Apex Legends is a game built on movement. It’s a spin-off of Titanfall 2, for g**dness sake, how could it not? Titanfall 2 remains the best first-person shooter campaign I’ve ever played, and no game has ever come close to its buttery smooth traversal. From time-jumping wall running in Effect and Cause, to fully-fledged Titan warfare, it’s the GOAT.
Apex Legends has always had a semblance of that DNA running through its live-service veins. But that very live-service nature means that things shift and change over time. That even goes for mechanics.
A Brief History Of Movement
When the game first released, Pathfinder was the movement king. Do robots have royalty? His grapple allowed skilled players to slide across the map, in and out of fights, and generally perform the slickest moves in the game.
When Pathfinder got nerfed, players flocked to Octane, whose speed-boosting stims and high-flying jump pad allowed them to flaunt their movement skills. Horizon arrived later, and her ability to avoid the slow-down upon landing made her invaluable for anyone who wanted to keep things as well-oiled as possible.
It’s worth mentioning that it wasn’t just Legends that pushed the boundaries of movement in a battle royale. Players figured out complex mechanics, too. It started with a technique called the tap strafe, which allows you to change directions in mid-air. This evolved into wallbounces and bunny hops, among others. Combining a movement Legend with these high-skill manoeuvres is the purest form of skill expression in the game, and what makes it so fun to play and watch.
Punch boosting was deemed a step too far and was banned in competitive play, before being patched out completely.
Legends have been buffed and nerfed, and with them movement styles have come and gone. We haven’t seen many Valkyries or Wraiths at the highest level for a long time. But now there might be a new Legend vying for the crown, a Legend who feels, dare I say it, Titanfallesque in their movement thanks to Season 24 buffs.
Enter Ash
As the developers intimated to me prior to the season, Ash has had a significant buff. It’s not a complete rework a lá Lifeline or Revenant, instead tweaking her abilities to create a more complete package. And what a package it is.
Ash is now able to stack two charges of her ultimate ability, creating one Phase Tear after another to shoot across the map quicker than ever before. This is handy, but it’s not movement. You don’t gain a silky smooth superglide, you can’t tap strafe between them (or at least I can’t). The real juice is in her brand new passive.
Ash now has a dash move, Predator’s Pursuit. This allows her to quickly close the distance between her and her opponents, to dodge out of the way of a crafty Kraber shot, or to swiftly manage corners without losing momentum. It looks snazzy, it comes in handy, and, most importantly, it feels great.
Combined with the Assault Class perk that grants Legends a speed boost upon breaking an enemy shield, Ash is a force to be reckoned with.
Ash feels more like Titanfall movement in Apex Legends than any Legend before. It’s appropriate, seeing as she’s a character plucked straight from the campaign of Titanfall 2 and forced to do battle in the Apex Games. Chaining her dash with superglides or wallbounces is a surefire way to confuse your opponent in close quarters – something that’s vital now the TTK has been significantly lowered – and even utilising it in conjunction with more beginner-friendly movement aids like gravity cannons can yield surprisingly effective results.
Ash feels like pre-nerf Horizon, especially when sliding downhill for minutes on Storm Point. But, better than Horizon, she can zip from side to side as well as conserve momentum. It’s a brilliant little addition to her kit that I’m excited to see more of. Once the ALGS Pro League begins, the top players in the esport will be unleashed. Keep your eyes on Yuga ‘YukaF’ Horie especially, as the Japanese player is known for his movement skills.
With the new TTK, buffs to every weapon, and Ash’s sleek, new kit to play with, Apex Legends Season 24 is more interesting than many that have come before.
Next
Apex Legends 2.0 Is A Much Better Idea Than Apex Legends 2
An Apex Legends sequel would go down terribly, but a major update could just work.