An Apex Legends exploit allows players to run very, very fast. This bug may have gotten a popular streamer banned forever.
The Apex Legends community is conflicted over the ban of Svend-Erik "Taxi2g" Hoegh, who was banned from the battle royale for using a movement exploit on stream.
Earlier this year, Apex Legends players found a speed glitch that allowed legends to boost over and over again by triggering their ultimate start-up animation, hitting the melee key, and then swapping weapons. After discovering this movement exploit, Respawn Entertainment didn't do much to stop it.
Streamer banned while for using Apex Legends exploit
Popular Apex Legends streamer Taxi2g received a ban on January 12 without any explanation from Respawn Entertainment. While it seemed random, it was pointed out that Taxi2g had used the "ult dash" bug on stream. During his stream, Taxi2g received a message that he had been banned from Apex Legends and wasn't able to load into a match.
After not seeing any emails from Respawn Entertainment explaining the ban, Taxi2g made another account and continued playing. But this account was also quickly suspended. And then a third. EA finally told him that his account was found "cheating," leading to a permanent ban from Apex Legends.
Apex Legends community rallies behind Taxi2g
It's not 100% clear why Taxi2g was banned but it appeared to be related to the "ult dash" glitch. The glitch allows legends with throwable ultimates (Lifeline, Gilbraltar, Seer, Bangalore and Horizon) to gain a movement boost.
This ult dash is done by pressing your ultimate key, then swiftly pressing your melee button and cancelling it before the punch animation by swapping weapons. The initial part of your melee attack will make your character lunge forward, and repeating this will allow you to traverse terrain faster.
Following Taxi2g's ban, other content creators pointed out that other players were able to use the glitch without consequences. Professional Apex Legends player Gnaske demanded that Taxi2g be "freed" from his ban due to the inconsistent rulings.
In a TwitLonger addressed to Respawn Entertainment, Gnaske called the ban "unjust and unfair." He claimed that the exploit didn't have any "unobtainable advantages" and also didn't put other players at an unfair disadvantage. He even pointed out that Taxi2g died from using the exploit.
Gnaske then listed other similar instances that never led to bans:
- Aceu using Rampart's turret on Crypto's drone to shoot people down while unkillable
- NutsuruSama using "broken Ramage exploit" in ranked play
- R3KT punching enemies quickly while on ziplines
- Multiple streamers using PK glitch to shoot rapidly
- Mendo using a Jump Pad on Gibraltar's shield exploit to bounce across the map
- Gnaske and others using the "car+jumppad+supply blin" exploit to fly across the map
- Multiple streamers using the Jump Pad plus Horizon's Q exploit to reach "incredible heights"
"If you still think the exploit Taxi used is on par with a game-breaking and unbalanced exploit like the Rampage/Thermite exploit, please consider how many didn't get banned for it, and the people that did only received a five-day ban, NOT permanent," Gnaske ranted.
He then said that the glitch is a "fun" exploit, not a game-breaking bug worth banning over. For this reason, Gnaske asked for Taxi2g's ban to be temporary instead of permanent.
Many in the Apex Legends community agreed that Respawn should focus more on fixing bugs rather than banning streamers who use them. Others said that the movement exploit had pros and cons, making it more balanced than broken. But others were shocked that Gnaske would "name drop" other streamers, commenting that Taxi2g and others should just stop using bugs on stream.