The Battle Royale's Specialized Movement Mechanics Are Going Mainstream During This Update
The game developers has an exciting surprise prepared for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of this game's super-slick traversal can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on Nov. 4.
Unveiling Mantle Boosting
Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a surge of forward momentum when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique has unofficially existed of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and is mainly used by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, the team simplifies the process for everyone to execute these tricky speed-boosts.
"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for some time, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and a player would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," the designer explains. "Now including a visual cue so players can clearly identify the timing to activate the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the feature and adding new ways to compete for a much wider base."
The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible
Why make a once niche technique available to everyone? Lead Legend 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-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at other games, observed what our players execute, and we said, 'How can we extend some of this power to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Because right now, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'How about we make a polished version?'"
The Amped Update Movement Focus
Mobility is largely the central theme in Season 27, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to help keep them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will propel players upward faster than it used to. Her defensive walls now include a roof and capability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However it's aerial Valkyrie who's getting the most attention now, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as more potent, faster, and more lethal.
"In my opinion many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says character developer the designer. "There's no doubt she was top-tier previously, but due to the addition of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in current the game. It was a really great opportunity for us to reexamine multiple elements in her abilities and sort of restore her to former prominence."
Valkyrie's Upgrades
To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, the developer notes the team assessed each of her abilities and introduced some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing velocity during flight, and this equipment regenerates three times faster, allowing the player to spend more time in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to mark enemies who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches her entire squad skyward for repositioning or escape — requires reduced delay to activate. She's also getting some new perk choices that users can choose to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her Skyward Dive activation.
"Her jet pack now delivers on the pilot experience," Holstead says.
Map Changes
Even the game's only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers state Apex Legends Season 27 is all about giving players the tools they need to compete in the competition.
"Really, we were looking at Apex's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.
The battle royale the Amped season launches November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.
