Apex Legends' Niche Movement Mechanics Are Going Mainstream This Season
The game developers have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.
Introducing The Mantle Boost
Named "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a surge of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. According to key developer the design lead, this technique was previously been a feature of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's challenging for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. This season, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these tricky movement boosts.
"This technique have been in the game for some time, but executing it isn't easy to perform and gamers would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so players can clearly identify the timing to trigger the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the feature and introducing new ways to compete for a much wider base."
Why Make It Accessible
What's the reason for making a once niche technique available to all players? Principal designer the development lead says the team wants players to feel powerful — even those who are new.
"Our community is doing other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we examined at other games, looked at what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'What if we extend these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Since right now, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to use — you need to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we make a more official version?'"
The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility
Movement is largely the name of the game in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to help keep them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will boost users upward much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and the ability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. But it's aerial Valkyrie receiving significant improvements now, with various adjustments implemented to enhance her as stronger, quicker, and deadlier.
"I think there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time has arrived," states Legend designer the designer. "Certainly that she's been dominant in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind in today's Apex. It was a really great opportunity for the team to reexamine multiple elements in her abilities and essentially bring her back to her glory days."
Valkyrie's Upgrades
To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead notes Respawn assessed each of her abilities and implemented significant changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, increasing velocity while airborne, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, enabling her to remain longer aloft. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who are hit from it. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches her entire squad skyward for repositioning or escape — requires reduced delay to fire up. Additionally, she gains some new Legend Upgrades that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.
"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on the pilot experience," Holstead comments.
Map Changes
Even the game's only floating arena, this location, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that expands choke points and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn says the game this update is all about giving players the resources required to compete in matches.
"Really, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.
Apex Legends Season 27: Amped launches November 4th at the specified times.
