Apex Legends dev explains why movement legend updates are so difficult

Respawn Entertainment have explained why they don’t just focus on adding movement legends to Apex Legends as characters like Octane and Wraith continue to dominate. 

One of the biggest things that helps Apex Legends stand out amongst its battle royale rivals is the fact that characters have their own unique set of abilities and ways to play.

As Respawn have continued to update their game, they’ve added legends whose biggest strength is not an airstrike or a bunch of decoys, but rather their power lays in their movement.

Characters like Octane and Wraith can traverse the map in quick fashion which allows for more aggressive play. While some players love dashing around the map, it’s not to everyone’s liking and Respawn doesn’t just want to add movement legends to counter them.

Dishing out a lengthy explanation about the removal of tap-strafing, Respawn’s John ‘JayBiebs’ Larsen touched on the importance of movement legends to Apex, and how each new addition affects the balance of movement.

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“Mobility creep is something to be very mindful of in this game. While many love the freedom that Apex’s movement system affords, constraints are just as important. It’s not surprising that mobility legends are highly popular,” he stated.

“Why don’t we just do more of that? Well, over time (and I’d say we are already seeing it) mobility creep opens a Pandora’s box. How is third party rate affected by mobility? Within a fight, how are frontlines defined? How quickly can I close the gap on an enemy? The game is designed to work well with a finite number of movement possibilities.”

Each movement legend has their own unique style – Pathfinder can use a grapple, Octane has a speed boost and jump pad, while Valkyrie can fly with her jets – and there probably aren’t too many more angles to explores.

When you factor in balancing, as Larsen mentions, it becomes an even more trick task and so while the appetite for more is there from some players, who knows when we might see another added.