(no) comparison
by saurerDropsXXLOriginal Post
Season 18 at Apex will soon be over and I didn't want to miss the opportunity to share a few thoughts beforehand.
For impatient readers: this text actually has only one goal. To take away the fear of a new shooter from every dissatisfied Apex player. And to give them the strength to actually try out other shooters. And the insight to stop writing about bad things in Apex here in the forum, since they probably won't change for the better any time soon.
After reading a disturbing article about EOMM, I feared that all shooters would feel more or less like Apex Legends. Fortunately, I was wrong.
The title says it all: this is a comparison that is not meant to be one. An in-depth comparison is too time-consuming for me. However, a certain comparison cannot be avoided if I try to list only the points that I find positive in my Apex alternative.
For those who don't know the concept of EOMM, just this much: the matchmaking is based less on the abilities of the players (skill) and more on the "trigger ability". Players are triggered by the fact that they are more likely to lose and should therefore play longer and harder.
Back to my alternative. To a large extent it is like Apex. However, there is no classic BR. The game mode that most resembles Apex is "Mixtape".
That's what I like about my alternative:
In most matches, the other players really want to defeat the opponents and actively fight them.
I can only play PUBS so far, but the matchmaking is good in many matches. I can tell this from the fact that the matches are often really close.
Obvious cheaters are rare. I am not 100% sure when I report them. But, if I report cheaters, then the player is really very suspicious (this is also related to the player stats board of the match).
I've only had obvious bots in the conventional sense once in my team so far (both had the same name, spun senselessly in circles, ran into walls, etc.).
The report system is super simple, can be done at any time with any match participant. Even if the match has been over for some time.
During the match, you can have the player statistics board displayed, on which a few important values of the current match are listed for each player (teammates and opponents) (kills, assists, damage, etc.).
As in Apex, each game "character" has different special abilities, but here I feel they are also really useful and potentially profitable.
If a player has left the match during the match (despite time penalty in PUBS), sometimes a replacement player comes in. Been there, done that...
Even if a few rounds have already been lost, the match can still be won (a turn-around is potentially always possible).
If you have lost a match, an experienced player usually knows why (I also realised this after a few matches).
If a match is not going well and the probability of winning has decreased (e.g. because a teammate has quit), anyone in the team can anonymously request that the match be abandoned. If more than 50% of the teammates vote for it, the match is over and you have lost. But you are no longer stuck in a frustrating match.
Cross-play can be possible, but I don't notice anything about it.
What I don't find so good:
There is also hate speech here.
Although there are time penalties in PUBS as well, some players quitter.
It has the same anti-cheat software.
It takes quite a long time to play Ranked or use other weapons.
There is no text chat, only voice chat and I have that muted. But you can let off a few pre-written (positive) messages similar to the pings system.
I have no idea if and what has been done about my reports.
The bottom line is that I am happy with my alternative. My anger level is much lower. And when I lose a match, it's usually the fault of our team's poor performance. OK, sometimes I also think that the MM was not very good. But it's rather rare that it feels like a slaughter.
So, instead of sinking into anger and self-pity here, find a good alternative. The forum here is not the anonymous support group of apex addicts after all. Of course you can express your frustration here, but even your constant repetitions of the biggest criticisms don't seem to have any effect. So why not invest the energy in finding another shooter?
No hard feelings.
Thank you for being happy for me. In fact, I'm really quite happy with my "new" shooter.
You're right, of course, that you shouldn't compare a BR shooter with an arena shooter. However, my superficial comparison was not about specific BR or arena mechanics, but much more about matchmaking, the other players (opponents as well as mates), the cheater and bot issues and other things that can make a player feel better or worse (for example the report system or the player statistic board during the match).
About EOMM: Of course I don't know if and how strong EOMM is in Apex, but the deterioration I felt from S16 on smells strongly of EOMM. If it's not, also OK, but then the MM has become significantly worse or hopelessly overpowered (due to the player base).
Otherwise: Remain skeptical, because at least you already have doubts and look critically. That was also a goal of my post. It should lead all dissatisfied to the important question whether they are still so happy with Apex that it is not worthwhile to look for alternatives.
I'm not saying my alternative is pure gold, but it's more fun for me than Apex lately. Sorry, but I'm really afraid that cheaters, bots or other weirdos will ruin my alternative, so I won't name it (yet).
By the way, I was lucky because of the account. I have the same attitude as you. The less I have to create new the better. I was lucky because I could log in with my google email account....
I really wish that your search for an alternative finally ends and you are satisfied with "your" shooter 
...or that Apex finally becomes really good again (though I have little hope there at the moment).
