Do Not Change the Rules at Diamond
Hi Respawn team, I want to raise a concern about the current structure of Apex Legends Ranked. This is not a request to make Diamond, Master, or Predator easier. My concern is much more fundamental: Why should the rules of the game change when a player reaches the higher ranks? A player can climb through Ranked playing traditional Battle Royale with the Dropship, but once the lobby contains enough Diamond, Master, and Predator players, the game can switch to Drop Zones. At that point, Ranked is no longer simply giving the player stronger opponents. It is changing the competitive environment itself. I believe this creates a structural advantage for players who are already established in the highest ranks, while making it unnecessarily difficult for new players to enter that ecosystem. THE BASIC PROBLEM: DO NOT CHANGE THE RULES HALFWAY THROUGH A RANKED LADDER Imagine a football tournament where every team plays under normal football rules until the semifinals. Then, starting with the semifinals, the rules suddenly change. Even if the new rules are perfectly fair by themselves, there is an obvious problem: The tournament is no longer testing every team under the same competitive rules. I believe Apex Ranked currently has a similar problem. From the lower ranks through Platinum, players learn and demonstrate their ability under traditional Battle Royale conditions. They choose where to land. They observe enemy squads during descent. They decide whether to contest or disengage. They evaluate POI value and risk. They adapt when another team unexpectedly lands nearby. They manage imperfect loot. They decide whether an early fight is worth taking. They recover from bad situations. These are not accidents that exist outside of Apex. They are Battle Royale skills. Then, around Diamond and above, Ranked can switch to Drop Zones. Players are assigned POIs and much of the uncertainty surrounding the initial drop is reduced. That may create a more controlled competitive environment. But it is a different competitive environment. My objection is not that Drop Zones are inherently bad. My objection is that they are being inserted halfway through the same Ranked ladder. If Drop Zones are better for competitive Apex, that is an argument for a competitive mode. It is not necessarily an argument for changing the rules of standard Ranked after a player reaches a certain level. WHO IS RANKED DESIGNED FOR? This leads to a second question. Who should the main Ranked mode primarily serve? I understand why professional players, streamers, and established high-rank players may prefer Drop Zones. They reduce chaotic early contests. They reduce the possibility of losing large amounts of RP because several teams happened to land at the same POI. They create more structured matches. They may also reduce certain problems associated with predictable player drops at the highest levels. Those are understandable concerns. But professional and top-ranked players represent only a small part of the total Ranked population. The main Ranked ladder is played by a much broader population. If highly competitive players prefer an ALGS-like environment, I believe Apex should support that preference. But it should not require the standard Ranked ladder itself to transform into that environment at Diamond. Competitive Apex and Ranked Apex do not necessarily need to be the same product. THE COMBINATION OF SYSTEMS MAY CREATE AN INCUMBENCY ADVANTAGE Drop Zones are not my only concern. The larger problem appears when several systems are considered together. Established Master and Predator players have already spent significant time playing in the high-rank environment. They understand its rotations. They understand its pacing. They have experience with Drop Zones. They are more likely to have established teammates. They are also placed relatively high again after rank resets. Meanwhile, a player reaching Diamond for the first time enters this environment without the same accumulated experience. That player may simultaneously encounter: Higher-ranked opponents A different drop system Players with extensive high-rank experience A much higher concentration of coordinated premade squads Different macro expectations And matchmaking expansion caused by the relatively small Master and Predator population Each of these systems may have a reasonable justification when considered individually. But game systems should also be evaluated by their combined effect. Together, they may create a feedback loop: Players who are already established in the high-rank ecosystem gain more experience in that ecosystem. Their previous rank allows them to return closer to it after resets. They are more likely to have established teams. They become increasingly familiar with the rules used there. This makes it easier for them to remain part of that ecosystem. Meanwhile, new players attempting to enter it must overcome both stronger opponents and an environment in which established players already have accumulated experience. I am not claiming that Respawn intentionally designed Ranked to protect existing Master and Predator players. I am saying that the combined system may produce that effect regardless of intention. And that possibility should be investigated. RANK RESETS CAN REINFORCE THIS EFFECT There is a legitimate reason not to reset former Predators into low ranks. Nobody wants genuine Silver or Gold players to repeatedly fight former Predators at the beginning of every split. But the opposite problem should also be considered. If established high-rank players consistently begin much closer to the top while new challengers must climb through the entire ladder, previous success becomes a continuing structural advantage. Initial seeding makes sense. Repeatedly recreating an ecosystem in which the same population begins closest to the top deserves more scrutiny. The objective should be to protect low-ranked players from elite players without making historical rank unnecessarily important to future rank. DIAMOND SHOULD NOT SOLVE THE MASTER/PREDATOR POPULATION PROBLEM Respawn