The Apex Legends ranked mode expertise is being harmed by an abundance of high-ranked gamers becoming a member of decrease rated lobbies on smurf accounts, based on some followers of the battle royale recreation. Followers say that the low barrier to entry for brand new accounts to begin taking part in in ranked mixed with the sport’s free-to-play nature is making it too straightforward for individuals to disrupt lobbies at decrease ranks by taking part in on recent alternate accounts.
Smurfing has lengthy been an issue in nearly each recreation to function a ranked mode. Primarily, it boils right down to gamers – normally these of upper ability – beginning recent on a brand new account so they are going to be matched towards weaker opponents and have a better time. (The title, should you’re curious, originates from two Warcraft II veterans again in 1996 who took to taking part in on alt accounts named “PapaSmurf” and “Smurfette” as they’d turn into so infamous that opponents would merely refuse to match up towards them.)
Whereas smurfing has been mentioned ceaselessly in Apex Legends, it has been highlighted by Reddit person Mayors_Son, who posted to the sport’s subreddit asking for the ranked mode to be locked behind reaching account stage 50. At the moment, gamers solely need to make it to stage 10 within the FPS recreation earlier than they will bounce into ranked lobbies, which means that the barrier to entry may be very low, which makes smurfing extra tempting to gamers who’re pissed off with taking part in towards opponents matched to their precise ability stage.
Different responses recommend that ranked ought to require gamers to submit their telephone quantity, which limits the variety of accounts you should utilize it on. Customers level to free-to-play video games similar to Dota 2 that use this method, which can also be anticipated to function in Overwatch 2 when it launches as a free-to-play title in October. Another choice is that employed by Counter-Strike: GO, which is out there at no cost to gamers however requires a purchase order in your account earlier than you might be allowed to compete in ranked play.
We’ve taken a have a look at new Apex Legends character Vantage forward of her launch on August 9, and her long-range potential and cute bat companion have us very excited. We’ve additionally dug into the brand new Kings Canyon map replace for season 14 of the multiplayer recreation. When you aren’t certain who to play, take a look at our Apex Legends characters information for full particulars on every of the accessible legends.
