Apex Legends' Specialized Movement Mechanics Become Widely Accessible During This Update
Respawn Entertainment have a special treat prepared for Apex Legends gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's super-slick traversal can rejoice to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.
Introducing The Mantle Boost
Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a surge of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. According to key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. In this update, the team simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.
"This technique existed in the game for some time, but executing it requires skill to pull off and a player would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," Canavese explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify when and how to activate the high-octane traversal skill, making accessible the feature and adding new ways to compete for more players."
Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics
Why make a once niche movement quirk accessible to all players? Principal designer the development lead says developers aims for gamers to feel powerful — even those who are new.
"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at other games, looked at what the community execute, and we said, 'What if we extend these capabilities to more players?'" the designer clarifies. "Because right now, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to use — it requires to change controls and execute within one-frame windows. So we said, 'How about we make a more official version?'"
The Amped Update Movement Focus
Mobility is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will propel users upward faster than before. Her defensive walls feature a roof and the ability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However the spotlight is on aerial Valkyrie receiving significant improvements now, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as stronger, quicker, and deadlier.
"In my opinion many agree that Valkyrie's time is here," says character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly that she's been dominant in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she's not very relevant in current Apex. It was a really great opportunity for the team to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to former prominence."
Valkyrie's Upgrades
To restore Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, the developer says the team evaluated each of her abilities and introduced significant modifications. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, boosting her speed during flight, and this equipment regenerates much quicker, enabling the player to spend more time aloft. Now she won't take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to tag opponents who are hit from the missiles. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts her entire squad skyward for repositioning or escape — now takes much less time to fire up. Additionally, she gains recently added perk choices that users can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her ultimate activation.
"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead comments.
Map Changes
Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with major changes that expands choke points and renders securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers state Apex Legends this update focuses on giving players the resources required to compete in the competition.
"Essentially, we were looking at Apex's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer Josh Mohan.
The battle royale the Amped season releases November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.
