Apex Legends players are getting tougher opponents in the lobby, here is why

Apex Legends players have recently been displeased with the abysmal state of matchmaking in their public games. There has been a severe imbalance in the matchmaking structure, leading to fans having some of their worst games against higher-ranked or more experienced individuals. While this issue has been around since this game's inception, currently, it definitely is at its worst currently.

This article will explain everything you need to know about Apex Legends' skill-based matchmaking system and why gamers keep seeing tougher opponents in the lobby.

---

Apex Legends' matchmaking system can be easily exploited

Respawn's iteration of SBMM, or skill-based matchmaking, has consistently been a point of debate. It can be easily manipulated. If a player has a consistent K/D higher than 1.0 and ends battle-royale matches in good positions — such as in the top 10 — SMBB makes them face extremely high-skilled opponents subsequently.

Securing wins puts gamers in extremely high-level lobbies, and this is one of the reasons the majority of people struggle after winning one match.

However, if players find themselves not doing well and finishing games in unimpressive positions, they will find themselves in lower-end lobbies. This means high-level players who enjoy hot drops, earn a few kills, and then die early in a match game are very likely to go up against players of less skill subsequently.

As individuals inevitably loop around the hot-drop mechanic, their overall lobby skill deteriorates. Hence, the game puts these high-level players into potentially very low-skill or beginner lobbies.

The lack of a moderate win rate ensures these experienced individuals are constantly placed in low-level lobbies where they oppress other players in games.

The broken ranked system of Season 17 is also to blame for this SMBB problem. It increased the influx of extremely skilled players into public lobbies. When such gamers don't do well in Ranked, they dominate everyone in public lobbies.

There are no workarounds to get over the whole matchmaking issue in Apex Legends. While swapping servers might help in certain scenarios, the overall control of matchmaking is ultimately in the hands of Respawn and EA.

If the necessary measures are not taken to address SMBB's current state, Apex Legends' overall reputation will inevitably deteriorate.

---

For more articles related to this title, stay tuned to Sportskeeda.