The Battle Royale's Specialized Movement Mechanics Become Widely Accessible During This Update
Respawn Entertainment has an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for the holidays. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's super-slick traversal will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when the Amped season goes live on Nov. 4.
Introducing The Mantle Boost
Named "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a burst of propulsion when scaling obstacles. According to key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting has unofficially been a feature of Apex Legends for quite a while, often called as "mantle jumping." But it's challenging for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to execute these tricky speed-boosts.
"Mantle Boosts have been 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 outside knowledge," the designer states. "Now including a visual cue so players can clearly identify when and how to activate the high-octane movement ability, making accessible the feature and introducing fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."
Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics
Why make a once niche movement quirk available to everyone? Lead Legend designer the development lead explains developers wants players to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.
"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at other games, looked at what the community are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Because currently, certain techniques are kind of janky to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'What if we create a polished version?'"
Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility
Movement is primarily the name of the game in this season, with characters the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to help keep them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will propel users into the air much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and capability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. But it's aerial this Legend who's getting the most attention now, with various adjustments implemented to make her stronger, faster, and more lethal.
"In my opinion many agree that Valkyrie's time is here," states character developer the designer. "Certainly that she's been top-tier previously, but with the introduction of other characters, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it felt like she fell behind in current Apex. It was a really great opportunity for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of restore her to her glory days."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To restore her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead notes the team evaluated all her skills and implemented some powerful changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, allowing the player to remain longer in the air. Now she won't take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to mark opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her squad redeploy skill — which launches her entire squad into the air for repositioning or escape — now takes much less time to fire up. She's also getting recently added perk choices that players can choose to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.
"Her jet pack fulfills the pilot experience," Holstead says.
Olympus Improvements
Additionally, the only floating arena, this location, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn says the game Season 27 focuses on providing gamers the tools they need to keep up with the competition.
"Essentially, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says lead Legend designer the lead.
Apex Legends Season 27: Amped releases Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.
