If you want to practice your skills, but the Firing Range isn’t doing it for ya anymore, then you’re gonna want to learn how to get into bot lobbies in Apex. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to practice against bots, as there’s only so much that you can do in the Firing Range before it gets tedious.
It’s strange, then, that the game doesn’t allow you to enter a bot lobby conventionally. Thankfully though, Apex players have been quite creative in figuring out ways to enter bot lobbies.
The Thing You Should Know About Bot Lobbies
Because there isn’t a conventional way to get into a bot lobby ( at least not as of right now), many players tend to be of the opinion that entering a bot lobby is something that is “bad.” That it’s just another way for the best Apex Legends players to beat down the newbies.
That claim is entirely false, and here’s why. All Apex matches tend to have a maximum of 60 players. In bot lobbies, the number is actually 48 bots and 12 players at most. However, the game will only match you with people of a similar rank as you.
So, in effect. If no other players can be found that are of a similar rank as you, the match will commence regardless.
How to Get Into a Bot Lobby in Apex Legends (Season 17)
To get into a bot lobby, you’ll either need a friend who’s just started playing the game, or, a smurf account that hasn’t leveled Uu yet. This fact cannot be stated enough! You will not be able to enter a bot lobby after your first level up.
Oh, and as we mentioned earlier. Even though you have a smurf account, you won’t actually be smurfing by doing this (unless it’s your intention to smurf). You probably won’t even encounter another player while attempting this method.
After you’ve created your smurf account, simply send a friend request to your main account. From there, don’t close the game. Tab out and start another instance of Apex Legends. Log into your main account, accept the friend request, and invite your alt.
Once you’ve joined the party with your alt, simply click ready on both accounts and the game will begin searching for a match for you. I.e. a bot lobby match. Now, you may be asking. Why does the game do this for newcomers? Here’s why.
Orientation Matches
When you first start playing Apex Legends, the game won’t allow you to play conventional matches until you’ve become accustomed to how it’s played. To do this, the first 5 matches you play are called “Orientation Matches”.
Orientation Matches are just like regular matches of Apex Legends, but instead of playing against real players, you play against bots. This is there to help you get accustomed to the game and have a bit of practice before it throws you into the lion’s den.
After those initial 5 matches, you can start playing normal matches against real players. You also lose the privilege of being able to play against bots.
Are the Bots Any Good at Least?
Well… that depends. There were plans to release a single-player Apex game, though, that project eventually got canceled. We can only speculate on how far in development the project actually came, and if the programming for the bots was ever transferred into the regular game.
Certain players have reported however that the capabilities of the bots change from Season to Season. One Season, they’re as terrifying as the T-800 in the original Terminator movie, while in another Season, they’re about as threatening as your toaster.
Still, even clunky bots are better for practicing than the turkey shoot they call the firing range. Plus, it really helps that Orientation Matches actually place you in the regular maps, which can ultimately help you learn the maps as well.
A Final Tip Before You Get Into A Bot Lobby
Whatever you do, do not finish the match with your alt account! Remember, you only get 5 Orientation Matches before you’re forced to play against real players. If you want to continue playing in bot lobbies, you’re going to have to stay under 5 matches.
This means that you’ll have to leave the match with your alt account as soon as the match starts. If you don’t actually finish the match, then it isn’t counted as a completed match, so it doesn’t add on to your total matches.
Truth be told, it’s quite a tedious process to have to leave every match as soon as it starts, but it sure as hell beats having to create a new account after 5 matches!
In summary. Create an alt account. Invite your alt account to a party. Start a match with your alt account. Leave the match with your alt account as soon as it starts. Dunk on all the bots. Repeat the process from step 1.
