The Nov. 2 update for Apex Legends, Escape, is bringing a ton of changes with it, including the debut of new playable Legend Ash, the Storm Point map entering rotation for the Battle Royale mode, the C.A.R. SMG and changes to how Ranked in both the Battle Royale and Arenas modes works.
How is Escape changing Ranked Battle Royale mode in Apex Legends
To understand how Escape will change things up in Ranked, we need to understand how the competitive mode has worked prior to the update. Since Ranked was first introduced in Apex, the Battle Royale mode has relied on a points system, aptly named Ranked Points. Players earn these points during matches based on their performance, and have to spend small amounts of them to participate in ranked games beyond the Bronze tier.
For example, Silver tier matches cost one RP to play in, Gold tier matches cost two RP, and so on. Players can earn RP through kills (up to six) and through placement in matches. Top 10 placement nets 2 RP, top five nets 4 RP, top three nets 7 RP and a win will net players 12 RP. These placements are exclusive, which means that your final placement overall is the one the game will base your points on.
With the changes Escape will introduce, placement is still absolutely key for earning RP, but they’re effectively increasing the amount of kill points players can get from six to seven and making it a bit easier to get those kill points. Instead of just a straightforward record of how many kills you get in a match, Escape’s kill points will also factor in the tier difference between players, if there is one, within three ranks. Note that the Master and Apex Predator tier are considered the same in this points system.
- Tier difference -3 = 3 kill points
- Tier difference -2 = 5 kill points
- Tier difference -1 = 8 kill points
- Tier difference 0 = 10 kill points
- Tier difference 1 = 12 kill points
- Tier difference 2 = 15 kill points
- Tier difference 3 = 20 kill points
For example, if a Gold tier player kills a Master or Apex Predator tier player, they will earn 20 kill points. After the tier difference is factored in, a placement modifier is also added as a flat per kill bonus:
- 1 = 15 per kill bonus
- 2-3 = 10 per kill bonus
- 4-5 = 5 per kill bonus
- 6-10 = 2 per kill bonus
- 11+ = 0 per kill bonus
Players can earn a maximum of 175 kill point RP, so after the tier difference and placement modifiers have been added any kill-based RP exceeding 175 won’t affect your final RP earned.
How is Escape changing Ranked Arenas
The changes Escape has in store for Arenas aren’t quite as math-heavy as the Battle Royale tune-ups. Arenas doesn’t have a point price for entry, you just have to have enough Arena Points to qualify to play in a given tier. These AP can only be earned by winning Arena matches, unlike the Battle Royale there are no kill or assist points. Therefore, the shifts in Arenas are all to MMR and placement within the competitive ecosystem.
Similar to the Battle Royale, Arenas will have two splits for Ranked after the Escape update. After each season and split there will now be a soft MMR reset and players will have to participate in new placement matches. Each new season will require 10 placement matches, while a new split will only require five. Additionally, the Escape update is improving matchmaking in Arenas and reducing the amount of AP gained or lost based on MMR differences between teams.
Published: Oct 29, 2021 07:38 pm