Apex Legends' Specialized Movement Mechanics Become Widely Accessible During This Update
Respawn Entertainment have a special treat prepared for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for the holidays. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid movement will be pleased to discover that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.
Unveiling Mantle Boosting
Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a surge of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially been a feature of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for casual gamers, and is mainly used by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. In this update, the team is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.
"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for a while, but the movement requires skill to pull off and gamers would never know it's possible without external guides," Canavese states. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify when and how to trigger the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the feature and introducing new ways to compete for a much wider base."
The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible
Why make a previously obscure technique available to everyone? Principal designer the development lead says the team wants gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are new.
"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, looked at what our players execute, and we said, 'How can we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Because currently, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit precise timings. So we said, 'How about we create a polished version?'"
The Amped Update Movement Focus
Mobility is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will boost users upward faster than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and capability to provide movement bonuses to allies in range. However it's aerial Valkyrie who's getting significant improvements now, with multiple tweaks applied to make her more potent, faster, and more lethal.
"I think many agree that her moment has arrived," states character developer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she fell behind in current the game. This presented an ideal chance for us to revisit multiple elements [of her kit] and sort of restore her to her glory days."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To restore her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead notes Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and implemented some powerful changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing her speed during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, allowing her to remain longer in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her squad redeploy ability — which lifts teammates into the air for redeployment or escape — now takes reduced delay to activate. Additionally, she gains some new Legend Upgrades that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her rockets, or accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.
"Her jet pack now delivers on the pilot experience," he says.
Map Changes
Even the game's only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers says Apex Legends Season 27 focuses on giving players the resources required to compete in matches.
"Really, we were looking at Apex's core identity as a movement shooter," explains lead Legend designer the lead.
Apex Legends the Amped season releases November 4th at the specified times.
