Apex Legends' Niche Movement Mechanics Are Going Mainstream During This Update
The game developers has a special treat prepared for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid movement will be pleased to learn that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.
Introducing Mantle Boosting
Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a burst of propulsion when scaling ledges and walls. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, this technique has unofficially existed of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.
"This technique have been in Apex for some time, but the movement requires skill to perform and gamers would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," the designer 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 fresh strategies to play for more players."
The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics
Why make a once niche technique accessible to all players? Principal designer the development lead explains the team aims for players to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.
"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at other games, observed what our players execute, and we said, 'What if we provide these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Since right now, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to use — it requires to change controls and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'What if we make a polished implementation?'"
The Amped Update Movement Focus
Mobility is largely the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to help keep them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost users upward faster than it used to. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and the ability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. But it's aerial this Legend receiving the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks applied to make her more potent, quicker, and more lethal.
"I think there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time is here," states character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was dominant previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in current Apex. This presented an ideal chance for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of restore her to her glory days."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, the developer notes the team assessed all her skills and implemented significant changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge much quicker, allowing 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 skill — which lifts teammates skyward for repositioning or retreat — now takes reduced delay to fire up. Additionally, she gains recently added Legend Upgrades that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.
"Her jet pack now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.
Olympus Improvements
Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers says Apex Legends Season 27 is all about providing gamers the resources required to compete in the competition.
"Essentially, we examined Apex's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.
Apex Legends Season 27: Amped releases November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.
