Apex Legends' Specialized Movement Mechanics Are Going Mainstream During This Update
The game developers has a special treat prepared for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's super-slick traversal can rejoice to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season launches on November 4th.
Unveiling Mantle Boosting
Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a surge of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. According to lead battle royale designer 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 the average player, and is mainly used by competitive players in Ranked Mode or tournaments. In this update, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to execute these tricky speed-boosts.
"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for some time, but executing it requires skill to pull off and a player would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "Now including a visual cue so players can clearly identify when and how to activate the high-octane traversal skill, making accessible the feature and adding new ways to compete for a much wider base."
Why Make It Accessible
Why make a previously obscure technique available to everyone? Principal designer the development lead says developers wants players to experience empowerment — including ones who are new.
"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, observed what the community are doing, and we said, 'What if we extend these capabilities to more players?'" the designer explains. "Because currently, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we make a more official version?'"
The Amped Update Movement Focus
Mobility is largely the name of the game in this season, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving enhancements to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and this skill will boost users upward faster than it used to. Her defensive walls now include a roof and capability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. But it's aerial this Legend who's getting significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks applied to make her more potent, quicker, and deadlier.
"I think there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time is here," states Legend designer the designer. "Certainly that she's been dominant previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in current Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for us to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of bring her back to her glory days."
Valkyrie's Upgrades
To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead says the team assessed each of her abilities and implemented some powerful modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting her speed during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge much quicker, 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 tag opponents who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy ability — which launches her entire squad into the air for redeployment or escape — requires reduced delay to activate. She's also getting some new perk choices that players can choose to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.
"Her jet pack fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.
Map Changes
Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that expands bottlenecks and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn state Apex Legends Season 27 focuses on giving players the tools required to keep up with the competition.
"Really, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer Josh Mohan.
Apex Legends the Amped season launches Nov. 4 at the specified times.
