The Sentinels have the honor of being known as the world’s first team to reach the status of Apex Predators in Apex Legends Season 2. Nathan “Retzi” Telen, Jared “Zombs” Gitlin, and newcomer Adam “senoxe” Lau achieved the feat.
Apex Predator is the highest point of the ladder in the battle royale game’s new ranked queue. Getting there requires a player to earn over 1,000 Ranked Points, or “RP.”
In the queue, players start at Bronze rank and work their way to the top. You’re awarded more RP for better performances. Kills are worth one RP each, up to five per game. You can also earn two, four, and seven RP for finishing in the top ten, five, and three positions, respectively. Winning the match awards you with twelve.
The accomplishment is even more impressive considering players have to pay RP to join these matches. Bronze is free, but the fee increases by one RP for each rank beyond.
Ranked is a highly competitive mode. It encourages teams to emphasize communication and makes them more cautious about taking on risky engagements. Games are harder to win than in the casual queue, as the vast majority of players only enter with their preferred comrades.
There isn’t a ton of direct incentive for reaching Apex Predator rank right now besides increased seasonal rewards and the rare bragging rights that accompany the achievement.
For pro teams, however, a high ranking gives them prominence and increases their chance of receiving invites to future competitive events. We may even see developer Respawn Entertainment use the system for qualifications in leagues such as the one run by FaceIt.
The Sentinels joined the Apex scene in late March and made a strong first impression. The team debuted in the Twitch Rivals Road to TwitchCon event and earned the top EU spot in online qualifiers, but finished in the bottom half of the rankings for the $350,000 TwitchCon tournament that ensued.
