The Battle Royale's Niche Movement Mechanics Are Going Mainstream This Season
The game developers have a special treat in store for Apex Legends players, perfectly timed for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick movement can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.
Unveiling The Mantle Boost
Named "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this ability provides gamers a burst of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of the game for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. In this update, Respawn simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.
"This technique have been in Apex for a while, but executing it isn't easy to perform and a player would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so players can clearly identify the timing to activate the high-octane traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and adding new ways to compete for a much wider base."
Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics
Why make a once niche technique accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains the team wants gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are new.
"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, observed what our players execute, and we said, 'How can we provide some of this power to more players?'" the designer explains. "Since right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'How about we create a more official implementation?'"
Season 27 Movement Focus
Mobility is largely the name of the game in Season 27, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to help keep them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will boost users upward faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and capability to grant speed boosts to allies in range. However the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend receiving significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks 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 she was top-tier previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she fell behind in current the game. This presented an ideal chance for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and essentially restore her to former prominence."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead notes the team evaluated each of her abilities and introduced some powerful modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting her speed during flight, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, enabling her to remain longer aloft. Now she won't take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches her entire squad skyward for repositioning or escape — requires much less time to fire up. Additionally, she gains recently added Legend Upgrades that users can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.
"Her jet pack fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.
Map Changes
Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn says Apex Legends Season 27 is all about providing gamers the resources they need to compete in the competition.
"Really, we were looking at the game's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer the lead.
The battle royale the Amped season releases November 4th at the specified times.
