Macros have been a hot topic in Apex Legends for some time now. Offers informed players the ability to reduce or completely remove some of the input barriers for some of the game’s trickiest moves. The use of macros is somewhere between taking advantage of all the tools at your disposal and outright cheating in the eyes of many in the community.
So, we wanted to dive into the subject of Apex Legends macros and gain insight into whether it’s a completely fair game, or just a form of exploitation waiting to be wiped out by Respawn.
The topic has recently gained new life thanks to a popular post on the Apex Legends subreddit titled “Why are macros being canonicalized?” In it, user armadillo_soup says they think macros and editing cfg files or adding scripts are cheating – full stop. Their posts are inspired by the methods described above, which are widely shared via TikTok and Reddit as a way to new sports techniques. Their opinions seemed to resonate, as the posts were filled with like-minded players who reflected their views in a more enthusiastic way.
But before we dive into the pros and cons, let’s elaborate on what the author means by “macro” in this context. A macro is a series of inputs programmed to be completed in succession. They’re not exclusive to Apex Legends anyway (heck, I use a bunch of macros myself when farming mounts in WoW), but games like WoW have built-in macro support, and Apex Legends players are diving into local PCs file or Steam Big Picture to apply their own script sequence.
This means that, in just a few minutes to see what you need to change, Apex players with enough expertise can change their in-game inputs to perform certain movement techniques with a much higher success rate than what they’re doing it doesn’t have macro. In a short video called “The Vertex Macro,” Youtuber OhDough breaks down all possible ranges in just two minutes.
As you can imagine, there are two sides to the ongoing debate around the fairness of macros. On the one hand, you have people who are totally against the use of macros, who claim they are inherently unfair because only a portion of the Apex Legends player base has access to these macros. If you’re a console player with crossplay enabled, and you come across PC players that have edited cfg files, you may not be able to use the same mobile technology as them. You will be slow and at a disadvantage. Sure, you can turn off cross-play if this annoys you so much, but should someone really turn to it in the first place?
That being said, the Apex Legends team is not ignorant of the use of macros. Macros are expressly prohibited in all forms of events in the Apex Legends Global Series, as well as Strike Packs that provide an unfair advantage in the match. So, obviously, when it comes to the peak of competitive gaming, the developers don’t think they’re good. Additionally, they also have a history of removing certain motion techniques if they also appear to provide an unfair advantage. If they wanted to prevent players from using macros in regular Apex games, they certainly would, right?
Well, it’s tricky. On the one hand, getting rid of it completely is a tricky business. You might do this so that you no longer have to tweak local files on your desktop that affect gameplay, but what about hardware with additional buttons and its own built-in macro capabilities? How do you ban someone with a fancy mouse or controller? If you can’t, what prevents players from just using them? How about rebinding keys in Steam Big Picture mode?
So we’re left on this weird edge, macros are definitely still lurking in Apex, and the community is very disliked, but still there anyway. Maybe one day they’ll be completely squashed, but for now they’re stuck in a vague gray area of permissible and decidedly anachronistic.
For more Apex Legends content, check out our Newcastle Ability Breakdown, as well as our overview of Apex Legends Season 13 changes and additions!
