Apex Legends' Niche Movement Mechanics Are Going Mainstream During This Update
Respawn Entertainment have a special treat prepared for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.
Introducing Mantle Boosting
Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, this technique has unofficially existed of the game for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for the average player, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. This season, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these advanced movement boosts.
"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for a while, but executing it isn't easy to perform and gamers might not realize it [is in the game] without external guides," the designer explains. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify when and how to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, opening up the feature and introducing fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."
The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible
Why make a previously obscure technique accessible to all players? Principal designer the development lead says the team aims for gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are new.
"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, looked at what the community execute, and we wondered, 'How can we provide some of this power to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Since right now, some of these techniques are kind of janky to access — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'What if we make a more official implementation?'"
The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility
Movement is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to help keep them mobile. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will boost users into the air faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and capability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However it's the high-flying Valkyrie who's getting significant improvements this season, with various adjustments implemented to enhance her as stronger, faster, and more lethal.
"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," says character developer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to reexamine a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of bring her back to her glory days."
Valkyrie's Upgrades
To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead notes the team assessed each of her abilities and implemented significant changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, boosting her speed while airborne, and this equipment now recharge three times faster, allowing her to spend more time aloft. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to mark opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts teammates skyward for repositioning or retreat — now takes reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that users can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.
"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," he says.
Map Changes
Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers state Apex Legends this update 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 movement shooter," explains principal designer the lead.
Apex Legends the Amped season launches Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.
