According to dataminers, Apex Legends might be getting a ranked mode. Twitter user @StoutFN_ has found files indicating that ranked play could be making its way to Apex Legends – a feature that’s long been on the Fortnite community’s wishlist. Spotted by Dextero, the screenshot shows two lines referencing ranked play. Respawn hasn’t made any official announcements regarding upcoming plans for its new free-to-play battle royale title yet, so while nothing has been confirmed, it could be a great way for the developer to keep the momentum going. @ApexLegendLeak i might of just found out about ranked play in AL look at lines 95 and 96 pic.twitter.com/0KfneSEiHK — Stout ❁ (@StoutFN_) February 6, 2019 Apex Legends launched earlier this week, amassing over one million unique players in its first eight hours, and over 2.5 million in its first 24. Yesterday, the game had over 200k viewers on Twitch – three times as many as Fortnite. It’s still at the top of Twitch right now, with over 90k viewers at the time of writing, compared to Fornite’s 36k, in sixth position. Fortnite’s answer to ranked play so far has been in-game tournaments. “The in-game tournament system is an evolution of the traditional ranked system, striving to enhance the best elements of ranked play,” Epic said in a recent update. “Focused windows of competition allow us to better celebrate the performances of competitors, promote community activity around the events, and create the highest quality matches possible at all skill levels. We’ll be exploring rotating or staggered tournament schedules in the future to include more players.” Apex Legends is out now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. If you’re hopping in, check out our tips for getting started, the best character for you to use, and our guide on how to unlock and execute every character’s finishing move.<doc-sep>Whether you’re the champion every game or you struggle to get a kill, it’s hard to know how you stack up against the competition in Apex Legends. With no universal scoreboard or ranking system, the only way you can judge opponents is by their gamer card, which reveals stats like kills, damage dealt, and other information. But who’s the No. 1 Apex player right now? There’s no way to know for sure who’s the very best in Apex at the moment. For now, Respawn Entertainment hasn’t released any information about bringing a ranked system to the new battle royale. But leakers believe Apex may be closer to a ranked system than Call of Duty. https://twitter.com/StoutFN_/status/1093260942421491732?s=20 Just two days after Apex was released, a Twitter user found some interesting code in the game files. Under profile.cfg, there are two lines that mention “rankedplay.” Specifically, the lines of code are “rankedplay_display_enabled ‘0’” and “rankedplay_voice_enabled ‘0.’” Some think this confirms ranked play is coming to Apex, while others believe its just leftover code from Titanfall 2. Related: An Apex Legends bug is leading to free wins Ultimately, it's unclear right now if Apex will get a proper ranking system, but it's safe to say nearly everyone wants one. Guy “DrDisrespect” Beahm has mentioned several times how he would like to see ranked modes added into Apex. According to DrDisrespect, no other battle royale has successfully implemented a ranked system. Will Apex be the first?<doc-sep>Know what to look for as soon as you touch the ground. The odds of your survival depends on multiple factors while playing Apex Legends. While you’ll need to master all the necessary in-game mechanics to rise above the rest, you’ll also need a good understanding of which weapons perform better than the other available options. There are many guns in Apex, but some naturally outperform the others. Throughout multiple balance patches, some guns gradually become better than other alternatives at what they aim to do. Finding these weapons and using them throughout a match will increase your odds of surviving and becoming an Apex champion. The guns at the top of the food chain continuously change, however. Respawn Entertainment adds new guns to Apex alongside further adjusting the existing weapons' stats. This means that there's often a shift in power rankings with every balance patch and season. You must keep yourself up-to-date and adapt to the new strategies that emerge after game-shifting patches. The following guns have been performing relatively well throughout the latest Apex patch. Make sure to hold on to attachments that you can use on any of them since you never know what you loot off an enemy player after you knock them out. Here are the best weapons in Apex Legends. S-tier Screengrab via Respawn Entertainment Screengrab via Respawn Entertainment Screengrab via Respawn Entertainment Screengrab via Respawn Entertainment Screengrab via Respawn Entertainment Screengrab via Respawn Entertainment Kraber The Kraber has been the best sniper rifle in Apex for a while, and it looks like it'll stay that way. The gun hasn't received any major nerfs in the recent patches. It can only be found in care packages. If you can't seem to perform well with sniper rifles, you should still pick it up or at least ping your teammates to make sure your squad gets to harness its power. Every successful headshot with the Kraber will be enough to secure kills or knock down opponents. Even bullets that miss the head are powerful enough to reduce your enemies' health points (hp) down to 20 percent, allowing you to finish them off with your secondary weapon. We recommend completing your loadout with an assault rifle or a submachine gun (SMG) since you may not always get that second chance to shoot with your Kraber. Devotion The Devotion was out of control during season five. Though the gun was only available through supply drops, it's off-the-chart damage rate, and easy-to-control recoil made it a nightmare to deal with. The gun was nerfed slightly during season six, but didn’t receive and stat changes in season seven. It returned to the map as a regular drop with its reduced damage and increased recoil, but it still wasn't enough to make it less powerful. While the nerfs were well deserved, it actually made the weapon more powerful in the process since it's now easier to find one. The number of Devotions on the map were limited before, but now they're quite common to come by. If you can handle its recoil, the Devotion is still one of the most powerful guns in Apex. Prowler The Prowler was already