Tap strafing has become a staple and strong technique among Apex Legends players, and although Respawn announced its removal in Season 10, it’s now been delayed to a later patch — as soon as Season 12.
Apex Legends is praised by its community for having some of the best movement mechanics in the battle royale genre.
Whether you’re sliding down a hill, bunny-hoping, or even just sprinting to your location, Respawn has created an incredibly smooth and satisfying set of animations.
However, as with a lot of competitive titles, players will always take the mechanics of the game one step further and use unintended techniques to their advantage.
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Well, that’s exactly what occurred with tap strafing, and Respawn has finally decided that they’re going to remove it from the game, leading to a lot of backlash from the community. But what is tap-strafing, and how does it work in-game?
Contents
- How does tap-strafing work in Apex Legends?
- How to tap-strafe in Apex Legends?
- Is Apex Legends tap-strafing being removed?
How does tap-strafing work in Apex Legends?
The tap strafe technique in Apex Legends allows you to make sharper movements and harder turns than normal side-jumps. It uses a combination of air-strafing and bunny hopping.
The premise behind the technique is simple. Each time the move forward key is pressed and released, it slightly changes the direction of your momentum. Doing it multiple times in quick succession can result in a full 180-degree turn, which is incredibly useful in fights.
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However, on August 31, Respawn announced that the mechanic was going to be removed from the game in the 10.1 update due to the lack of counterplay and the fact that it’s exacerbated by movement abilities.
Despite this, a day before the patch went live, the devs announced that the removal of tap-strafing was going to be shifted to a later patch, as they wanted to make sure they got it right.
How to tap strafe in Apex Legends
At this point in time, Respawn hasn’t revealed when tap-strafing is going to be removed, but we know it’ll be in an upcoming patch. However, for the time being, tap strafing is still possible in Apex Legends.
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So, if you’re wondering how to perform the trick while you still have time, check out these simple steps below:
- Perform a slide jump by pressing shift, control, and space at the right time and hold one of your strafe keys depending on which direction you want to go. A will go left, and D will go right.
- At the peak of the jump, flick the mouse wheel scroll up or down while holding the strafe key without moving the mouse. If you do it right, you’ll notice a diagonal pull in the direction you’re facing.
- Once you’ve got that part down pat, move the mouse in the direction of the pull while spamming the mouse scroll and holding the strafe button, and you’ll have successfully performed the tap strafe.
Is Apex Legends tap-strafing being removed?
When Respawn initially announced the impending removal of tap strafing in Apex Legends, there were varying concerns. However, after some consideration, Respawn decided to postpone the removal of this movement feature.
Earlier this year in September, Respawn stated that they discovered some “unexpected side effects of the planned changes to tap-strafing.”
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They went on to say: “Movement is sacred in Apex. We weigh every change to these systems carefully and value feedback.”
Movement is sacred in Apex. We weigh every change to these systems carefully and value feedback.
After further testing, we've concluded we need to take more time to get this right to make sure related movement mechanics aren't caught in the cross-fire.
— Respawn (@Respawn) September 13, 2021
That means players can still take advantage of the technique for the time being. However, don’t expect it to last too long.
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Respawn is still planning to remove it eventually, and it could happen as soon as Season 12. Developer John Larson described it as a “design problem” and a “real concern.”
So, there you have it, that’s what tap strafing is in Apex Legends and exactly how to do it while you still have time!
Don’t forget to check out @alphaINTEL for all the latest Apex Legends news, guides, and top stories.
