Apex Legends are removing Dive Trails due to Ranked toxicity

When it comes to Apex Legends Ranked rewards, one of the main goals for players is achieving a high tier for the corresponding Dive Trail.

You may only be able to see a trail at the start of a match, but it indicates your top-tier skill to everyone in the lobby and it also helps that they look awesome.

Unfortunately, the information that it gives opponents in certain Ranked matches has been causing toxicity issues.

Competitors have been targeting certain players based on their trail, making them a direct target and punching them out at the beginning of a match. As a result of this, the developer has made the decision to remove Dive Trails from Ranked.

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Apex Legends devs scrap dive trails in Season 18 Ranked

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During a press event ahead of Season 18’s release, Lead Game Designer at Respawn Chris Cleroux shed some light on why Dive Trials will no longer be visible in Ranked.

“Dive Trails were originally designed to show off your achievement for high-level play, but have really resulted in some toxic behaviour,” said Cleroux.

“What we’ve seen emerging is players using trails to target, track, and try to punch out other players at the start of a match, so Dive Trails are really putting a bullseye on your back.”

Respawn has noticed that because Dive Trails can sabotage a player’s Ranked match, they are equipping them less often. For them, this is a problem as they believe “rewards should be something you want to use all the time and have the ability to show more frequently.”

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What Ranked rewards will replace Dive Trails in Apex Legends?

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So, if Dive Trails are disappearing from Ranked, what new rewards does Respawn have in store for Apex Legends Season 18?

Well, to the disappointment of many fans, there are no skins on the table just yet. Instead, Dive Trails will be replaced with new unique banner frames for Diamond, Masters, and Predator players.

This does mean that at the start of a match and every time you eliminate a player, you’ll get the chance to show off your achievement.

Of course, there will be some people that will be frustrated with the removal of Dive Trails in Ranked, but ultimately, it should result in fewer players being directly targeted and hunted down.