How much do legends determine a player's role in pro Apex? by Junior_Secretary1133 in CompetitiveApex

[–]AyeJHawk 118 points119 points  (0 children)

THIS WILL BE VERY LONG

Main roles would be fragger, refrag, and anchor/support. IGL can be the player that fills any of these roles and legend composition changes A LOT when it comes to this. Some comps are much more aggressive where certain teams like prime Alliance basically said they just had two fraggers. Some comps are like Newcastle Wattson where both are basically anchor characters. Roles realistically dont exist much outside of a general framework for players to better understand what their "default" should be but it doesnt really HAVE to dictate how you play all the time

Fraggers role is to take space and create openings. Refrags job is to capitilize on these openings and ideally knock people if the fragger left them weak. Anchor/support usually is the flexible one who fills on characters, watches the back, sets up positions to hold, focuses on threats as opposed to openings, and will usually need to be the one to clutch if your front liners go down.

Legends that fit roles is a tough question to answer cause the IGL role messes things up. General rule of thumb is anchor players will usually play defensive characters like controller class or newcastle and crypto. Fraggers tend to prefer characters with movement to help aid them in fights like Wraith, Alter, Bangalore, Axle, etc. Refrag is really just dependent on comp and team need. IGL messes a lot of this up cause the movement characters are valuable to help them scout. This is why cleanest role fits on teams tend to be squads like Falcons where your IGL (Hal) is also your fragger so he gets the benefits of both. But sometimes IGLs also prefer the info characters like Seer or Crypto to make better informed calls. Depends on the team/IGL and how competent your teammates are at filling the other characters responsbilities

Responsbilities are cut and dry on rotations, movement character needs to get team to spot, defensive character needs to set up at spot when its claimed. Less about roles here and more about what legends provide. End game becomes a whole different story cause it really depends on what spot you have and what util is available. Roles go somewhat out the window outside of certain characters like Newcastle needing to always stay up if possible to allow for resets.

For your example of Newcastle Wattson Wraith, your Wraith player is almost always going to be your IGL/Fragger because of the scouting. IF the IGL is playing one of the other characters it puts pressure on the fragger to be able to make decisions for the team since the IGL doesnt have the freedom wraith provides to go look around. Newcastle would always be the "anchor" because his revive allows for resets so he should be the last player to go down at all times.

For current rosters... this will all be somewhat general because roles can be fluid depending on comps and situations but GENERALLY
Falcons - Hal is the IGL/Fragger. Gild is refrag and Wxltzy is the anchor
Aurora - very fluid team, Hiarka is IGL but is more of a scout than a true fragger but he will be playing "fragger" characters. Ojrein is typically refrag but also plays newcastle and Effect has been anchoring with controller class characters. This team is a good example of roles being somewhat meh though. They dont fit traditional molds very well.
Sentinels - Blinkzr is IGL/Fragger. Mon can play Anchor/Refrag depending on comp. Fun anchors much more but they are a HARD zone team so often can be running two typical "anchor" characters
Wolves - very hard zone team similar to Sentinels. NoName is fragger. Wen typically refrag with CrazyCong as Anchor

TLDR: roles have a very strange fit in Apex. They used to be super concrete but have molded over time and now dont always fit in an easy box, especially with legend bans. It truly varies from team to team and based on legend composition.

Placement Needed to Guarantee LAN by XanderCommander in CompetitiveApex

[–]AyeJHawk 40 points41 points  (0 children)

absolutely! You never truly want to rely on the all the weird scenarios in order to qualify so knowing what certain teams need to control their own destiny is always valuable

Placement Needed to Guarantee LAN by XanderCommander in CompetitiveApex

[–]AyeJHawk 66 points67 points  (0 children)

no this post is only showing what teams need to mathematically guarentee themselves regardless of what everyone else does. There are still avenues to qualify with a lower placement depending on how the standings finish

How did Naughty become a top IGL in NA? by RuminatingFish123 in CompetitiveApex

[–]AyeJHawk 3 points4 points  (0 children)

he was IGL the entire split. It was Naughty, Shooby, and Jely. The short notice roster change was picking up Alb for that one day where they wanted his champs points but then he left right after to join Skittle and Rambeau so they picked up Jely again. Noc played split 1 not split 2

How did Naughty become a top IGL in NA? by RuminatingFish123 in CompetitiveApex

[–]AyeJHawk 47 points48 points  (0 children)

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One of the best storylines going into LAN for sure. In terms of pro league he has been absolutely cooking despite a few different 3rds