has already acknowledged the difficulty created by small high-rank populations. When there are not enough Master and Predator players, matchmaking has to expand. But this creates another structural issue. If the Master and Predator population is too small to create fast matches, who should bear the cost? Currently, part of that cost can be transferred downward. Diamond players become matchmaking supply for higher-ranked lobbies. That effectively produces this relationship: Small Master/Predator population -> insufficient players for fast matchmaking -> matchmaking expands downward -> Diamond players face substantially stronger competition I believe the more reasonable relationship is: Small Master/Predator population -> longer matchmaking times for Master/Predator The highest-ranked players are already an extremely small and highly competitive population. Longer queue times at the extreme top are a reasonable tradeoff for preserving the integrity of the ladder below them. PREMADE ADVANTAGE MAKES THE TRANSITION EVEN MORE SEVERE Respawn’s own matchmaking analysis demonstrates that premade composition matters. A premade duo plus one solo player wins more often than three solo players. A full premade trio also wins more often. And the concentration becomes particularly extreme at Master, where Respawn reported that 85% of Master squads are full premades. This means a newly promoted Diamond player may not simply be facing better individual players. They may simultaneously be facing: Better players More experienced high-rank players More coordinated teams A different drop environment And opponents from ranks above their own That is not a smooth increase in difficulty. It is several advantages being stacked at approximately the same point in the ladder. WHY “THAT IS JUST YOUR TRUE RANK” IS NOT A SUFFICIENT ANSWER A common response to players who stop progressing after reaching Diamond is: “Then Diamond is simply your correct rank.” Sometimes that will obviously be true. But that explanation becomes too simplistic when the system itself changes around the same point. A player’s final rank is not determined only by mechanical ability. It is influenced by: Scoring rules Entry costs Matchmaking ranges Rank resets Premade composition Drop rules And the population distribution created by those systems Apex’s own Ranked history demonstrates how dramatically rank distributions can change when these systems change. The players did not suddenly become massively better or worse between seasons. The ranking system changed. Therefore, we should be careful about treating every player’s current rank as a perfect measurement of their ability while ignoring the structure that produced that rank. THE SOLUTION: KEEP STANDARD RANKED STANDARD My preferred solution is simple. Standard Ranked should use the same fundamental Battle Royale rules from the bottom of the ladder to the top. Use the Dropship throughout standard Ranked. Let stronger ranks become harder primarily because the players are stronger. Do not introduce a different drop system halfway through the ladder. CREATE A SEPARATE MODE FOR COMPETITIVE APEX I do not want Drop Zones removed from Apex entirely. If high-level and competitive players prefer them, preserve that style of play. Create a separate competitive environment. For example: Apex Premier or Apex Competitive Such a mode could use: Drop Zones POI Draft ALGS-style scoring Premade teams Dedicated leaderboards Qualification requirements Tournament-related rewards or opportunities This would give competitive players an environment specifically designed around competitive Apex without changing the rules of the standard Ranked ladder for everyone else. REDUCE THE STRUCTURAL ADVANTAGE OF PREVIOUS RANK Previous performance can be used for initial placement to prevent former elite players from destroying low-ranked lobbies. But after initial placement, current performance should matter most. Rank resets should be reduced. Split resets should be reconsidered. Historical rank should prevent inappropriate low-rank placement, not continuously reinforce a player’s position near the top. TIGHTEN MATCHMAKING AROUND ACTUAL RANK Diamond players should primarily fight Diamond players. Master players should primarily fight Master players. Predator players should primarily fight the highest-ranked population. Some overlap is unavoidable. But when matchmaking must expand significantly, the RP system should recognize the difference in lobby difficulty. A Diamond player placed into a Master/Predator-heavy lobby should not be evaluated exactly as if that were a normal Diamond lobby. PREMADE STRUCTURE SHOULD MATTER IN MATCHMAKING Playing Ranked with friends should absolutely remain possible. But matchmaking should prioritize similar team structures whenever population allows it. Full premades should preferentially encounter full premades. Duo-plus-solo teams should preferentially encounter similar teams. Solo-heavy teams should preferentially encounter solo-heavy teams. The objective is not to punish people for playing with friends. It is to prevent party coordination from becoming another advantage stacked on top of rank, experience, and different competitive rules. RESPAWN CAN TEST WHETHER THE INCUMBENCY EFFECT IS REAL This does not need to remain a theoretical argument. Respawn has the data required to test it. Compare players reaching Diamond for the first time with previous Master or Predator players. Control for current performance metrics such as: Damage Kills Survival Win rate Top 5 rate And other measures of current performance Then compare: RP gained per match Probability of reaching Master Number of matches required to reach Master Solo versus premade performance Performance in Dropship versus Drop Zone matches Opponent rank distribution Performance immediately after entering Diamond And performance later in the split The key question is: After controlling for current player performance, how strongly does previous high-rank status predict reaching a high rank again? If previous Master or Predator status remains a very strong predictor even among