NICKMERCS proposes team-based ranked points system for Apex Legends inspired by ALGS, addressing boosting concerns
The Current Ranked Point Problem
Streaming superstar Nick ‘NICKMERCS’ Kolcheff has ignited fresh debate around Apex Legends’ competitive ranking mechanics with a radical proposal drawn from the game’s professional circuit.
Kolcheff’s innovative concept for revamping Apex Legends ranked play takes direct inspiration from the ALGS esports framework, though he readily acknowledges potential exploitation vulnerabilities.
Ranked Points (RP) mechanics have dominated Apex Legends community discussions for several seasons now.
Since their introduction in 2019, the battle royale’s competitive currency system has generally received positive feedback for allowing progression through multiple avenues—eliminations, assists, and placement—rather than mandating match victories for advancement.
However, a significant flaw emerges from how survival multipliers dramatically increase kill and assist values.This placement-based amplification creates perverse incentives that undermine team play dynamics.
These mechanics encourage ‘ratting’ tactics—prolonged hiding until final circles—and frequently trigger kill-stealing among squadmates desperate to maximize individual RP gains, prompting Kolcheff’s vocal criticism.
The popular streamer’s ranked reform advocacy emerged following similar concerns raised by fellow content creator Jack ‘CouRageJD’ Dunlop on social media platforms.
The ALGS-Inspired Solution
As co-owner of 100 Thieves, Dunlop represents another prominent voice dissatisfied with current Kill Point (KP) allocation methods. Both streaming personalities see a straightforward remedy: transitioning to team-based bonus distributions.
Kolcheff formulated his proposal after observing identical systems operating within Apex Legends’ professional ALGS environment, where three-player squads evenly distribute earned points.
The Twitch celebrity insisted ranked queues should adopt parallel mechanics, illustrating his position with a recent combat scenario. “During a team engagement recently, I inflicted 400 damage before being knocked, while my teammates secured the elimination with approximately 100 damage each.
Apex Legends player count in 2025
ImperialHal lays out 3-point plan to make Apex Legends “great again”
Apex Legends quietly announce matchmaking update with big solo queue changes
“Consequently, both teammates received three Kill Points while I earned zero. That translates to 400 damage for zero reward versus 100 damage for three KP each,” he explained.
“This outcome seems fundamentally flawed,” Kolcheff emphasized, “and shouldn’t exist in competitive play.”
Practical Tip: In current ranked, focus on dealing finishing damage rather than initial damage to secure KP, as the system rewards elimination credit over damage contribution.
The Boosting Conundrum
Nevertheless, Kolcheff’s proposition faces one substantial obstacle.
The primary complication, as many competitive players anticipate, involves rank boosting manipulation. Permitting complete squad point sharing would enable highly-skilled participants accessing lower-ranked accounts to dominate matches and transfer earned RP to boosted teammates, regardless of whether those points were legitimately achieved.
Kolcheff concedes his concept requires refinement, cautioning that Respawn Entertainment would need extensive consideration regarding boosting mitigation strategies before implementation.
“My predominant apprehension regarding this Apex Legends ranked modification would be potential player boosting exploitation,” the streaming star acknowledged. “I simply lack clear solutions for this problem.”
Common Mistake: Many players assume team-based systems automatically improve ranked integrity, but without proper safeguards, they can create worse exploitation problems than individual point systems.
Optimization Strategy: If implemented, developers could mitigate boosting by implementing rank disparity limits for premade squads and performance-based point allocation algorithms.
NICKMERCS’ Broader Ranked Critiques
Since transitioning from Warzone to Apex Legends, Kolcheff has consistently voiced opinions about the game’s balance mechanics and competitive ladder experience, while frequently offering improvement suggestions for the battle royale title.
This instance doesn’t mark his inaugural critique of ranked systems either.
Earlier this season, the content creator targeted Apex Legends’ ranked demotion protection features. He asserted these safeguards artificially elevate player rankings and frequently trap underperforming competitors in tiers beyond their actual skill level.
“I consider this game among the finest ranked implementations ever designed,” he stated, while adding crucial qualification. “Excepting one element: I completely reject ranked protection concepts. Players should experience rank degradation from losses. Current protection fosters reckless gameplay through safety net guarantees.”
He additionally participated in the aim assist controversy during late August, commenting “The irony amuses me. Numerous keyboard and mouse users claim aim assist proves overpowered. Why does this concern you?”
Advanced Insight: Top-ranked players often create smurf accounts to bypass ranked protection limitations, indicating systemic issues with the current demotion safeguards.
No reproduction without permission：SeeYouSoon Game Club » NICKMERCS wants one big Apex Legends ranked change, but it could lead to “boosting” NICKMERCS proposes team-based ranked points system for Apex Legends inspired by ALGS, addressing boosting concerns