NICKMERCS calls for major change to Apex Legends ranked play

Popular streamer Nick ‘NICKMERCS’ Kolcheff has explained why he thinks Apex Legends’ ranked mode needs to change. 

Apex Legends’ ranked mode is incredibly competitive. Not only does it allow players to flex their skills over the game’s best players, but it also enables you to face off against similarly ranked players. While the mode isn’t free from problems, the competitive aspect of the game continues to draw in players from all over the world. 

One player that has been infatuated with Apex Legends’ ranked matches is NICKMERCS. In fact, the popular streamer has been busy grinding out matches with the hopes of getting to the lofty heights of the Predator rank.

However, during a recent stream, Nick highlighted one major change he’d like to see added to the competitive mode. 

NICKMERCS on Apex Legends ranked mode

While it can be tricky to climb up Apex Legends’ ranked ladder, your ranking cannot drop from one tier to another. Once you successfully make it to one tier, you’ll not be demoted the rank below. This essentially means you can lose matches with the safety of knowing your rank will never decay. 

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“I think this game has one of the best ranked modes ever created,” said Nick. I think it’s actually perfect, aside from one thing. I don’t believe in the ranked protection. You should be able to lose and drop out of ranks.” 

In its current state, there’s nothing really stopping players from either trolling or just going on a huge losing streak. It’s this overall safety that Nick believes is stopping the mode from being as competitive as it can be. 

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“I think that [ranked protection] promotes careless gameplay because you know that no matter what, you have this net that you can’t go under,” said Nick. “Though I love to play crazy and get loose, I still don’t think it should be in the game. It kind of hurts the game in some ways.”

Aside from this small change, Nick believes that Apex Legends’ ranked system is pretty much perfect. Whether Respawn will make adjustments to the mode remains to be seen, but for now, there’s nothing stopping players from comfortably grinding tiers.