What is tap-strafing in Apex Legends? Everything you need to know
Apex Legends is known for having smooth and fast movement for a battle royale game, which is one of the reasons it is loved by so many. One of these Apex Legends movement techniques is called a tap-strafing, which has caused a fair amount of controversy within the community.
Apex Legends is in its tenth season, gaining more fans than ever thanks to big-time streamers like NICKMERCS becoming addicted to the game’s Ranked Leagues.
With that being said, some of the terminologies, such as KP, may be confusing for new players, especially when it comes to movement techniques like tap-strafing.
Although the technique is set to be removed in an upcoming update, it’s still interesting to know exactly what it is and why it is such a major topic in the community.
What is tap-strafing in Apex Legends?
Tap-strafing is a movement technique that manipulates the game’s momentum mechanics to quickly change direction while maintaining speed. This allows mouse and keyboard players to pull off deceiving maneuvers and escape sticky situations.
It is a very powerful technique, however, it is pretty hard to master consistently, meaning only those who have practiced the skill will be able to pull it off. Depending on which way you want to strafe in, players can perform a Tap-strafe by slide jumping and spamming the “move forward” bind at the top of the jump while flicking the mouse in the intended direction.
In order to pull it off more consistently, players will bind the move forward key to their scroll wheel, allowing them to spam the movement so the timing becomes less prevalent.
Tap strafing is a movement technique on Apex Legends that can only be done on PC, leaving controller players with benefits like aim-assist instead. The main reason the Apex Legends developers have decided to remove tap-strafing is because: “It’s inaccessible, lacks readability/counterplay, and is exacerbated by movement abilities.”
This has left many mouse and keyboard players upset with the decision, especially pro players, as some have based their exciting gameplay on the movement technique.
Apex Legends still has great movement that is smooth and responsive, regardless of tap-strafing. However, it did bring another movement dynamic to the game, so it is not surprising to see many players disappointed to see it go.
For more on Apex Legends, check out our article on the new Monster Energy collaboration rewards and cosmetics.
Image Credits: Respawn Entertainment