strafe jumping
/streɪf ˈdʒʌmpɪŋ/
CommonUsing synchronized sideways movement and jumping to accelerate beyond normal speed limits in FPS games.
A genuine physics exploit in older engines (Quake, Source). Not applicable in most modern games that cap air speed. Masters of this technique are called strafejumpers and can look almost like they're flying across levels.
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | once you learn to strafe jump in quake you can't go back to walking | The speed boost from the technique makes normal movement feel slow and wrong. | reddit, 2024 |
| 02 | he strafe jumped over the entire arena in like 3 seconds. it's actually insane to watch | A skilled player covered the map extremely fast using movement tech. | youtube, 2024 |
| 03 | tf2 has strafe jumping and most players don't even know. scout mains do tho | The mechanic exists in the game but most players are unaware of it. | reddit, 2023 |
| 04 | strafe jumping took me weeks to get consistent. the sync between mouse and keys is really unforgiving | The technique has a steep learning curve requiring precise coordination. | reddit, 2023 |
Use it when
- Describing the technique of building speed through coordinated strafing and jumping.
- Discussing movement mechanics in Quake, Half-Life, TF2, or other Source/id games.
- Referencing movement skill in speedrunning or movement-heavy FPS communities.
Do not use it when
- You mean basic side-to-side movement without the jump acceleration mechanic.
- You mean bunny hopping, which is jump chaining without directional acceleration.Use “bunny-hop” instead.
Strafe jumping vs bunny hop
strafe jumping
Strafe jumping adds speed by syncing sideways input with mouse direction on each jump.
bunny-hop
Bunny hopping chains jumps to maintain existing momentum without the directional input.
Origin and context
A byproduct of Quake's physics engine, where the game's air acceleration code interacted with strafing input in a way that produced speed gains. The technique was discovered and mastered by the competitive Quake community in the late 1990s and carried into Source engine games.
- First seen
- late-1990s
- Confidence
- high
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/strafe-jumping