Apex players call for controller users exploiting a legal ‘cheat’ to be banned

The concept of lurching and related movement tech has been a huge source of debate in the Apex Legends community. While some players adopt lurch techniques in casual and ranked matches, the greater part of the fandom has never been welcoming of tap-strafing, an infamous lurch-fueled mechanic. And, with Respawn trying to level the playing field for controller players, things have certainly been messy for those who prefer the non-sweaty approach. 

In a Reddit post on April 30, an Apex player called Puzzleheaded-Fix3136 pointed out how several TikTok creators have been increasingly using configuration files coupled with their controllers to buff their movement in the game and perform bannable movement techniques like neo-strafing. 

The post went viral, with players weighing their experiences against controller players using supposedly legal ‘cheats’ in the form of third-party configuration files to fuel their sweaty gameplay. Almost every participant on the thread called for an official ban on using configuration files and tampering with in-game files of any form in Apex.  

Players have also accused Respawn of trying to make it harder for mouse-and-keyboard users to play Apex and ruining the balance as a result.

The recent, uncanny rise in controller-based tap-strafing and lurch abuse can be attributed to a stir caused by Apex coach and pro player District, who, on April 8 highlighted how Respawn and EA don’t have a problem with the use of configuration files. This was further popularized by several content creators and streamers.

In its essence, lurching and all forms of lurch abuse, including tap-strafing, raf strafing, neo-strafing, and more, allow players to perform supernatural air strafing to dumbfound their enemies and mess up their aim. 

Lurching and tap-strafing are only officially possible on a mouse-and-keyboard setup. Despite being an official part of Apex on PC, such movement tech has been constantly revolted against by a huge part of the community.

So much so that it even led to Respawn considering banning tap-strafing back in 2021, but later, skipped on its plan to avoid “side effects.” The devs, however, promised to look into the “egregious” forms of tap-strafing, but nothing much has been done so far.

Fortunately, the communal stir regarding lurch abuse lessened over the years, as players began to embrace tap-strafing in Apex. But the discovery of configuration files ruined the peace yet again. 

Some PC players began using external configuration files to be able to easily use inhuman lurch exploits in Apex. With configuration files and controllers, players can easily perform tap-strafing and other lurch techniques without having to invest hours of practice like mouse-and-keyboard users have to. 

What’s majorly bothering the community is how easy it is for controller players using configuration files to perform such seemingly impossible movement tech in Apex and even have the advantage of Aim Assist. 

In fact, lurch abuse has gone beyond tap-strafing and given rise to infuriating exploits like neo-strafing and raf strafing, which are impossible to perform without the use of configuration files. 

Furthermore, it becomes impossible for players, who prefer not to use configuration or spend hours learning such movement tech, to tackle exploiters, thus preventing them from having fun.   

While tap-strafing and other forms of lurch exploits continue to remain unbannable on the game’s ranked ladder, these are not allowed in Apex competitive (esports) play.