catching the eye of many Apex fans during seasons six and five. The gun was more potent than most players anticipated, and it looks like the Apex devs were feeling the same way. Prowler became a supply drop-exclusive weapon with season seven, and finders will definitely be keepers. Prowler can now be found with a Selectfire Receiver and its new upgraded magazine that can hold up to 35 bullets. Considering it comes with 175 extra shots, you'll be able to pick it up and wreak havoc even if you haven't been collecting its respective ammo type. It's relatively easy to control this SMG due to its low recoil, turning into a laser beam in close-quarter skirmishes. R-99 The R-99 is another weapon that returned to the regular loot pool in season seven. Though the gun was nerfed before returning to the map, its wide availability meant the nerfs were more than welcomed. The reduced magazine size will force you to be more on point since missing a couple of shots can give your opponent a chance to knock you out. The R-99 returns back to its old days with a couple of attachment buffs, and it's one of the weapons that you'll want to keep unless the zone is closing in a way that'll force you to take long-distance fights. Peacekeeper When it comes to shotguns, the Peacekeeper had the field dominated for a long time. Then the Mastiff came along and shook its throne. Despite undergoing numerous changes and nerfs, the Peacekeeper eventually took back its spot as the best shotgun, but it's now more difficult to find on the map. The gun became a supply drop exclusive in season five and has been that way ever since. Even if you have a fully-kitted Mastiff, you'll always want to switch to the Peacekeeper due to its raw power. It's the ultimate finisher weapon that you'll always be able to rely on in fights. Wingman The Wingman's hop-up collection continues to grow. Now that players can use the Quickdraw Holster with the gun, it remains one of the deadliest weapons in the game. The Wingman is a top-tier weapon, but it can also easily be listed on the bottom of anyone's list with a bad aim. Hitting your shots with a pistol requires a perfect level of accuracy. If you have a pinpoint aim, then you can outgun anyone on the map with a Wingman. Combining it with an assault rifle is usually the way to go for utility purposes, but you can also try SMGs to increase your close-range effectiveness. A-tier Screengrab via Respawn Entertainment Screengrab via Respawn Entertainment Screengrab via Respawn Entertainment Volt SMG SMGs are usually under high demand and you shouldn't be surprised if you can't find a Prowler or R-99 on the map. Based on stats, the Volt could be considered as the best SMG in Apex, but it's ammo type raises some questions. Volt uses energy ammo, which means that you may run out of it too quickly if you're pairing it up with a Devotion. If you're using any other primary weapon that uses a different ammo type, then Volt will be an excellent pick to pair them. Its low recoil and high damage per second will ensure that you won't run into any troubles in close-range fights. Energy ammo is also harder to find around the map and you can carry less of them compared to other ammo types in the game. Mastiff Your chances of finding a Peacekeeper will be significantly lower than getting your hands on a Mastiff. The bullet spread is a gun mechanic that you'll need to get used to with shotguns. If you're aiming for the head, most of your bullets may not hit your opponent, but it's not really the case with the Mastiff. The Mastiff features a somewhat horizontal bullet spread, meaning if you target an enemy's upper chest, most of the bullets will be connecting. The gun's a powerful alternative until you get your hands on a Peacekeeper and can feel better to players who prefer using shotguns instead of SMGs. R-301 Carbine The R-301 Carbine is the ultimate all-rounder of Apex. It isn't the best at anything, but it's decent at everything. Finding one during the early stages of the game can help you survive a hot-drop. Most players will be on the lookout to replace it with something better as soon as possible, but there's nothing wrong with keeping going with your trusty R-301 Carbine. Just make sure that you pick your fights carefully during the late game since you may be facing players with supply drop weapons. B-tier Screengrab via Respawn Entertainment Screengrab via Respawn Entertainment EVA-8 Auto The EVA-8 is a highly situational shotgun. It may hold up on its own during the first minutes of a match, but you'll need a Double-Tap hop-up if you want to keep using the weapon toward the mid and late-game portions of the match.<doc-sep>
The new battle royale game Apex Legends amassed over a million players at a far greater speed than Fortnite did. And now, the Titanfall spin-off may beat its biggest competitor to the punch with a highly-desired “Ranked Play” mode, as evidenced by some code allegedly found under {Apex Legend’s](https://www.inverse.com/article/53074-apex-legends-tier-list-and-character-guide-best-fighters-ranking) hood. On Twitter on Wednesday, a Fortnite player named “Stout” revealed he may have found evidence of Ranked Play included in some .txt files of Apex Legends. “I might of just found out about ranked play in AL look at lines 95 and 96,” Stout tweeted along with a screenshot of the .txt. Lines 95 and 96 of the game read: “rankedplay_display_enabled ‘0’,” and “rankeplay_voice_enabled ‘0.’” Based on Stout’s evidence, it seems ranked play may be coming to Apex Legends. A highly-demanded feature that is still mostly absent in Fortnite, ranked play manifests in different ways depending on the game. But generally speaking, ranked play is a game type in which players of similar skill are placed in matches and compete to “rank up” (or if they lose, “rank down”), which adds more stakes to every game than just winning and losing. As esports have taken off, ranked play sometimes ranks players worldwide, meaning there can be an official “number one player” in the world. It’s a lot like leaderboards on old arcade cabinets, but on a global scale. While Ninja is regarded as the number one Fortnite player, a leaderboard based on ranked play would actually define players with that objective recognition. Inverse has reached out to Respawn for comment on Ranked Play, and we’ll update this post when we hear back. Meanwhile, you can see Stout’s tweet below. Apex Legends is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.