New ALGS rules state punch-boosting and ulti dashing are now “prohibited exploits”

Two controversial game exploits have been banned by the Apex Legends Global Series administration before playoffs begin. New ALGS rules, which were shared in a private Discord channel, have targeted the infamous punch boosting and ulti dash movement exploits.

Punch-boosting has become a heavily debated exploit in the competitive Apex Legends community. Discovered by Wrthcrw, punch-boosting allows players to race throughout the map at top speed by rapidly sliding backwards. Here is how to punch-boost in Apex Legends:

The exploit has become very prominent in competitive matches. Some pros have enjoyed it, stating it doesn't impact the game enough to address. But others have felt the exploit shouldn't be allowed in competitive settings. Now, the new ALGS rules have put a stop to it.

The news ALGS rules were first discovered due to a leak. The ALGS administration had discussed the exploit on Discord, stating that players can no longer "repeatedly melee sloped terrain."

The screenshot was proven legitimate when the ALGS administration warned players that there were consequences for taking screenshots of private conversations on the Discord. Upon hearing of the ban, players applauded the decision. Cloud9's ZachMazer was pleased with the "fast" addressing of the controversy.

But other Apex Legends pros were immediately confused what "repeatedly" specifically means. Some felt that punch-boosting may still be allowed but maybe they'd have to wait between punch-boosting. But how long would players have to wait between each melee attack to not break the rules?

Another movement exploit which is now prohibited is the ulti dash. The technique was recently in the spotlight after streamer Taxi2G was banned for using it.

While punch-boosting has been taken care of — sort of — the Apex Legends community has wondered if other issues will be taken care of. This includes tap-strafing, which hasn't been removed yet despite promises from Respawn Entertainment. Jitter aiming is also prevalent, allowing players to essentially remove recoil from their weapons.

But developers haven't been ignoring everything. Players noticed that the Rampage LMG was nerfed after community feedback. Respawn Entertainment informed players that the damage per bullet was decreased from 28 to 26 and there was also an increased thermite consumption per shot.

Apex Legends is not completely balanced going into the playoffs but removing punch-boosting shows that developers are listening. It's unclear if other issues will be fixed during the competitive season.