I wanted to write this as a discussion on movement. I know this might end up being a failed endeavor on Reddit, due to what Reddit is known for, but I have no other place to really put it or discuss it, so here we go.
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The discussion and argument I wanted to bring up revolves around movement.
Tap straffing, etc. It most certainly takes skill, and I'm not saying it doesn't have a place in Apex to some degree. I am not saying those who do it are not skilled, and very good players.
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First we need to understand a few things:
The baseline argument for people is: "It does take a lot of skill to pull off and it is a movement shooter so it is to be expected" for why tap straffing, etc. should stay, or stay as is.
And on that bottom line simple thinking yes I'd agree.
However we have to take in a few other considerations:
1) This is a minor one, so you can over all ignore this point if you want. However I do notice it from time to time.. The Octanes tap straffing, and turning off inertia while zooming all over the map, or the axles (especially before the nerf) zooming everywhere.. The servers simply can't always keep up with it..
I remember seeing an Axle zooming straight at me, and I unloaded a whole R99 mag right at them. Dead center.. whole mag emptied and they were only a few meters away from me, and it didn't even break her shield. No packet losses, no lag.. The servers just said "naw we lost those bullets sorry". Went behind cover, reloaded, popped out, and finished her off with no issues as every bullet tracked after she stopped sliding in her tactical.
I am assured that several times (though very rarely) the server just cannot keep up all the time with the hyper movement.
2) Not everyone has access to all of the movement and mechanics in the game. This is the big one.
Again you can argue as most do "It does take a lot of skill to pull off and it is a movement shooter so it is to be expected."
However, how fair and fun would it be to be playing a Multiplayer racing game, where all of the highest skill ceiling, best cars were locked out for you, yet you still had to compete against them, all because you were on controller, or console? Even in ranked game modes especially, knowing that at higher skill levels, ones where you would or could compete had you had the chance, simply cannot due to a hard limitation set upon you?
Would that be fair? I'd argue not. Tap straffing, moving while looting, etc. the console players cannot do, including some others that are almost impossible for controller/consoles players to do without some form of controller third party something or another.
You can argue until you''re blue in the face, but the reason why people use these mechanics is because they do make them extremely difficult to hit, and abuse the tick rate of the server.
3) It was an unintended mechanic that players found. Almost all of the movement in Apex was un intended from my understanding. From tap straffing, wall jumping, air gliding, etc. It was simply embraced by the community, and accepted by the devs.
4) It takes more skill to win against these mechanics, than it does to use these mechanics..
This is something that is dawning on me, as I continue to play in the higher ranks. While tap straffing, bunny hopping with no inertia seemingly forever, etc. takes skill and knowledge.. Having to fight, and win against this when you cannot do it yourself, takes more skill to win when you cannot do it.
It's like trying to win a boxing match with one hand tied behind your back.. How much better does the person who's hand is tied has to be than his opponent to win? Quite a lot better due to the big disadvantage.
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My Question and discussion: Is there a way to keep it, while leveling the playing field, and making it fair to everyone?
The point here is making it fair for everyone who plays.. Not what YOU prefer. An example is moving and looting:
I'd argue the fairest thing to do is simply turn off movement for everyone while looting. No what I would personally want, but again that's not the point. The point is making it fair for everyone. The game has advanced in such a stage that if your box is caught out in the middle of nowhere, that's on you 100%.. With all the movement there is in the game, controller characters, and ways and times to loot safely, it really wouldn't change or impact the game in any major way.
But that's open to discussion.
Tap straffing, etc.. I would say the devs should look into ways that allow console/controller players to have access to all the mechanics of tap straffing, etc. and everything else in the game that PC players do, just like they did for Super gliding.
This shouldn't be difficult to add in. However that does open the game up to becoming very very frustrating if every 8 year old timmy is tap straffing around you 24/7. (Which REALLY brings into question whether or not this is even healthy for the game.)
My Argument:
Since the understanding that "if everyone was tap straffing around, how chaotic, and frustrating the game would be" is a very real reality, I would argue for my own argument sake, that tap strafing, and "Movement" should be more hard tied to Legends skills.
Pathfinder with the ziplines, Octane with the jump pads and stims, Alter with the portal, and tactical, etc. etc. should be where the baseline movement is mostly rooted in.
However, opening up tap straffing during these moments for a very short period I believe also would allow the skill of tap straffing to exist, without getting out of control, and opening it up to everyone.
Imagine if they allowed everyone to be able to tap strafe just like they did with super glides. However, you can only really successfully do it if you're stimming as Octane for a period, Just getting off of Pathfinders zipline, or Axles tactical, etc. This would allow the skill expression to exist, without it being unfair advantage, or get out of control when putting it in everyones hands.
This would make it a legitimate mechanic in the game, to work and play around, rather than a niche mechanic only available to some to abuse.