Legends aren’t supposed to be able to make sharp turns out of the Gravity Cannons on Storm Point, but Apex Legends players can use tap-strafing to drastically change course mid-air, as evidenced by a Reddit user. Tap-strafing is an advanced movement technique that lets players make sharp turns in the air.
One of the main characteristics of Gravity Cannons is that they boost players in a specific direction with a minimal amount of deviance from their trajectory. Players can, for instance, make minor adjustments and land slightly away from the intended location. But without tap-strafing, it’s impossible to deviate from the trajectory (unless you’re playing Valkyrie).
The technique lets players alter the course of their flight and keep the breakneck momentum of the launch. Normally, the fairly linear pathing makes any enemy players fairly predictable and easy to follow. Tap-strafing, however, circumvents that logic.
Respawn intended to remove tap-strafing from Apex in season 10, saying the technique “is inaccessible, lacks readability/counterplay, and is exacerbated by movement abilities.” The developers encountered “unexpected side effects” of the mechanic’s removal, however, and it remains in the game temporarily.
“It is still our intention to address some of the most egregious use-cases of tap-strafing, but for now we are delaying our planned change to a later patch,” Respawn said at the time. “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.”
It’s unclear if using the technique in Gravity Cannons will make Respawn investigate tap-strafing further or whether the developers could tinker with that particular aspect of the mechanic.
