Well, here we are once more with the familiar buzz in the Apex Legends community—another lively debate rekindled about PC vs. console, controller vs. mouse and keyboard, and the high-skill gamers against the casual crowd. This time, the spotlight is on tap strafing—a skilled movement maneuver revered by the top mouse and keyboard players aiming for that extra maneuverability. In the most recent update, a tweak altered how often players can execute a ‘lurch’ while tap strafing, noticeably reducing its effectiveness. This alteration hasn’t impacted the majority of players, yet it’s sparked frustration among the game’s most skillful PC players.
Apex Legends has seen its share of challenges lately. Despite exploring new content and tweaking its balance here and there, the game has noticed a decline in active players. It’s certainly not out of the running, considering it still hits over 100,000 concurrent players on Steam daily. However, when juxtaposed with the over 300,000 peaks from early 2024, the dip is evident. It’s a pity, as I still find Apex to be one of the best FPS games around, even though I have admittedly been playing it less frequently in recent months.
The game’s mid-season update, which just rolled out this week, brought plenty of positive changes. Hidden away in the bug fix corner, though, is a crucial note: “Added a buffer to tap strafes to combat automated movement tech at high frame rates.” What Respawn is targeting here is the use of macros—aids that allow less proficient players to mimic advanced moves. But this change also impacts those who’ve honed their craft in manual tap strafing over time. Now a slight, but unmistakable, pause disrupts the flow of direction changes, compromising the smoothness Apex players used to enjoy from this technique. Although still useful in dodging enemy shots, tap strafing doesn’t pack quite the same punch as it did pre-update.
For top-tier PC gamers and some well-known content creators with a reputation for their dynamic movement in Apex Legends, the change has been a point of contention. Alan ‘Vaxlon’ Gonzalez, a well-known pro player, voiced his frustration, saying, “Honestly, I was pretty happy with the direction of where Apex was going with making characters stronger but nerfing an enjoyable character like [Pathfinder] AND nerfing the enjoyment of tap strafing is beyond frustrating. It feels like 1 step forward and 2 steps back. Keep the fun, don’t nerf it.”
Similarly, Phillip ‘ImperialHal’ Dosen, a popular figure in the Apex community and an ALGS Championship winner, labeled the change as “game breaking” during his comprehensive breakdown of the update.
While this controversy may not impact most Apex players directly, the decision to tweak a mechanic in such a way that upsets influential figures and top professionals comes off as a curious move at a time when the game could use a shot of positivity from its key players. Sure, cracking down on macros makes sense from Respawn’s standpoint, but the disgruntlement felt by those affected is palpable. I wouldn’t expect this decision to be rolled back, likely pushing adept mouse and keyboard users to adapt to this new normal.
If you’re keen to keep up with Respawn’s battle royale developments, be sure to check out our updated tier list for Apex Legends characters, reflecting the latest meta shifts post-update.
To stay updated with the latest in PC gaming news, reviews, and guides, follow us on Google News or join our community on Discord to stay in the loop.
