An Ultimate Guide To Apex Legends Ranked System

by  John Uke Last update: December 15, 2024

Apex Legends is one of the most popular competitive hero shooters, and it shows no signs of losing popularity and relevance. Respawn regularly changes the game, not only delighting us with new content but also changing the ranking system to keep it fresh and relevant. In May 2024, Apex Legends Season 21 was released, and some changes occurred as well. So, I decided to write this article about the Apex ranked system and closely examine how it works now.

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Apex Legends Ranked Mode At A Glance

The Apex ranked mode is a competitive mode where similarly ranked players compete against each other to win and rank up. Players are matched to approximately the same skill level based on their current rank in order to ensure fairer and more competitive matches. To access the ranked mode, you must be level 20 or higher.

In Apex Legends, the ranked system is tied to seasons and at the end of the season, players receive ranked rewards. Each season is divided into two splits, which last approximately two months each. At the beginning of each season split, the Apex ranks are reset to zero. The progress of each account is determined by rank points (RP), and to start a ranked match, you must deposit a certain amount of RP, which will depend on your current rank. Players who play for the first time start with 1 RP, and if there was already a rank in the last split, then the player starts from the reset point determined by the previous rank – that is, the rank is softly reset to zero.

About The Latest Updates and Changes

The previous season had many changes and balance tweaks, one of which was related to the Apex ranked system. Yet, there have been no major changes in the new 21st season. The ranking point calculation remains unchanged as in the previous season. The developers added minor updates that they did not manage to implement in Season 20.

The main changes to the Apex ranked mode in Season 21 affected matchmaking. Players on a team that want to queue for a ranked match must be within three ranks. This is intended to prevent rank boosting, where a higher-ranked player takes a lower-ranked friend into a game, thereby helping them rank up. Limiting the spread of ranks in an Apex match will make the games more fair, giving both teams the same chance of winning.

All Apex Legends Ranks In Order

The Apex ranking system consists of 8 ranks and has 4 divisions, except for the highest rank, Apex Predator. Players must complete each division to advance to the next rank.

What Is RP In Apex Legends?

Ranked Points are points that a player receives for winning and spends for participating in a ranked game. RP characterizes a player’s progress in rank.

RP Distribution During Matches

RP is awarded to players after each match and depends on their performance. The amount of RP received depends on the place taken at the end of the match, as well as on kills and assists. You can learn more about the Apex ranked distribution below.

How To Earn More RP?

In order to get more RP, you obviously need to play well and take high places in the match results – to be at least in the top 5. Kills and assists will additionally bring RP, and it will also be a bonus if you eliminate a player of a higher rank than you in the match. If you are among the top 5 players in several matches in a row, you will receive +10 RP for each winning streak extension. The maximum bonus is 40 RP.

RP Entry Fees

When playing ranked games, a certain amount of RP is withdrawn for each match, which depends on your current rank in Apex. To help you understand better, I have compiled the table below:

How Does The Apex Ranking System Affect Matchmaking?

Matchmaking is based on current ranking points (RP). The system matches players in the lobby with players of similar rank. This does not mean that there will be players of the same rank as you in every match, but there will be players who are not very far from your rank. A similar restriction applies to teams. You may be in a lobby with friends of other ranks, but only if you are within three ranks from each other. A Platinum player will not meet a Bronze player in the lobby; the same applies to a team of players. This way, the matches should be fairer.

What Ranks Can Play Together Apex?

To maintain competitive balance while still allowing friends of different skill levels to play together, Apex Legends implements rules about which ranks can team up in ranked play. The following table outlines these rank compatibilities:

Rewards To Expect For Each Of Apex Ranks

Respawn has announced that the Apex ranked reward system will return to its previous model. In Season 21, players who reach the same rank in both season splits will receive an animated badge, while players with different ranks will receive a static badge based on their higher rank in the split. The developers’ goal is to make both splits equally valuable to players.

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Final Thoughts

The developers continue to hone and polish the Apex ranked system, which is clear to everyone and works well, and they also do everything to keep things fresh and interesting. In this article, I described how matchmaking and the rank system works from Season 21 on. All that remains to do is to choose a the best Legend and join a team or create your own. Rush into the new season!