April 2019 - last edited April 2019
I liked it when I saw you describing the game as competitive at its core and therefore I wanted to share some thoughts that could help in some ways.
First of all I want to point out to the ranked mode in rainbow six siege, I believe it is the best option for apex of course after the developers make the necessary changes to make it unique and adapted for the game.
I think there should be two modes: casual and ranked.
The casual would be just what the current mode is right now, a chill mode with a variety of players from noobs to pros. In this mode all the badges should be achievable as players will get the chance to show off and dominate because the lobby isn't full of players at their level. This should be a good escape to chill for players when it gets too intense in the ranked mode. At the same time this can be where all players start to learn the basics before they are allowed to play in ranked just how it is now. This mode can also allow experiments if you want to test anything and collect data to analyze without affecting the competitive base, moreover this should separate the players base making it easier to satisfy the majority of players than having one mode to handle all types of players at the same time.
The ranked mode would be where the game gets competitive and gives the chance to have tournaments with big rewards and audience which will automatically promote the game more and more with more events. In this ranked mode you should be rewarded with points to rank up when you do well and lose points when you don't so the players can have the chance to prove themselvs and participate in tournaments. You could do way better than any other game did if you take that into consideration as competitiveness and rewards will draw out more streamers to the game which in turn will bring most of their audience to it as well. I believe you should make sure that you have separated tournaments for PC and Console. Putting them together in the same lobbies would only be unfair for Console and cause players to give up on tournaments eventually as it's going to be dominated by PC players. The ranked mode should also have badges that you can only earn from it to show off how good people do when being matched with players on the same skill level and for sure badges for those who can make it to certain leagues and achieve things there. This should also keep you posted about meta changes needed to keep competitiveness on fire and a more realistic view to what nerfs and buffs are needed on which legends and what unintended exploits are making competitive better and which are ruining the game so you could even balance unexpected things that went well for the game. Not to forget the chance of being able to tell more easily if each new legend is compatible with the map so the changes that happen in the map can be made in a way to help the legend reach it's potential and to determine when changes to the map aren't enough any more and there should be a second one.
I think there should be duo mode but no solo as the entire idea of respwan will be dead, while duo would make competitive more intense as 1v2 is easier to clutch than 1v3 which would make matches harder and therefore tournaments more enjoyable.
For sure there is way more that you could get out of having these two modes active like for example events and twists that are for a limited time could be applied only on casual for fun but if proven beneficial for the competitive mode then these things can be implemented there later after analyzing more date to make sure it's balanced. But for now this was only what is on my mind, I'm sure the developers can see way more in it and will know exactly how to make it work and benefit of it for the maximum.
I just hope this is how you will implement ranked by two modes instead of one. And making sure it is a step towards more competitive environment with a lot of tournaments and prizes while putting in mind the Console should have their own tournaments so it's fair for them and that more people would be interesting in actually putting the effort for it.
Wish you the best with and I hope that this helps in any way and mostly is taken into consideration!