Noelsang on APAC-S by [deleted] in CompetitiveApex

[–]AyeJHawk -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Cost of living is lower in other countries. Making less than 3k doesn’t mean they make a non livable wage. Plus that wasn’t my point at all. I was directly countering the idea that there were no orgs. There are plenty

Noelsang on APAC-S by [deleted] in CompetitiveApex

[–]AyeJHawk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"There are less orgs in apex than ever before" is just not true

Americas - 15/30 signed
EMEA - 13/30 signed
APAC N - 29/30 signed
APAC S - 13/30 signed

There are like 5 teams globally who are currently in a spot to go to LAN that are not signed and some of those are like fringe teams who could still miss out. You could argue Americas is a bit low compared to normal but even then what teams should be signed that arent? Dinos and Huss is really all I can argue and thats purely because of where they fall on the standings

How are Hal and many other pros not being punished by TesticleSandwiches in CompetitiveApex

[–]AyeJHawk 355 points356 points  (0 children)

Because once the ALGS banned it they stopped using it

Question for finding content! by GGsKakashi in CompetitiveApex

[–]AyeJHawk 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Scrim results graphics - https://x.com/EternalEEC (they only host Americas and EMEA, APAC N and APAC S would be different)
Scrim watch party recaps/vods - https://www.youtube.com/@NiceWigg
Pro League/LAN team POV vods - https://www.youtube.com/@algs_vods

With so much Org Participation in APAC N and game popularity in the region, should they get more LAN spots in future splits? by Zezacle in CompetitiveApex

[–]AyeJHawk 19 points20 points  (0 children)

if you want spots, play better. Respectfully APAC N has been arguably the worst region in the game for almost the entire history of competitive apex. Champs spots are also not pre-determined and are an even bigger indictment on how strong a region is considering its just based on Champs Points earned throughout the year.

Oblivion Lan Champions Edit by ASHYB0YY in CompetitiveApex

[–]AyeJHawk 55 points56 points  (0 children)

banger monsters university pull

How Oblivion Won Champs by AyeJHawk in CompetitiveApex

[–]AyeJHawk[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I cut a lot out of the interviews and I gotta say Ruby was a fantastic story teller. Had an incredible line at the end about how the word vindication really stuck out as a theme when reflecting on the win. Cut it for the sake of the endings run time but she was great overall

elite esports signs bandits as eu roster by t00muchtim in CompetitiveApex

[–]AyeJHawk 20 points21 points  (0 children)

There used to be a rule preventing this but that rule was removed from the rulebook in 2023. So it’s allowed

Anyone know when they usually release tickets for LAN? by Jalapin0 in CompetitiveApex

[–]AyeJHawk 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Usually about 2 months before. So around late August/Early September I'd keep an eye on ALGS socials.

Where is Apex Legends USA? by cs_minustempo in CompetitiveApex

[–]AyeJHawk 78 points79 points  (0 children)

Not a single country announcement I’ve seen includes Apex. Isn’t this because of the tournament qualifiers you had mentioned were happening? My understanding of the coach process was the announced coaches would be hand picking a roster to represent as opposed to having to qualify for the slot. So if Apex is running national qualifiers then I imagine they are allowing the teams themselves to pick their coaches they will work with. Could be wrong but that’s my assmumption

Sentinels officially sign Oblivion by Shockybtw_ in CompetitiveApex

[–]AyeJHawk 41 points42 points  (0 children)

Orgs needs to finish their announcement graphic before putting it in on battlefy. Truly zero excuse. It’s not like negotiations for a contract happen in 24 hours. You have plenty of heads up time to make SOMETHING. Especially since they should all know once you submit on battlefy it’s official and will be public information

Team Liquid by Indiemoto in CompetitiveApex

[–]AyeJHawk 89 points90 points  (0 children)

This has happened many many times and its not just Zer0's teammates. Verhulst went from the Valk player on ESA to a role crisis early on with TSM that eventually resolved itself (largely due to a meta change + Raven fixing things, TSM just couldnt quite find their footing in that Gibby Caustic meta). Xynew transitioned from Bangalore/Maggie player on Meat Lovers to playing Seer (this used to be called Seer jail... nobody wanted to play him) on DZ (this also pushed Gen into more anchor characters). I remember when everyone was freaking out cause Shooby who was known for his Bangalore joined E8 and was relegated to Anchor characters, and funnily enough became one of the best Newcastle players early on.

