Apex Legends players have taken to social media this week to voice their concerns over issues surrounding ranked distribution in Season 17, with the bulk of the player base residing in Master.
Previously home to the top two percent of players, over a fifth of this season’s ranked competitors have achieved Master according to Apex Legends Status, which tracks over three million classic battle royale players. While this is only a subset of the total playing group, as Apex Legends Status is not connected to all player accounts, extrapolating the data leaves a bleak picture for ranked—and players aren’t happy.
Despite a fully-fleshed out ranked system, with five ranks split into four divisions before players reach Master and Apex Predator, distribution is weak across the board as players hit Master and stay there.
“Is this a joke? Ranked doesn’t mean anything?” said one player in the title of a Reddit post on July 7, which drew attention from the community as many shared their frustrations with ranked this season. One player noted opponents in Bronze earlier this season were identical in skill level and talent as at high Platinum.
Others suggested players stop playing at Diamond, as the cosmetics earned at the rank will be rarer than Master next season. Another joked their silver badge was looking valuable right now, given the season is at its close.
A player outlined the reason so many players had earned the Master rank, highlighting survival over kills had forced players into a “rat” playstyle where they spend the map hiding rather than seeking out battles. As such, Master had become diluted with players of assorted skill levels, most of whom certainly did not belong in the rank.
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It’s been a common occurrence for Master to become stacked toward the end of each season but the rank has never been this packed before, with players calling for adjustments to the system to account for changes as the season progresses.
Time will tell whether future seasons will adjust the ranked algorithm for Apex Legends, but with numerous updates in the pipeline, players are ensuring Respawn are aware of the issue now so their concerns are addressed as soon as possible.
