Apex Legends Fight Or Fright: Is Wall-Running Back?
There's a Halloween horror show on the way to Apex Legends as Respawn Entertainment is heading down to the cemetery and digging up some crypt-worthy content with its "Fight or Fright" event.
The first-person shooter is giving us a case of the willies with some suitably creepy content for the Halloween season. Fortnite, Call of Duty, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, and even Rocket League are dishing out the tricks and treats, but when it comes to Apex, there's the added perk that wall-running is back - albeit with a catch.
While wall-running has become a popular feature of Titanfall, it's largely MIA in Apex Legends (more on why later). Given the ability to niftily zip up a wall, over a roof, and behind an enemy sounds like it would be great, but when it comes to the main matches of Apex Legends, it's a mechanic we've been gifted sparingly. Now, as the Shadow Royale limited-time mode pops by for "Fight or Fright", wall-running is back for some.
How to wall-run in Apex Legends
Shadow Royale is a variant on last year's Shadowfall and grants Shadow abilities to fallen players. Here, you effectively become a ghost when you're killed. It might sound like a bit of a crappy deal, but just like how CoD turns undead players into superfast zombies, Apex is doing the same in Shadow Royale. As your ghostly apparition floats around the map, you'll be able to jump higher, run faster, and scale vertical planes with wall-running. You're welcome.
In Shadow Royale, you'll come back as a ghost as long as one member of your team is still alive. Although you won't be able to use weapons and only have 30 health, there's a neat perk of running up to 30% faster than those who are "alive". We'll now have to deal with the standard opposition AND their resurrected teammates scaling the walls as galloping ghouls.
Interestingly, the latest Apex Legends blog that outlined everything coming to "Fight or Fright" stopped short of mentioning wall-running and simply dubbed it "enhanced mobility and blistering speed". It's clear the developers want to move away from associating it with something that could actually be officially declared as wall-running.
Will wall-running become a permanent feature?
Sadly, don't expect to see double jumps and wall-running to stick around after Shadow Royale. Developer Daniel Klein explained why the fan-favourite features won't be making the leap full-time. Posting on Reddit, Klein admitted it was "very unlikely". Discussing the issue of wall-running, he described it as a "sugar high" that means players would love it to start with, then lose their interest over time. Expanding on what he meant by this, Kelin added, "We had a lot more leeway with Shadows because they don’t have guns and it’s not important to chase them down (because they respawn when you kill them anyway)".
He went on to highlight how some stuck with Titanfall multiplayer for a while, but ultimately, it was something that didn't have much longevity. Rounding off, Klein wrote, "TLDR: Wallrunning and double jumping are sugar rush mechanics that are good in small doses, in LTMs, and in asymmetric combat situations. It’s very unlikely they’ll come to Apex proper". So there you have it, make the most of Apex Legends wall-running while you can.
Shadow Royale is set to make its mark on the Kings Canyon After Dark map and take players along a terrifying prize track that will dish out everything from XP to sinister skins. A big pull are the "resurrected cosmetics", which will bring back some classic "Shadowfall" looks with a few twists. You'll get reimagined versions of Bloodhound’s “Wicked Harvest” pumpkin costume and Caustic’s Pennywise-inspired clown costume.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out Fight or Fright is coming to Resapawn's Titanfall spin-off before October 31. As it stands "Fight or Fright" is due to kick off on October 22 and run until November 3. Either way, get your ghostly running shoes on and get ready to try out wall-running while you can.
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Images via Respawn Entertainment