Respawn dev explains why Apex Legends will never have wall running
Wall running was one of the most popular features in Titanfall 2, and Apex fans have been begging Respawn to put it in the battle royale for a while. Now one developer has given an explanation as to why the feature “doesn’t fit” in the game.
The ‘wall running’ mechanic in Titanfall allowed players to maneuver around the map in style, and fans have wanted to see it in Apex Legends ever since the battle royale launched. Despite this, Respawn never added the feature to the battle royale.
They left it out of the game in order to avoid giving Apex too many similarities to Titanfall. However, this hasn’t swayed the fans’ demands. Respawn has no plans to implement this mechanic to the game, and now one developer has elaborated on why that’s the case.
Wall running is a “bad fit” for Apex Legends
Respawn developer Daniel Z. Klein talked about this topic in the Apex Legends subreddit. He stated they won’t implement wall running because it isn’t a good fit for the battle royale.
“I’m not saying wall running is bad. I’m saying wall running is a bad fit for Apex Legends,” Klein wrote “[Apex] is a game where positioning matters, where getting the drop on enemies matters… loadouts matter.”
“If you ‘bust open the skill ceiling’ with vertical fast movement like wall running, all the core aspects of Apex Legends ‘become irrelevant,'” he elaborated. “Is my opponent a lot better than me at the movement model? If so, I’m screwed, no matter what else.”
“Anecdotally, people absolutely loved the constant sugar high of Titanfall multiplayer, but then also very quickly burned out on it,” he added. “Sure, some players stuck with it for a very long time, but on average it’s the kind of game you play and absolutely love for a few weeks and then you’re kind of done.”
It’s clear that the developers don’t feel that adding this mechanic will improve the experience of playing Apex Legends. Despite this, we still had wallrunning in the “Fight or Fright” Halloween event for a short while. At the moment, it’s “unlikely” that we’ll see this feature implemented for good.
Respawn might revisit wall running again
We may not see wall running in Apex Legends anytime soon, but the developer made it clear that the mechanic ‘still has a future’ in their upcoming titles.
We’ve already seen it return in their Star Wars game, ‘Jedi: Fallen Order.’ The main character Cal was able to traverse across different terrains and environments through sliding, climbing, and of course; wall running.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if a game that’s less player-vs-player focused could bring the amazing movement model of Titanfall 2 back. Like, if there ever is a Titanfall 3, for instance… it’s just not a good fit for Apex Legends,” he stated.
While we won’t have wall running in Apex Legends, there are still a ton of fun mechanics for you to take advantage of. This includes a trick that you can use to infinitely slide, so jump into the battle royale and try it out.
Image Credits: Respawn Entertainment