You move faster to certain choke points. [quote]But muh slower base speed[/quote] Barely, the difference is so small it doesn't make a difference. You're sprinting half the time anyway. [quote]But muh cheap escape from a battle I should have lost[/quote] Shields don't recharge when sprinting. If you're shot before reaching max speed you stop sprinting. You can't sprint away from a battle where you're getting shot, because you can't sprint at all. Gameplay is [i]not[/i] slowed, because the most you can do is walk away while being shot and you die before you can escape. I haven't used sprint to escape a fight I should have lost [i]once[/i], because them shooting me renders my sprint unusable.