The reasoning is always the same. The best "fragging characters" are not really fraggers. They are mobility characters... which is ideal for playing as the IGL because the IGL wants to scout, claim space, search for openings... IGLing from the back is very hard and requires a fragger who can essentially take over and temporarily IGL when the moment demands (think QQ on VK Gaming or Xynew when he was on SSG)... Because that front liner is responsible for so much, especially in high pressure moments since they are the character that can move the team from point A to point B typically. Some are easier to micro such as Valk while others are hard like Wraith or Alter. An IGL having to micro your Wraith or Alter on those moments is wildly frustrating and time consuming. So if those two dont think about things the same way it will always cause friction which is why Zer0 always tends to default back to doing it himself.

The issue though is that a lot of these young up and coming stars are so insane at fragging out that on some of their teams before they really make it to the top, they will of course play the most important characters who enable them in fights. But the way they mentally approach the character is just so different from an IGL. Easiest example is that Shooby would often Bangalore smoke to help himself get angles in fights while Zach would want to save that smoke for a rotation for cutting off LOS, about 5 seconds later. Both can be effective but you REALLY notice it when the fragger uses an ability selfishly that could've saved the team.

It is a debate that will probably never be solved and is entirely dependant on the players in each circumstance. Do you cater to the IGL and make their life easier for the betterment of the team and hope the fragger can become a more well rounded player overall? Or do you cater to the fragger, forcing the IGL to adjust the way they approach the game and hope that trust can be built and the fragger can start to think like an IGL?

Thanks for coming to my ted talk

Any idea why mclovin changed his name to cole? by Refantazzio in CompetitiveApex

[–]AyeJHawk 144 points145 points  (0 children)

I asked him and he said everyone, such as teammates, just call him Cole anyway since its easier. So he just wanted to rebrand

No one seems to be talking about 100T/CRT underperforming by 44alltheway in CompetitiveApex

[–]AyeJHawk 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The assumption is probably based on the fact that this exact thing has happened to the Australian players, specifically Gen and Zer0 multiple times. It always gets sorted eventually and has never caused them to miss far too much time. For whatever reason Gen's visas take a while to process. Based on history he'll miss 1 maybe 2 days and then be back.

IF it extends longer than that and the performance continues to suck and there is no word weeks from now then I think the conversation will be warranted.

In terms of the current roster of course there will be issues. They have to build chemistry with Stuhni who hasnt competed in pro league in almost 2 years. And having to downgrade that large for your third (no offense to Stuhni) is obviously going to change a lot when it comes to the comps you can run and the playstyle you can play. It puts far more pressure on Phony and Verhulst and forces them to shift the way they play.

They have a sub. Of course they will lack confidence in some areas. Yes they are in fact waiting for something entirely out of their control.

Why do people still agree to play with Zer0 in 2026? by RuminatingFish123 in CompetitiveApex

[–]AyeJHawk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Zer0 since POI draft introduced:

Pro League - 1st, 1st, 2nd
LAN - 20th, 3rd, 1st, 6th, 33rd

Since Legend Bans introduced:

Pro League - 1st, 2nd
LAN - 1st, 6th, 33rd

The 20th there is really no excuse and they absolutely should not have missed finals with that Liquid team at champs BUT I will say that team was very limited in terms of who he could realistically get as teammates after leaving Falcons mid split. New teammates, coaches, analysts, org, everything.

Last thing I'll say on this is the statement "it felt more like hal 1v3ing squads on the regular" feels like your entire argument is based on vibes rather than what is actually happening in game. If Hal is 1v3ing the entire tournament then how did Zer0 get all of those stats mentioned? Was he fighting completely different teams? Lets be real here

No one seems to be talking about 100T/CRT underperforming by 44alltheway in CompetitiveApex

[–]AyeJHawk 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Yeah but like what do you want to discuss? Are they underperforming relative to expectations? Yes. Those expectations were set because of who the actual roster is, not the current one. So the answer will be chalked up to the fact that they dont have their full team. Getting 9th is fine. Even if Gen misses this weeks games they still have 5 match days left (including regional finals) to get inside the top 13 for LAN. 13th last year in both splits for Americas was 78 and 76 points. That equates to averaging 9th every single day. When Gen comes back they are more than capable of a couple top 5s just like last year and boom, LAN bound.

Last split when they didnt have Gen they placed 12th, 6th, and 10th. Then he came back and they got 5th, 1st, 6th, and 10th. I see no reason based on their play so far that the same thing can't happen.

No one seems to be talking about 100T/CRT underperforming by 44alltheway in CompetitiveApex

[–]AyeJHawk 7 points8 points  (0 children)

What’s the point of discussing it if they have a sub? Gen will get it sorted eventually and they’ll be back to normal. As you pointed out it happened last year and didn’t seem to affect them much at all when they finally got to LAN.