From pros to casual players, many in the Apex Legends community have long been calling for changes to the Ranked game mode. Among the requested changes include an in-game leaderboard and unique Ranked rewards. But most of all, there's one feature that pretty much everyone is itching to have. That's a demotion system in Ranked. Recently, Apex Legends Ranked Game Designer Exgenier shared some thoughts on the possibility of a demotion feature and why it is actually not as great as people may think it is.
Players call for Ranked system changes
Players in favor of a demotion feature in Ranked simply have had enough with the state of matchmaking in the game, and the lack of consequences for poor player behavior. Compared to other game modes in Apex Legends, players in Ranked generally expect the game to be taken a bit more seriously. Still, many suffer from trolling teammates, disconnects or going inactive, and even in some instances, cheating.
Overall, the environment could be a lot better. Many believe that demotions can help with urging players to try and maintain their rank. As it stands, without a demotion feature, players may not feel as pressured even if they slip up in game.
However, Exgenier disagreed with this. In a series of tweets, the Apex Legends developer suggested that adding a demotion feature to Ranked won't really turn the tide in reducing trolling or other bad incidents.
Apex Legends dev tweet sparks discussion over demotion feature in Ranked
The discussion over the social media platform actually blew up after Exgenier made a tweet about “loss aversion”.
“People hate losing things about twice as much as gaining things,” the initial tweet read. “People will behave irrationally, and to great lengths to prevent that loss.”
Initially, this did not even refer to Ranked or the idea of a demotion system at all. However, some players and fans replied to his tweet, making comments about adding a demotion feature. In response, Exgenier argued that demotions wouldn't force people to try hard. Instead, it would dissuade players in general from choosing the Ranked mode if there was a risk of dropping to a lower position on the ladder.
Exgenier also claimed that the players who would be motivated by demotions would not be in a position to demote in the first place. In other words, the players who do care about their rank will already have been playing seriously. And they would have already achieved the goal of reaching a certain rank.
“Those players wouldn't have demoted, because they would have been done playing for the split, or stop soon after because they would avoid the demotion,” Exgenier added.
In contrast, players who really couldn't care less about their position on the ladder, might play poorly or not try as hard. They also accordingly would be less scared of the risk or “punishment” of demotion. Hence, the feature would likely not help with improving their behavior. For Exgenier, the problem lies instead in the matchmaking.
Despite the lengthy discussion, the Apex dev did not comment on whether a demotion feature might be added. The discussion simply revolved around whether demotions would be beneficial to changing player behavior and game quality in Ranked.
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