Apex Legends' Specialized Movement Mechanics Are Going Mainstream During This Update
Respawn Entertainment has a special treat in store for Apex Legends players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.
Unveiling The Mantle Boost
Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a surge of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously existed of Apex Legends for some time, often called as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for casual gamers, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or tournaments. This season, the team is making it easier for everyone to execute these advanced movement boosts.
"This technique existed in the game for a while, but executing it requires skill to pull off and a player would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can easily see when and how to activate the high-octane movement ability, opening up the mechanic and adding new ways to play for more players."
The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible
What's the reason for making a once niche technique accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains the team aims for gamers to feel powerful — even those who are new.
"Our community is doing other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, looked at what our players are doing, and we said, 'How can we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" Mohan explains. "Since currently, some of these techniques are kind of janky to use — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we create a polished version?'"
The Amped Update Movement Focus
Mobility is primarily the name of the game in this season, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie receiving buffs to maintain them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel players into the air faster than before. 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 now, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as stronger, faster, and more lethal.
"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," states Legend designer Ian Holstead. "Certainly that she's been dominant previously, but due to the addition of other characters, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in current the game. This presented a really great opportunity for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to her glory days."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead notes Respawn assessed all her skills and introduced some powerful modifications. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing her speed while airborne, and this equipment now recharge three times faster, enabling 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 lifts teammates into the air for redeployment or escape — requires reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting recently added Legend Upgrades that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate activation.
"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on the pilot experience," he comments.
Olympus Improvements
Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands choke points and renders securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers says Apex Legends Season 27 is all about providing gamers the resources required to compete in matches.
"Really, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer the lead.
Apex Legends the Amped season launches Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.
