The newest season of Apex Legends is live and just like every other season, the season 14 update is having a hard time settling down for some players. Many players are reporting errors like receiving wrong ranked badges or being unable to play as the game is stuck in a constant update loop.
While players are frustrated with the update from the start, the discussion regarding the gameplay changes and most importantly ranked changes are rare to see. But from the discussion so far we are receiving mixed emotions from both.
After Season 13 underwent “Ranked Reloaded,” which made sweeping changes to how the game’s ranked mode worked and how ranked points were gained or lost. The developer was still left dissatisfied with the spread of players throughout the ranked tiers.
Now, ranked is changing once again in season 14, with RP costs going back up a bit across all tiers of play and the game doing away with the diminishing returns for kills that Respawn introduced back in season 13.
The new changes potentially enable for a much more aggressive playstyle and give diminishing rewards for long-drawn team plays. These changes will potentially lead to games ending very quickly with the game focus shifting more towards crosshair placement instead of team placement.
The initial impression of the ranked changes is mixed, with some players in the community celebrating receiving more RP per game whereas those in higher tier ranks feel the games won’t be balanced anymore and give rise to meta builds that are more focused on DPS.
Pro players feel Season 14 Changes Have Ruined Ranked Mode
Professional players like Furia’s Jacob “HisWattson” McMillin feel that the new ranked changes have ruined the season 14 update. Jacob who was the number 1 Predator player through Season 13 and also the MVP of the recent ALGS championship, shared that the removal of the diminishing returns on Ranked Points for kills and assists is a major concern.
Before the update, players were receiving diminishing returns after a certain number of kills. This forced players to focus more on team-play and developing strategies to survive longer per game rather than focusing more on killing.
Now with Season 14 doing away with the diminishing returns for kills, the gameplay focus will shift more towards faster map clearing and games will be cut short.
Players are concerned that meta like “Revtane” where a large number of teams ran Revenant and Octane and pushed into enemy teams will rise significantly and make high-ranking games end in a flash.
Community Feels new ranked changes are good for low-tier ranked players
Once again the community and pro players are divided in their opinion. While the pro players are concerned about the fast-paced games, the players in the Apex community are happy that now they can finally earn more RP per game.
While Respawn has increased RP costs per tier abit, the fact that you can potentially earn 2x more points per game will finally help those finishing in 11th and 12th place to climb upwards in ranking faster.
It’s still too early to tell just how these changes will affect ranked once again, but for now, expect faster-paced games in ranked and more players climbing to higher ranks.
