Apex Legends Ranked Explained for Season 20

Apex Legends Ranked Changes for Season 20

Season 20 of Apex Legends brings major updates to the ranked mode to create more competitive matchmaking and rewarding gameplay. The goal is to implement familiar features veterans will recognize while improving the experience.

Key Ranked Changes in Season 20

• Reverted level requirement back from 50 to 20 to play ranked
• Reintroduced ranked splits
• Reset starting RP to 1 at season launch
• Increased focus on eliminations over placement for points
• Added more transparency and visibility to bonus point system and player rankings
• Removed caps on elimination points and potential match points
• Introduced 5-match top 5 placement streak bonus (10 extra RP, 40 max)
• Added 50% Challenger RP bonus for beating higher ranked players
• Removed promotional trials
• Tightened matchmaking based purely on RP ranks
• Removed provisional matches
• Kept existing demotion rules
• Raised RP requirements for advancing ranked tiers

Apex Legends Ranks in Order

Apex Legends has 8 rankings that indicate a player’s skill level. These levels are called the Apex rating system. They are ranked from lowest to highest skill as follows:

In the Apex legends ranking system, each ranking has four levels within itself. For example, a new player starts at Rookie IV, and has to progress through Rookie III, Rookie II, and Rookie I before moving on to the Bronze rank. Apex Legends ranked leagues are what set it apart from other similar games.

Entry RP Cost to Play Ranked

You will have to pay a certain amount of RP to play a ranking match, and that amount varies by what tier you’re in. Here is a chart of the amount of RP needed per tier.

This means that when you are ranked higher, it will cost you more RP to join a ranked match. Overall, it is worth obtaining the higher rank still, in order to gain access to the rewards you get. It is helpful that when you’re beginning at the bronze tier, it doesn’t cost you any RP to join a ranked match, so you can collect some RP before you have to spend any of it to join ranked matches.

Scoring System in Apex Legends

You earn Ranked Points (RP) through a formula factoring in placement, eliminations/assists, and bonus opportunities.

Placement RP

• Teams earn higher RP for better finishing placements in matches
• Finishing 1st nets considerably more RP than lower placements

Elimination RP

• Personal kills and assists count as eliminations
• Team kills award "participation value" equal to half a kill if you did any damage
• Elimination RP values based on final team placement
• After 6 eliminations, further ones only award half RP
• 50% extra elimination RP for beating higher ranked opponents

Top 5 Streak Bonus

Placement streak bonus - +10 bonus RP each time your team finishes top 5, up to 5 matches for max of +40 RP (resets after placing 6th or lower).

• 2 matches streak: +10 RP
• 3 matches streak: +20 RP
• 4 matches streak: +30 RP
• 5+ matches streak: +40 RP

The RP system incentivizes both survival and aggressive play with the balanced focus on placement and eliminations. Savvy teams maximize opportunities through positioning and timing to boost their RP income from bonuses.

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What Is Abandon, Penalties, and Loss Forgiveness, and How Do They Affect Your Score?

If you leave your match before it’s over, you abandon the game. However, it doesn’t mean running away from your PC in the middle of a battle only and includes leaving:

• When you select a character;
• If you are still alive, including drop, or knocked down;
• If you are dead, but your allies can still respawn you;
• When your companions pick up your banner, but you disappear from the game during two and half minutes of the pickup. After this time passes, however, leaving isn’t equal to abandoning.
• If you are unable to reconnect within 2 minutes after you are disconnected.

Abandons are always accompanied by penalties, which you will face even if your allies also left, disconnected, or merely weren’t assigned at the matchmaking stage. Don’t worry: penalties won’t come as a surprise. You will always see a warning if any of your actions violate in-game rules.

For abandons, you get a matchmaking penalty in any ranked league. Besides, you won’t be able to play any mode for at least 10 minutes and will have to say Good-Bye to all ranked points you managed to earn. Also, the buy-in will be double-subtracted: for example, for a silver rank, it will be 12 RP buy-in x 2 = -24RP, while for gold, even more painful – minus 48.

