How to Perform Accelerated Back Hopping

Last Updated: April 24, 2022

In some games that use the Source engine, you can perform a mobility glitch called accelerated back hopping (ABH). In ABH, you jump backward repeatedly, gaining insane momentum. This is a useful trick that can be used to launch yourself off of ramps or just travel across maps quickly. Note that you will need a mouse to ABH.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Setting It Up

1
Open a game that uses Source. Many games will not work, but the games that ABH is guaranteed to work on are Portal and Half-Life 2 (and all episodes).
2
Start a new game or load a save file.

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3
Bind your scroll wheel to jump. Press Esc while in-game and click OPTIONS. Then, click Keyboard. Click the movement called "Jump" to highlight it, and then click Edit key. Move your mouse's scroll wheel down to bind it to Jump.
4
Resume the game by clicking RESUME GAME.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Performing the Glitch

1
Hold W. If you're playing a sprint-enabled game like Half-Life 2, you can start off sprinting to reach max speed sooner.
2
Scroll down on the scroll wheel.
3
Let go of W while you're still in the air.
4
Move your mouse so you are facing the opposite direction. Again, do this before you land on the ground.
5
Press and hold Ctrl while still airborne.
6
Scroll down on the scroll wheel right before you land on the ground.
7
Continue gaining momentum. Keep Ctrl held down, and remain facing the opposite direction. At this point, you'll want to continue timing your jumps with the scroll wheel and gaining speed. If you don't jump at the right time, you'll lose most or all of your momentum.
8
Control your direction of travel. While you won't be able to directly see what's behind of you, you can move your mouse to change where you're looking, and subsequently, where you're going. If you look to the left, you'll head left as if you were looking forward.