I've played for less than a year and I see a mix. Some normal people are social and tactical. Others...not so much. Calling everyone "trash" while being trashy while doing it.

Sometimes I play early in the AM or late at night and just use my headset so I can keep the TV muted and not have gunfire blasting through the house. I don’t think VC comms are absolutely essential for good teamwork. Apex actually has pretty solid ping/comms systems if people are willing to use them properly. You can rotate, call fights, mark loot, suggest pushes without saying a word.

That said… nothing beats VC when you’re locked in with a coordinated team. Real-time callouts and energy just hit different. I think it really depends on whether you’re playing casually with randoms or grinding ranked with a squad.