Get familiar with the Ranked Arenas and AP in Apex Legends!

In Apex Legends for many seasons, the only game mode players could choose was Battle Royale. Of course, Battle Royale is a very entertaining way to play the game, but more and more players were asking for some variety in the game. This variety came in the Apex Legends Season 9 in the form of the Arenas mode.

Since then Arenas has kept evolving with new maps and various changes in the system to make it as balanced and as enjoyable as possible. Together with the casual Arenas mode, we also got introduced to the Ranked Arenas mode. That is the competitive version of the normal mode that gives players the chance to test their skill and improve. There are some differences between ranked vs casual matchmaking but we will not focus on them in this article. 

Getting to know Apex Legends Arenas!

Apex Legends Arenas is a 3vs3 mode split into various rounds that focuses more on fighting rather than surviving. The two enemy teams are starting on the opposing sides of a map and their goal is to kill the other team without being killed themselves. At first sight, it might look much more simple than the Battle Royale mode, or even oversimplified, but there are mechanics that make the game more challenging.

When you start the match you have a certain amount of crafting materials that are used to buy everything in this mode. From guns and grenades to healing items or even abilities. The number of crafting materials you get per round increases and they are also affected by your decisions in the game. You can choose to get the crafting materials scattered around the arena or focus more on meds and positioning, it’s up to you.

This mechanism forces people to strategize more carefully about how to approach each round. For example, it might be more beneficial to “sacrifice” a round so you can have better gear in the next one, or you might want to go “all in” from the first round to get the advantage.

Players have been testing different strategies since the first season that Apex Legends Arenas appeared and all this testing has been transformed into fierce competition in the Ranked Arenas mode.

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What are Arena Points?

Arena points or AP as they are usually called are the points that you get while playing ranked matches. AP measures your skill level, something similar to Ranking Points (RP) which are used in the Apex Legends Battle Royale mode. According to the Arena Points you have there is a ranking badge that corresponds to that AP.

RANKING BADGE	ARENA POINT REQUIREMENTS
Bronze	0 AP
Silver	1600 AP
Gold	3200 AP
Platinum	4800 AP
Diamond	6400 AP
Masters	8000 AP
Predator	The top 750 Players

We are not going to explain the RP system here but the difference between AP and RP is mainly in how they are calculated. RP is a fairly complicated system that takes into account how many kills you got in a game, how much RP was each kill, what was your placement in the match, what was your entry fee for the game etc.

On the other hand, Apex Legends Ranked Arenas has a very simple points calculation system. If you win the match, you will get AP. If you lose a match, you are going to lose AP. That’s it. You could compare it to the ranked systems of Dota 2, LoL, CS: GO, etc. but there is a small difference. The way the AP you are going to get is calculated is a bit variable.

First of all, you need to meet the ranked requirements for unlocking the Apex Legends Ranked Arenas mode. After that, you have to play 10 placement matches that will determine the rank you are going to get. Then the AP grinding begins. Every loss you get will cost you approximately 12 AP but the victories are a different story.

 The first matches after your placement will be big chunks of AP. It might be even close to 100 AP per victory. The more you play Ranked Arenas the lower this amount will get, stabilizing when the game sees that you have reached your “true” AP. After that there are going to be some variations on how much AP you are getting, but this will be mostly due to matchmaking stuff.

For example, if you are Gold rank and the system pits you against Diamond-ranked players, it is only logical that if you win you are going to be awarded more points than the average since theoretically your skill level is lower than that of your enemies.

The better you are, the higher AP you are going to have and by the end of the season, you are going to get a reward based on the highest Badge you manage to reach. Keep in mind that only the top 750 Players in the world can become an Apex Predator so if that is your goal, it will be a tough climb!

How are Ranked Arenas Different from Ranked Battle Royale?

Ranked Arenas was created to give some different options for the players that are getting tired of the routine of a Battle Royale game. Drop, try to find some gear, die from 3^rd party. That’s how it would usually go and it could get especially frustrating in ranked.

In Ranked Arenas, there are no unknown variables that you have to keep in mind. You just need to focus on the communication with your team and your individual performance. A breath of fresh air for the long-time fans of Apex Legends but also a more beginner-friendly mode for the new players. 

Although it is true that Arenas mode is not getting as much love as Battle Royale mode, the developers are constantly tinkering with the game to make it more engaging and the players can notice the effort!