Apex Legends dev admits iconic “moving while looting” feature is actually a bug

Being able to move while looting an enemy deathbox or Loba’s Black Market has been ingrained into every Apex Legends player (without a controller). However, it’s actually a bug. In a big twist, developer John Larson admitted the feature shouldn’t be in the game ⁠— but it’s unlikely to get removed.

Given the high-paced nature of Apex Legends, being able to loot quickly and get back to fighting is key. In the middle of a fight, wiggling around on a deathbox or a Black Market to dodge incoming enemy fire and get a shield swap or some extra ammo is a common sight.

However, if you thought that was intended by Respawn, prepare to have your mind blown: moving while looting in Apex Legends is actually a glitch and shouldn’t be in the game.

“This may come as a surprise to some, but moving while looting is a bug,” developer John Larson admitted in a January 7 Twitlonger.

As far as it goes, it’s probably the most exploited bug in Apex Legends too. Every PC player on mouse and keyboard has used innumerable times. Controller players have longed for Respawn to add it to their inputs.

Just because it’s a bug doesn’t mean the developers are looking to squash it though. Instead, they’ve embraced it as time goes on, and are looking at giving the mechanic to controller players soon enough.

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“Is it a bug we’ll ever fix? No. If I were to rewind to early Apex development, I suspect I’d agree with the design decision of stationary looting. Soon after Apex released though, I saw an efficient looting meta-game emerge pretty quickly,” Larson added.

“Fast forward a bit, and stuff like menu cursor speed options and gold armor/finisher reworks signaled acceptance of this emergent looting gameplay. In an effort to improve parity between input types, it seems reasonable to think moving while looting on controller should be an option.”

Previous fixes touted by community figureheads like former pro Eric ‘Snip3down’ Wrona, changing the inputs while in a deathbox to loot and move, aren’t going to work though.

“It’s not as simple as adding a menu option for ‘loot with right stick.’ The left analog stick moves the cursor when menus are open is very much hardcoded, and adding it (along with other advanced interact controls) requires UI, code, and design support that isn’t a top priority right now,” Larson admitted.

However, next time you move while looting a deathbox in Apex Legends, thank the developers for leaving this bug in after the QA process ⁠— as it’s probably saved you from certain death a few times.