Apex Legends' Niche Movement Mechanics Become Widely Accessible This Season
Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.
Unveiling The Mantle Boost
Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this ability provides gamers a burst of propulsion when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously existed of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and is mainly used by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. This season, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.
"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for some time, but the movement requires skill to pull off and gamers would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so players can easily see when and how to trigger the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the mechanic and adding new ways to play for more players."
Why Make It Accessible
Why make a previously obscure movement quirk accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan says developers aims for gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.
"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, looked at what the community are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Since right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to use — you need to change controls and hit precise timings. So we said, 'What if we create a more official implementation?'"
Season 27 Movement Focus
Movement is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will boost users upward faster than it used to. Her defensive walls now include a roof and the ability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. However it's the high-flying Valkyrie who's getting the most attention now, with multiple tweaks applied to make her more potent, quicker, and deadlier.
"I think many agree that her moment has arrived," states character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in today's the game. It was a really great opportunity for the team to revisit multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially restore her to her glory days."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To restore Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, the developer notes the team assessed all her skills and introduced significant changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, increasing velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, enabling her to remain longer aloft. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark opponents who are hit from it. Her Skyward Dive ability — which lifts teammates skyward for repositioning or escape — requires much less time to fire up. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that users can select to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.
"Her jet pack now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.
Olympus Improvements
Even the game's only floating arena, this location, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. Respawn state Apex Legends this update is all about providing gamers the tools required to compete in the competition.
"Essentially, we examined Apex's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.
The battle royale the Amped season releases Nov. 4 at the specified times.
