Respawn Entertainment have announced that “tap-strafing” will be removed from Apex Legends, for being “inaccessible” and more.
In short, tap strafing allows a player to re-direct their forward momentum mid-air, even a complete 180 degree turn. This is usually executed after a slide-jump (gaining momentum), and tapping the forward key slightly changes the direction you face. Using this, players can escape foes, perform wall-jumps, and more. Some players have allegedly bound jump and forward movement to keys to perform it easier.
As a primarily keyboard based exploit, this cannot be performed using a controller or on consoles. As such Respawn Entertainment state they will remove tap-strafing in Patch 10.1. They state the reason was due to it being “inaccessible, lacks readability/counterplay, and is exacerbated by movement abilities.”
Niche Gamer Media Partner Kyle Johnson stated that even though Respawn Entertainment are looking to level the playing field, controller users already have an advantage exclusive to them. He proposed that controller users were already assisted with “monstrous amounts” of aim assist when foes are within 30 meters, calling it “practically just an aim-bot.”
As such, tap-strafing could allow mouse and keyboard players to “maneuver their way out of a tight spot when dealing with the aim-assist spray downs at close range.” Tweets and quote retweets in reply to Respawn Entertainment’s statement are not only debating if the exploit should be removed or become a full feature, but if the aim-assist for controller players should be removed.
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Apex Legends is available and free-to-play for Windows PC (via Origin, and Steam), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Android, and iOS.
