Apex Legends' Specialized Movement Mechanics Are Going Mainstream During This Update
Respawn Entertainment has a special treat prepared for the popular battle royale players, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.
Introducing Mantle Boosting
Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature gives players a burst of forward momentum when climbing over obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique has unofficially existed of the game for some time, often called as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. This season, the team simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.
"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for some time, but the movement isn't easy to perform and gamers might not realize it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "We're adding a visual cue so users can clearly identify when and how to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the feature and introducing new ways to compete for a much wider base."
The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible
Why make a once niche technique available to all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan explains developers aims for gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are new.
"Our community is doing other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, observed what our players execute, and we wondered, 'What if we provide some of this power to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Since right now, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to use — you need to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we create a polished version?'"
The Amped Update Movement Focus
Movement is largely the central theme in this season, with Legends Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel users upward much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and capability to provide movement bonuses to those nearby. But the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie who's getting the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as stronger, faster, and deadlier.
"I think many agree that her moment is here," says Legend designer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt she was dominant previously, but due to the addition of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and essentially bring her back to former prominence."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, the developer says Respawn assessed all her skills and implemented some powerful modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing velocity during flight, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, enabling her to spend more time in the air. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy ability — which launches teammates skyward for repositioning or retreat — now takes reduced delay to activate. Additionally, she gains recently added perk choices that users can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate takeoff time.
"Her jet pack now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.
Map Changes
Additionally, the only floating arena, this location, receives a movement-friendly facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands choke points and renders claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. Respawn state Apex Legends Season 27 is all about giving players the tools required to compete in matches.
"Essentially, we were looking at Apex's core identity as a movement shooter," says lead Legend designer the lead.
Apex Legends Season 27: Amped releases Nov. 4 at the specified times.