players with similar current performance, Respawn should investigate which parts of the system are producing that persistence. That would help distinguish genuine persistent skill from structural incumbency advantage. MY MAIN REQUEST Please do not interpret this feedback as: “Diamond is too difficult.” That is not my argument. Diamond should be difficult. Master should be extremely difficult. Predator should be extraordinarily difficult. My argument is: Do not make high ranks difficult by changing the rules, stacking multiple structural advantages, and using lower-ranked players to solve population problems at the top. Make them difficult because the opponents are better. A player climbing from Platinum to Diamond should think: “The players are much better now.” Not: “The rules changed, the lobby structure changed, premade prevalence changed, and now I am also fighting players from above my rank.” A Ranked ladder should allow new players to challenge the established elite under the same fundamental rules. It should not unintentionally become easier to remain at the top simply because you are already part of the top-rank ecosystem. Apex has experimented with Ranked systems for many seasons. I believe it is time to establish a clear principle for what Ranked is supposed to be: Same Battle Royale. Same fundamental rules. Stronger opponents as you climb. And a fair opportunity for new challengers to replace established high-rank players if they are good enough. Thank you for reading.
[Feature Request] Legend Selection: Auto-Selection & Heirloom Choice
Hello Respawn team, I would like to suggest two quality-of-life improvements to the Legend Selection screen. Both suggestions are focused on making the pre-match experience more convenient and flexible, without affecting gameplay balance. 1. Add Custom Auto-Selection Preferences for Legends Currently, if a player does not manually select a Legend before the selection timer ends, the game automatically selects an available Legend based on the player's previous play history, excluding Legends that have already been selected by teammates. This can sometimes be inconvenient, especially in Ranked. Many players temporarily switch to another window during Legend Selection, for example to check Discord, a browser, or another application. If the Legend they intended to play is selected by a teammate while they are away, they may not notice it in time. When they return to the game, the automatic selection system may choose a Legend that they do not currently want to play. This can be particularly relevant in Ranked because Legend balance and team compositions can change between seasons and patches. A Legend that a player has played frequently in the past may not necessarily be the Legend they currently prefer to use. I know the community has suggested similar ideas before, but I think this feature has become even more useful as the game and Legend balance continue to change. Suggested solution: Allow players to set their own Custom Auto-Selection Preferences for Legends. For example: Preferred Legends 1. Wraith 2. Horizon 3. Pathfinder If the player does not manually select a Legend, the game would automatically select the highest-priority available Legend from this list. If the player's first choice has already been selected by a teammate, the system would automatically move to the next available Legend on the list. This would give players more control over automatic Legend selection while keeping the existing system intact. 2. Add Heirloom Selection to the Legend Selection Screen A second quality-of-life improvement would be allowing players to select their equipped Heirloom directly from the Legend Selection screen. Apex Legends now has many Universal Heirlooms, and some players may want to use different Heirlooms depending on which Legend they are playing. However, when playing with friends or using the "Play Again" feature, a squad can continue playing together for hours without returning to the lobby. If a player wants to change their Heirloom during this time, they currently need to leave the matchmaking flow and return to the appropriate customization menu. Suggested solution: Add a small "Heirloom" button to the Legend Selection screen. For example: Legend Selection [ Wraith ] [ Horizon ] [ Pathfinder ] Heirloom: [ Hadoken ▼ ] Clicking the button could open a small selection menu showing the player's unlocked Universal Heirlooms. The player could then select the Universal Heirloom they want to use before entering the match. The exact implementation could be left to Respawn, but the main idea is to allow players to change their Universal Heirloom directly from the Legend Selection screen. Why this could be useful: This would make Universal Heirlooms much more flexible. Players would no longer need to leave their squad, return to the lobby, open the customization menu, change their Heirloom, and then start matchmaking again simply because they want to use a different Heirloom with another Legend. With more Universal Heirlooms being available, players may own several different options but still rarely use them because changing the equipped Heirloom currently requires leaving the matchmaking flow. Allowing Heirloom selection during Legend Select would make these cosmetics much easier to use naturally from one match to the next. It could also encourage players to use a wider variety of Heirlooms instead of keeping the same one equipped all the time. Overall: These two changes would primarily improve convenience and customization without changing core gameplay or balance. Custom Auto-Selection Preferences would give players more control over which Legend is automatically selected, particularly when they temporarily miss the selection screen or when their preferred Legend has already been selected by a teammate. Heirloom Selection would make Universal Heirlooms much more flexible during long sessions with friends and through the "Play Again" feature. Both features could be implemented as extensions of the existing Legend Selection UI. Thank you for considering these suggestions.Wraith Kunai Change.
