In Respawn’s battle royale Apex Legends, teamwork is absolutely crucial as players try to outsmart their competition - but recently, an influx of people have been urging the game’s developers to include a solo queue mode. Just as in any team-based FPS game, there are players who queue with their friends, and there are players who queue alone. However, as many solo players have discovered, the current design of Apex Legends' ranked system might unfairly favor those who queue with others, regardless of their ability to synergize with a team.
Since ranked teams consist of three players, oftentimes solo players will be matched with two others who have queued together. Ideally, duos will include their third teammate in the conversation as they make callouts and coordinated attacks - but in many cases, they are communicating within a private call, which leaves the solo player on their own with little to no information. Even with its detailed ping system, in Apex Legends' fast-paced, cutthroat matches every detail can easily be the deciding factor between life and death. Additionally, this team structure opens the door for duos to gang up on solo players and sour their ranked experience. Games like Valorant and League of Legends have recognized this issue and forbid their players to queue in groups of four so that solo players don't get unfairly targeted - but it is all too common in Apex Legends.
If Respawn were to add in a solo queue ranked mode to Apex Legends, players would only have themselves to rely on. While this would make for rather unforgiving gameplay (with no possibility of clutch plays from teammates), it would also create a much more level playing ground. It would entirely eliminate the possibility of a communication gap between teammates, ensuring that everyone has an equal shot at winning the match. It would also mean that there’s no opportunity for toxic behavior, such as trolling or harassment within Apex Legends' matchmade teams.
Apex Legends Has Moved Beyond Its Limited-Time Mode Fiasco
Many speculate that Respawn has held off on a solo queue mode due to the failure of a past solos Limited-Time-Mode. This temporary game mode was introduced in August 2019’s Iron Crown event, just months after Apex Legends' official release - and it almost immediately fell apart. A surprising number of players were cheating their way to victory by simultaneously queuing with their friends to land in the same game, and then teaming up to mutually destroy the rest of the lobby. However, the game has come a long way in the last three years. Apex Legends’ anticheat and reporting systems have improved massively since then.
Plus, the game has seen the success of several new Limited-Time-Modes, with Duos and Arenas even being permanently added in. Some that haven’t yet made it into the game’s year-round live service, such as Control and the new Gun Run mode, are being heavily requested to follow suit. If Respawn is still hesitant about including a solo queue mode to Apex Legends, it could simply reintroduce it as a Limited-Time-Mode, and then make a decision based on its present-day success.
With a large portion of the community agreeing that playing the game alone is a borderline painful experience, Respawn could certainly benefit from the inclusion of a solo queue mode in Apex Legends. As the game’s ranked system currently stands, it can prove disadvantageous for those who don’t have a party to queue with. But with the game seeing a spike in popularity in recent years, it's something that developers could - and should - be interested in implementing.