I think posted this in another similar "Apex is fading" thread, but I thought that Fortnite might be setting a bad precedent as to expect how quickly a game like this can update thus players expectations are higher and will never be met by anything else. The "needs to update faster" though is present here
Meanwhile https://www.polygon.com/2019/4/23/18507750/fortnite-work-crunch-epic-games
Epic sounds like they're in a Rockstar situation.
People keep pointing to fortnite but I dont think fortnite is "the reason" why Apex is failing. Meaning,
A. I dont think a mass amount of players are dropping Apex and going BACK to fortnite.
B. I dont think update speed not matching fortnite is why people are quitting Apex.
I think its just a combination of many things and respawn is at fault for not being prepared/having a contingency plan for if their game is a massive success. Its like they just did not expect the successful so fast and didnt consider what to do if that were the case.
So its a combo of
1. Battlepass is trash (rewards suck and grind is way too crappy)
2. Hackers(when you constantly see the streamers deal with a hacker problem, it turns not only the streamers off from the game but people who watch the game too)
3. Loot generated algorithm (this should have been addressed a long time ago and still hasnt. If i check 4 bins and 2 builldings. I should at least have 1 shield and 1 gun. Yet I recorded a vid where this in fact disnt happen, just weapon mods and ammo and a few nades)
4. Network issues (how they havent fixed the huge lag at the beginning of some matches and hit registering issue that happens sometimes is beyond me. They should be able to put money into this issue to fix it)
5. Hot dropping problem (this could be partly on the users but can be better controlled by the devs. There are only 20 squads yet you often have half or more drop into 1 or 2 areas. So by the first ring, there are usually just 7-5 teams left. Then its a long boring game of finding/running into those teams slowly. It wasnt like that at the start, but when people started figuring the best spots for loot, it became that, no matter what angle the ship comes in on, theres always certain areas people want to loot at. The Devs can make ALL areas more "remarkable" to loot st to try to better control that. Its a 4x4 map instead of 8x8 so need to have more areas worth looting instead of the core like, 8 spots. Try to spread people out a bit more. You can achieve this without increasing map size imo, but there are many drop areas where I would never wanna drop (other than the core 8) so make those areas more enticing.
Ps.
Some guy complained about liking the unpredictability of running into someone after sometime has gone by. Just drop late and you will have that experience every game. Thats just facts)
6. Speed of updates. (i know in the beginning of this post I stated its not because of the speed of fortnite's updates, and I still believe that. However, the speed at which this update could be greatly improved. They dont have to match Fortnite's speed. But this pace they are at now isnt cutting it. And this just isnt in regards to content but also bug fixes. They dont address things in a timely manner. That smoke bug existed FOREVER)
7. Communication (they arent communicative enough imo and are sometimes cryptic about things. That only frustrates people)
8. Actual store content and design (most of that shit sucks, lets be real, and alot of it is ugly imo. A few designs have been cool (like 2 of Octane's outfits) but most designs arent. They need a better art team that can design more like those 2 cool octane outfits and not like the majority of lifeline's outifts. In fact all of lifeline's outfits. Bleh)
9. Content pricing (overpriced, and hard to obtain. Here is one of the biggest flaws in the game. The thing that would normally help influence people to keep playing, just doesn't. There are 3 currencies. But only 1 is truly useful, and that 1 is one you literally cant earn greatly without spending money. You can get apex coins (buy buying) legend coins (only used for buying legends) and crafting materials (what allows you to pick and choose skins you want to buy) yet you only get crafting materials in loot boxes. Thats it, and there are only a limited amount of lootboxes you can get. I have invested probably a few hundred hours into this game yet I still haven't been able to buy one epic/legendary(whatever its called) skin yet with crafting materials. Thats fucking ridiculous.
10. Lootboxes (stinginess of this goes without saying)
With all that said, the core gameplay itself is the best of any BR imo.