Dear Respawn Entertainment and EA Official Review Team, Many of us Wraith players have been asking for you to revert wraiths SPAM inspect and pull out animation back to season 16 version or simply the way it was from season 1-19. Because the current spam inspect is AWFUL. We OG and new players see the awful change, it’s just the Kunai hovering in the hand. It is NO WHERE NEAR as fluid as it was before. Please change / revert this. NOBODY asked for this change, you should have kept it the way it was in season 16. It was perfect with both spam spin and new animations.. We have been asking for MANY seasons now. PLEASE!Apex is at its worst with console
So I've been playing console apex for a very long time and I don't want to get a pc, but for the corruption that respond is doing to console is completely messed up. And in fact I can clearly say they don't care about us. The new cross play with PC and console I've always had a problem with it, and when consoles are hard stuck at 120 fps when high end PC can go 144 to 300. it's completely unfair for console players to be facing up when every second matters, and not to mention that they turned down the aim assist for console but I'm not to mad about that but what I'm really pissed off is why did they not want to bring keyboard and mouse to console. Respond I only have these words for you because you want to make the game "fair" for PC. You guys are huge disgusting hypocrites with greed like no other. And in fact you still didn't fix the problem with cheaters in consoles is mind blowing. You want to make it "fair" then limit PC to 120 give keyboard and mouse to console and get rid of the cheaters on console then I'll be really fine with the 3% aim assist. But if you want to make it cross platform you have to do all of that first but you didn't, so why tf did you do it in the first place.
Apex is perfect
No, im being serious rlly, If you think apex is messed up, Go play other games, You wont. They arent games to begin with. Cod? <removed>. BF? <removed> (except for bf1 and v but these are very old). Even if apex is messed up. Its still wayyyyyy up there. like honestly have you tried the rest??? I just cant bro. Like fortnite is just so very childish. COD feels very cheap. BF6 is just a cod rip except everything is worse. there is literally nothing else worth your time and effort. Is there? well why are you here and not playing them in the first place huh? Am i being stupid? AM I????? [CM edit - profanity]EA Made a false claim about there Anti-Cheat prior to Q4
The anti cheat and the efforts of EA have yet again let down the legitimate player. The law will be investigating a securities law breach. EA quite possibly knew that the anti-cheat would not work. Year after year, season after season, Respawn has destroyed its base player trust. Please ‘report this product’ on Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation. This battle against cheater has been lost by Respawn, EA, Microsoft, and Sony to kids making cheats in their basements.
I Like Axle....
And all the other Legends. I just want the devs to know that everybody doesn't despise Axle. While I don't play or main her, I think she's an awesome Legend. I think all the Legends are great and well thought out. Were some Legends, such as Axle and Seer, introduced overpowered? Yes. But that doesn't mean that these Legends are bad concepts. It just means that they needed to be balanced. Creating Legends, Maps, looting elements, etc. has been a developmental success for Respawn. Many games have come and gone over the years, but these strong attributes is why Apex still exists. Great job. 👏👏👏👏EA battle pass content fail
Hey EA The Battle Pass was showing me I had way longer to get it... it showed th3 season countdown instead... I was looking to pay for the Ultimate+ version to get the red Bloodhound skin... I'd already unlocked all the ranks. Is there a way I can pay retrospectively for this? Nor sure why the counter was wrong. Alternatively will that Bloodhound skin reappear ever?