Summary
Following fan feedback,Apex Legendshas reverted a controversial change to tap-strafing. The original nerf to the movement technique came during the massive mid-season update for Season 23 ofApex Legends. Released on January 7 with the start of the Astral Anomaly Event, this mid-season update brought numerous balance changes for Legends and weapons.
While the patch made significantchanges to Legends like Mirage and Loba inApex Legends, one of the smaller notes in the Bug Fixes section frustrated a large portion of the community. Specifically, Respawn Entertainment added a “buffer” to tap-strafes, making the ability less effective in the game. For context, tap-strafing is an advanced movement technique inApex Legendsthat players can use to quickly change directions in the air, making them more difficult to hit during fights. Despite the developer making the change to “combat automated movement tech at high frame rates,” many in the game’s community think things were taken too far.
Fortunately, this appears to be a sentiment Respawn shares. Following community backlash, the developer announced the previous change to tap-strafing had been reverted. The message noted that the mid-season update change negatively impacted themovement mechanic inApex Legendsand admitted the change had unintended consequences. According to Respawn, while it would continue to look to “combat automated workarounds and degenerate play patterns” inApex Legends, it would look to “preserve” the skill surrounding some movement techniques, such as tap-strafing.
Apex Legends Reverts Controversial Nerf to Tap-Strafing
This move by Respawn to revert the nerf to tap-strafing has been praised by thecommunity. One of the thingsApex Legendsis known for is its movement. While the regular battle royale game mode does not feature wall running in the same sense as itsTitanfallpredecessors, players can pull off some incredible clips using various movement techniques, including tap-strafe. On Twitter, many players replied positively to the move by Respawn.
It will be interesting to see what kind of impact this reversion to tap-strafing has inApex Legends. It is unclear how many people stopped playing the game over the last few days because of the initial nerf. In addition, it is hard to tell if reverting the change will bring some lapsed players back.
It is worth noting that a lot has happened in the battle royale recently. In addition to the sweeping changes in the mid-season update,Apex Legendsbegan the Astral Anomaly Event, bringing new cosmetics and a new version ofthe Launch Royale LTM. Respawn also noted that it values player feedback on the recent changes made to the game, so more updates could happen to fix other issues in the coming weeks.
Apex Legends
WHERE TO PLAY
Conquer with character in Apex Legends, a free-to-play* Hero shooter where legendary characters with powerful abilities team up to battle for fame & fortune on the fringes of the Frontier.Master an ever-growing roster of diverse legends, deep tactical squad play, and bold new innovations that go beyond the Battle Royale experience—all within a rugged world where anything goes. Welcome to the next evolution of Hero Shooter.This game includes optional in-game purchases of virtual currency that can be used to acquire virtual in-game items, including a random selection of virtual in-game items.
