Fortnite streamers want an Apex Legends-style ranked mode

Fortnite players are getting sick and tired of Arena and feel like they have nothing to “grind” for.

Since its launch more than two years ago, the biggest problem with Fortnite’s competitive “Arena” game mode has been that it’s… well it’s not at all competitive. Fans have been desperately asking for a rework, but at this point, most have accepted that it isn’t going to happen.

With no incentive to place highly and the only benefit of getting to Champion Division being the ability to enter certain events, many players resort to pushing everyone they see meaning lobbies die out very quickly. Though it makes good fighting practice this can soon get boring and in no way resembles an actual tournament match.

The topic is back up for discussion after a handful of pros and content creators brought it up on social media. Among them was Ali “SypherPK” Hassan, who tweeted “Fortnite could really use a proper ranked mode similar to how Apex Legends does it”.

In fact, recently a bunch of former Fortnite and Warzone streamers have given Apex a shot and been pleasantly surprised. Some key elements of their ranked system include a cap on the number of points that can be earned from kills, and unique in-game rewards for each tier at the end of a season.

These concepts could definitely work in Fortnite too. Epic already regularly uses “skin cups” like last week’s J Balvin Cup as a way to promote new collaborations and cosmetic sets.

It’s important to offer prizes at all levels. There’s no use just saying everyone who hits 50,000 Hype gets a special Outfit or Pickaxe, as those who feel they have no chance at achieving this score would never even try.

Players in all divisions should know that the next step up is within their grasp if they put in the effort. This would lead to more competitive lobbies and intense, stacked endgames across the board.

this is great but i dont see cosmetic rewards ever becoming a thing in Fortnite as it would make them alot more valued and ‘rare’ over purchasable cosmetics, which would hurt revenue if everyone is grinding arena for cosmetics instead of buying them.

— FaZe Flea (@FleaYT) September 2, 2021

FaZe Clan YouTube star Tyler “Flea” replied to Sypher suggesting that Epic may be against giving away cosmetic rewards incase it harms Item Shop revenue. Personally I think this is unlikely, people love swapping up their look from game to game and can never have enough skins, pickaxes or wraps etc. If anything, having a ranked mode that players enjoy grinding would mean they spend more time on Fortnite and are happier to invest in upgrading their locker.

Funnily enough, the Arena points system did actually change for the first time in Chapter 2 at the beginning of this season. Unfortunately, this had such an insignificant effect on gameplay that everyone has already forgotten, or else never even knew it happened.

The developers did say at the time however that “these are just the first changes we’re making as we look to improve Arena experiences in the future”. With Fortnite Season 8 now less than two weeks away, perhaps Sypher and co will see some improvements sooner rather than later.