Apex Legends has injected its fair share of innovative features into the battle royale genre.
An intuitive ping system, hero-based gameplay and, of course, mid-match respawns are just a small sample of its contributions, many of which Fortnite developer Epic Games has since adapted to suit its own title. With that said, Respawn has dipped its own hands into the melting pot of existing ideas plenty of times to create its own high-stakes shooter, most notably evidenced by its use of a dead zone mechanic.
Like its contemporaries, every match in Apex Legends features a ring of abstract properties that will harm – and eventually kill – any player caught on its bad side. As the ring’s circumference shrinks, so too, does the playable space that surviving teams have to manoeuvre within. It’s a simple idea that serves wonderfully to force players and their remaining opponents into conflict and often times can pose an even bigger threat than well-armed humans.
If you’ve spent any amount of time in Kings Canyon, it’s likely you’ve been downed while outside the so-called Circle’s safe zone and given up any hope of a comeback. Admittedly, it’s a rare feat to pull off, but one skilled player has discovered an ingenious method of countering the predicament – as seen in this video over on Reddit.
No, your eyes don’t deceive you – the most efficient means of ensuring a downed teammate survives the Circle is to give them a swift punch up the backside. Repeatedly. Handily bypassing the usual snail’s pace at which downed players crawl, the video provided by Yoker47jk shows how they were able to punt their comrade into a safe space before committing to a revive. Expertly done.
As to whether Respawn will agree remains to be seen, but the developer has yet to acknowledge the video. For now, at least, Apex Legends players should have no concern about mimicking the genius strategy.