Lobbies die out almost instantly to the sharks leaving 4 squads left running around after the first circle trying to find each other. Making 15 minute games of hide and seek. I truly feel like SBMM needs to be re balanced the way it used to in season 3 and the amount of squads should be increased slightly.