Apex Legends has been facing several issues between rampant cheaters and controversial battle pass changes. Still, many players are convinced that the biggest problem is how difficult the new player experience is and are calling for better SBMM (skill-based matchmaking).
While the Battle Pass changes have been rolled back and Apex’s Game Director has addressed cheating problems, many players claim that these issues aren’t why they’ve stepped away from the game.
The fact is that Apex Legends’ player count has been dropping, and, though controversy around the game’s monetization and servers is surely part of it, players who are newer or don’t have much time to practice are frustrated.
One Apex Legends player pointed out a segment in Call of Duty’s explanation for why SBMM exists, and it’s got longtime Apex players feeling envious of skill-based matchmaking and wanting more noob-friendly features.
Apex Legends players demand SBMM and training modes
Though Battle Royales are inherently cutthroat with how quickly teams can get wiped off the map, Apex Legends is a cut above.
Considering Apex Legends requires strong aim and has complex movement that drastically widens the skill gap, a low-level player beating a seasoned veteran is nigh impossible
And, though this massive skill gap is part of Apex Legends’ appeal, it’s also a reason for casual players to step away. The game’s nosediving player count may not be a result of recent controversy, but rather casual players throwing in the towel.
The conclusion from CoD developers’ secret SBMM investigation revealed that keeping lower-level players happy is an essential part of game health, and those who are feeling cold on Apex agree.
“Been saying this for 5 years… The game’s learning curve is broken. The fact that you cannot study the maps ‘offline’ (or at least outside of live matches) is a huge problem,” one Redditor claimed.
The cycle for Apex Legends often boils down to dropping, looting, and immediately losing the first firefight for most players. This makes it incredibly difficult to meaningfully improve and get practice fighting.
“This has been my biggest gripe with the game for years. Anyone who is average or below has NOWHERE to play this game. ‘Get better’ is not a solution,” another claimed.
They continued, “Some of us enjoy the game but have no way to continue playing without getting matched with the best of the best, which ruins it. This WILL be the downfall Apex and they ignore it.”
Several other players claimed that matchmaking has only gotten worse over time, with them getting placed against Masters and Predator players and being unable to compete.
“They definitely flipped a switch about a year ago and f*cked the sbmm worse than it was. As a mid tier player me and my buddies went from winning a couple a night and generally losing to players of similar skill to instantly getting clapped the first squad we encounter. It wasn’t gradual for us. They pushed an update and our skill level lobby no longer existed.”
At the end of the day, Apex Legends still has hundreds of thousands of active players, and it’s one of the most popular games on Steam.
However, the marked decline in peak and average player counts shows that the devs will have to put in some legwork to win back casual players who feel like they can’t compete.
