How To Get Into Bot Lobbies In Apex Legends

How To Get Into Bot Lobbies In Apex Legends
Respawn Entertainment

Written by 

Coleman Hamstead

Published 

6th Sep 2022 13:21

Are you trying to figure out how to get into bot lobbies in Apex Legends? It's no secret that Apex Legends features a controversial matchmaking system with some of the strictest skill-based matchmaking in all of gaming. For this reason, it's common for Apex players to seek out bot lobbies as a way to escape the non-stop sweat or to farm badges. In this guide, we'll go over the different ways to get into bot lobbies in Apex Legends.

How To Get Into Bot Lobbies In Apex Legends: What's A Bot Lobby?

In Apex Legends, a bot lobby isn't actually a lobby filled with computer-controlled AI opponents. Bot is a slang term for a noob or a low-skill player. So, bot lobbies are matches where the average skill level of the opposition is relatively low, making it feel like you're playing against a bunch of robots. 

How To Get Into Bot Lobbies In Apex Legends: Mess Up Your Stats

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One way to consistently get into bot lobbies in Apex Legends is to suicide at the very beginning of a match. For this method, you'll want to start matches of no-fill Duos or Trios, and once in the Drop Ship, immediately land and kill yourself. 

If you have Apex Legends Fuse unlocked, you can land anywhere on the map and blow yourself up with the Knuckle Cluster Tactical. Alternatively, land near the edge of the map and leap off into the abyss.

 

This process tricks the Apex Legends matchmaking algorithm into thinking you're a bad player. If you start up a match and die right away every time, of course the system will believe you're worthy of getting put into bot lobbies.

Be warned, this strategy will destroy your kill/death ratio (K/DR). If you want to protect your K/DR, you can follow these same steps, but instead of jumping out of the Dropship to your death, leave the match the moment you appear in the Dropship. This'll still count as a loss on your record and isn't as effective, but you won't rack up a load of deaths on the way to securing bot lobbies in Apex Legends.

How To Get Into Bot Lobbies In Apex Legends: Make A New Account

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Making a fresh account is a surefire way to get into bot lobbies in Apex Legends. This method is called 'smurfing', and while generally frowned upon in the community, it will guarantee easy matches filled to the brim with new players.

When you make a new account, the matchmaking algorithm has no data on your skill level — good or bad. So, the game drops you into matches with other brand-new players to see how you perform. But if you're really a veteran in disguise, the opponents in these new-player lobbies will be easy pickings.

However, if you perform far above expectations, the Apex Legends matchmaking algorithm will quickly catch on and place you in matches that it deems fit your skill level. Smurf accounts are effective ways to get into bot lobbies, but don't expect it to work for too long.

How To Get Into Bot Lobbies In Apex Legends: Switch Servers

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If you can deal with the high ping and long queue times, switching to less populated servers is a great way to get into bot lobbies in Apex Legends. The strict Apex Legends SBMM algorithm works best when it has a large pool of individuals to pick and choose from. But on less populated servers, the algorithm is forced to group players of varied skill together to fill a match. Typically, this means weaker competition in the form of 'bots'.

Usually, NA East servers like Virginia and New York, and Europe servers, such as London and Frankfurt, are heavily populated and ones to avoid if you're searching for bot lobbies. Some less popular servers prone to bot lobbies include Sydney, Singapore, Greece, and Albania, to name a few. Try testing out different data centres until you find a good mix of ping, queue time, and the enemy skill level you desire.

When picking an Apex Legends server, consider not only its typical population but also the time of day in that region. Bot lobbies occur more frequently in the middle of the night and the early morning hours, as that's when the least amount of people are playing, making it harder for the SBMM algorithm to narrow down a tight skill range.

How To Get Into Bot Lobbies In Apex Legends: Play Ranked

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Ranked Modes are a low-key way to get into bot lobbies. Apex's Ranked Modes and their standard Battle Royale and Arena playlists are separate from one another — and so is the way they match players. You could be the best Apex Legends player in the world with an insane K/DR and win rate, but if you never play Ranked, you'll start in Bronze and go against other Bronze competitors. 

Normally, the Bronze, Silver, and sometimes Gold, ranks are littered with players that veterans might refer to as 'bots'. You'll notice standout players in these lobbies on occasion, but for the most part, these low-rank lobbies are basically bot lobbies. 

Playing opponents of similar skill and testing your limits is how you get better, but sometimes it's nice to sit back, relax, and tear through bot lobbies in Apex Legends.

For more Apex Legends guides, be sure to keep reading GGRecon.

Coleman Hamstead
About the author
Coleman Hamstead
Coleman is a freelance journalist at GGRecon. While gaming has always been his passion, it wasn’t until he worked as a Sports Journalist at the Community College of Baltimore County that he found his enthusiasm for writing. In the time since Coleman has had his work featured in publications such as The Washington Post/Launcher and ESTNN. Coleman is a graduate of Towson University with a degree in Sport Management and Business Administration.
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