The upcoming removal of tap-strafing from Apex Legends brought a heated debate, and associate live balance designer John Larson shared his two cents on the matter today. According to him, tap-strafing comes as a design problem that would be unhealthyāeven if there was full parity between controller and mouse and keyboard.
Tap-strafing āis something Iāve thought about nearly every day since seeing it for the first time,ā Larson said. The mechanic allows for āskill expressionā and āoutplay opportunities,ā but, according to him, it turned into a āforbidden fruit.ā
Related: What is tap-strafing in Apex Legends?
The debate on tap-strafing touches on the differences between controllers and mouse and keyboard. Though each has its pros and cons, āit’s a bummer we can’t have gameplay parityā between the two, according to Larson. But the problems of tap-strafing, Larson said, are far deeper than just a divide based on input method.
āThis is why I believe tap-strafing exists solely as a design problem,ā Larson wrote. āEven in a MnK only Apex world, or a scenario where controller and MnK could tap-strafe just the same, I donāt believe it would be a healthy change with the freedom it currently allows.ā
Larson expanded on the reasoning behind the removal of tap-strafing, including major points that Respawn mentioned when its official Twitter announced the upcoming change. Firstly, it’s āhighly inaccessible,ā and āitās an opaque technique thatās practically impossible to learn organically,ā much less without strange keybinds.
Making tap-strafing more accessible, however, would exacerbate some design flaws that come from the technique. As Larson said, the technique has āterrible readability and limited counterplay,ā and making it more prominent could cause concerns for the possible impacts the mechanic would have in the future.
Tap-strafing āis exacerbated by movement abilities,ā as per Respawn’s official wording. Larson named two culpritsāPathfinder and Octaneāwho bring āgreater gameplay concerns.ā
Larson mentioned a possible “mobility creep,” a possible scenario if developers continued to tread in the direction of buffing movement. āWhile many love the freedom that Apexās movement system affords, constraints are just as important,ā he wrote. If Respawn were to double down on legends with movement abilities, that āmobility creepā could open a “pandora’s box,” according to him.
“If this was Octane legends (more so than it already is), can you imagine how much weād have to buff defensive character abilities to stand a fighting chance,” Larson said.
The designer also assured that Respawn brought its best mouse and keyboard players and some pros into the mix, and will let pros āplay around with the changesā to ensure other movement techniques don’t get removed. āI know itās a contentious topic, and because of that, itās hard for me to feel great about the decision. I do think itās the right one though.ā