Apex Legends' Niche Movement Mechanics Become Widely Accessible During This Update
The game developers has an exciting surprise prepared for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's super-slick movement will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.
Unveiling The Mantle Boost
Named "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a burst of forward momentum when climbing over obstacles. According to key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by competitive players in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, the team is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.
"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for a while, but the movement isn't easy to pull off and a player might not realize it's possible without external guides," Canavese states. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so players can easily see the timing to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and adding new ways to play for more players."
Why Make It Accessible
What's the reason for making a once niche technique available to all players? Principal designer the development lead explains the team aims for gamers to feel powerful — even those who are inexperienced.
"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, looked at what the community are doing, and we said, 'What if we provide some of this power to more players?'" the designer explains. "Because right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to use — you need to change controls and execute within one-frame windows. So we said, 'What if we create a more official implementation?'"
The Amped Update Movement Focus
Mobility is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel players into the air much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and capability to provide movement bonuses to those nearby. However the spotlight is on aerial Valkyrie receiving the most attention this season, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as stronger, quicker, and more lethal.
"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," states character developer the designer. "There's no doubt she was dominant in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she fell behind in today's Apex. It was an ideal chance for the team to reexamine multiple elements in her abilities and essentially bring her back to former prominence."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead notes Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and introduced some powerful changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting her speed during flight, and this equipment regenerates three times faster, allowing the player to spend more time in the air. She can no longer take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches her entire squad skyward for redeployment or escape — now takes much less time to fire up. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that players can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.
"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on the pilot experience," Holstead comments.
Olympus Improvements
Even the game's only floating arena, Olympus, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that expands choke points and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn says Apex Legends Season 27 is all about giving players the resources required to keep up with the competition.
"Really, we were looking at the game's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.
Apex Legends Season 27: Amped releases November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.
