Apex Legends' Niche Movement Mechanics Are Going Mainstream During This Update
Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale gamers, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid movement will be pleased to discover that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.
Unveiling The Mantle Boost
Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this ability provides gamers a surge of forward momentum when climbing over obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously been a feature of the game for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.
"This technique have been in Apex for some time, but the movement isn't easy to perform and a player would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "Now including a visual cue so users can clearly identify when and how to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the mechanic and introducing new ways to compete for a much wider base."
Why Make It Accessible
What's the reason for making a previously obscure movement quirk available to everyone? Principal designer Josh Mohan explains developers wants players to feel powerful — even those who are inexperienced.
"Our community performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we looked around at other games, observed what our players are doing, and we said, 'How can we extend these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Since currently, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — you need to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. So we said, 'How about we make a more official implementation?'"
The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility
Mobility is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will propel users into the air much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and the ability to provide movement bonuses to those nearby. However the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend who's getting significant improvements now, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as stronger, faster, and deadlier.
"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time is here," states character developer the designer. "There's no doubt 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 today's Apex. It was an ideal chance for us to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and essentially bring her back to her glory days."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To restore Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, Holstead notes the team evaluated each of her abilities and introduced some powerful modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, allowing her to spend more time aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts teammates into the air for redeployment or escape — requires much less time to activate. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her ultimate activation.
"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.
Olympus Improvements
Additionally, the only floating arena, this location, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers state the game Season 27 focuses on giving players the resources required to compete in the competition.
"Essentially, we were looking at Apex's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer the lead.
The battle royale Season 27: Amped releases Nov. 4 at the specified times.