Loss forgiveness is your chance to avoid penalties. It means that Apex Legends forgives you any RP losses you may have encountered. Typically, Apex Legends is so understanding if:

• You quit unexpectedly
• You have no allies at the start of the drop sequences
• Your teammates (assigned at a matchmaking stage) left the battle

While there is no implication to cases with teammates involved, Apex Legends won’t forgive your quits forever. Let’s imagine your Internet connection failed, and you are out of the game. The first time will be classified as loss forgiveness.

Later, however, Apex Legends will start to suspect you and evaluate whether it’s an accident or a forced abandon. If the system decides in favor of the latter, you will use your forgiveness abandon. All in all, you can do this three times during a series. Then, you will have to face the consequences for every single suspicious abandon.

Apex Legends Splits and Map Rotation

The maps available in ranked mode will change halfway through Season 20. Only 3 maps rotate on a 24 hour cycle at any given time.

The current ranked map rotation for the first split likely includes:

• Broken Moon
• Storm Point
• World's Edge

The rotation will update halfway through the season when the split occurs. This keeps gameplay fresh while allowing players to focus their efforts on mastering specific maps.

The frequent map updates and variety keep the meta evolving in ranked play. Teams must adapt strategies and legends choices to maps favoring different styles and terrain. Mastering a wider breadth of maps tests a squad's flexibility and game knowledge.

Splits once again divide up the competitive ranked season in half. At the midpoint, all players drop down 6 divisions before ranks reset for the second split. For instance, if you managed to climb up to Platinum III, prepare to have Silver I at the beginning of a new split. Here is how Apex Legends motivates players to do their best during the second half of the season to get to the top of the scoring system. Only the highest rank achieved across both splits determines end-of-season rewards.

The game developers always announce the dates when Seasons and Splits begin and end. For example, in Season 20 (Breakout), First Ranked Split started on Febrary 13, 2024, and will end on May 6, 2024.

Rules of the Matches with Friends in Apex Legends

In order to keep all players in a match closer in skill level, Apex Legends has implemented a rule stating that once you reach the Platinum rank, anyone you play a ranked match with must be only one tier away from you. While this may benefit casual beginners, who just want to play against people with their own skillset, this is very detrimental to the players who want to advance to higher tiers, and need help doing so.

Distribution of Ranks in Apex Legends

Since we are in the middle of Season 20, we can only see the distribution of the ranks for the previous seasons.

The table above shows that more players managed to rank higher, with an increase in Platinum, Diamond, Master, and Apex Predator ranks. While the last two surged only a bit, much more players reached Platinum and Diamond tiers in Season 8, compared to Season 6 and 7. It means that Apex Legends allows you to rank up a bit easier; therefore, valuable rewards and more skilled opponents aren’t as unattainable as before.

Apex Legends Ranked Rewards

The reward depends on your highest rank during a season. You will get such rewards as: Rank badge, Holospray, Weapon Cosmetic and Banner Frame. All these help you to show off in the game: the more valuable your rewards are, the higher your reputation among other players is.

Every reward comes with different conditions. For example, to get a Banner Frame, you need to get as high as Diamond, Master, or Apex Predator tiers. While for an animated badge version, you will have to maintain the same rank for both splits in one season.

When Does Apex Legends Season 20 End?

To get a reward, you have to wait for the end of a series. This is the same as the end of the second split. Apex Legends always informs players to help them manage their time to reach the desired rank and get precious rewards. The Season 20, for example, will finish on May 6, 2024.

Conclusion

The scoring system in Apex Legends is a decent motivator for all players. The good news is that now the chance to climb up to Platinum or Diamond tiers is much higher than before. All you need to do is avoid dropping your score with penalties and work on your gaming skills. And while climbing the ranks seems challenging, the truth is anyone can become a serious opponent and even rise to the top.

If you really care about your gaming experience and want to rank up in the coming seasons, the best option you have is to receive some help from Apex Legends boosting service such as our company. We can help you achieve all of your personal goals, despite the ever-increasing difficulty of Apex Legends.