Apex Legends' Niche Movement Mechanics Are Going Mainstream This Season
Respawn Entertainment has an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale players, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of this game's super-slick movement can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.
Unveiling Mantle Boosting
Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a burst of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously been a feature of the game for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.
"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for some time, but executing it requires skill to pull off and gamers would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so players can easily see the timing to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, opening up the mechanic and introducing new ways to compete for more players."
The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics
Why make a previously obscure technique available to everyone? Principal designer the development lead says developers wants gamers to feel powerful — even those who are new.
"[The playerbase] is doing other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at other games, looked at what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we extend these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Since currently, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit precise timings. We proposed, 'What if we create a polished version?'"
The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility
Movement is primarily the name of the game in this season, with characters the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to help keep them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel users upward much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and the ability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. However the spotlight is on aerial this Legend who's getting the most attention this season, with various adjustments implemented to make her stronger, faster, and deadlier.
"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time is here," states Legend designer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in current the game. It was a really great opportunity for the team to revisit multiple elements in her abilities and essentially bring her back to former prominence."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer notes Respawn assessed all her skills and implemented some powerful modifications. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, increasing velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, allowing the player to remain longer in the air. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts her entire squad into the air for repositioning or escape — now takes much less time to fire up. Additionally, she gains recently added perk choices that players can select to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her rockets, or further speed up her ultimate activation.
"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.
Olympus Improvements
Even the game's lone airborne map, this location, is getting a mobility-focused overhaul, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn state Apex Legends Season 27 is all about providing gamers the tools required to compete in the competition.
"Essentially, we were looking at Apex's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer the lead.
Apex Legends the Amped season launches November 4th at the specified times.
