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Apex Legends introduced Provisional Matches to calibrate the rank of players last season but they did not accurately reflect the player ranks. Most players ended up in low ranks despite performing well, which led to Respawn Entertainment introducing a host of changes for Season 18. The Provisional Matches this season can boost your rank tremendously if you win a few of your games during your placements. Eliminations also play a major role in boosting your placement rank when you complete your Provisional matches.
How do Provisional Matches work in Apex Legends Season 18?
Provisional Matches are special matches in Apex Legends that mitigate your losses fully and maximize your gains and other rewards. Doing well in these matches can help boost your rank greatly. Rank resets happen at the start of each Season. Your progress will be fully reset back to 0 Ladder Points (LP), but you’ll get 10 Provisional Matches to give you the chance to quickly calibrate your LP rank.
Try to get as many kills as possible during these matches and secure a high placement. There are players who have calibrated directly to Masters by winning all ten of their matches and securing high kills. While that is an unrealistic goal for most players, it’s great to see that the ranked grind can be reduced if you play well during your first ten games of the season.
Changes to Ranked mode in Apex Legends Season 18
Respawn Entertainment had revealed a host of changes to Provisional Matches and Ranked Matches for Season 18. The dev team is:
Decreasing overall LP gains per match to combat the overall shift in the rank distribution.
Adding a ruleset that only applies to Diamond+ to properly dial in the top of the ladder.
Players in these ranked tiers will have increased stakes and losses, and decreased rating bonuses and loss mitigations. Be ready to put it all on the line.
Adding a minimum elimination bonus increase based on the player's MMR (matchmaking rating) and buffing elimination bonus in general. Eliminations should always be a contributor to your rank.
Increasing action in the ring by adjusting ring damage.
Adjusting ring timings to create more mid-game encounters and less pre-finale lulls.
Updating matchmaking to better handle players that are actively challenging their MMR, for more competitively challenging matches that mirror their ranking.
