Apex Legends' Niche Movement Mechanics Are Going Mainstream This Season
The game developers have a special treat prepared for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for the holidays. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.
Unveiling The Mantle Boost
Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a surge of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously been a feature of Apex Legends for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these tricky movement boosts.
"This technique existed in the game for some time, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and a player might not realize it [is in the game] without external guides," Canavese explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can easily see the timing to activate the high-octane traversal skill, making accessible the feature and adding new ways to play for more players."
Why Make It Accessible
Why make a previously obscure movement quirk available to everyone? Principal designer Josh Mohan says developers aims for gamers to feel powerful — even those who are inexperienced.
"[The playerbase] performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we examined at our competition, observed what the community execute, and we wondered, 'What if we provide these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Since currently, some of these techniques are kind of janky to access — you need to change controls and hit precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we make a more official implementation?'"
The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility
Mobility is largely the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost players into the air much quicker than before. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and the ability to grant movement bonuses to those nearby. However the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie who's getting significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks applied to make her more potent, quicker, and more lethal.
"In my opinion many agree that her moment is here," states character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly that she's been dominant previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she's not very relevant in current the game. This presented an ideal chance for us to reexamine multiple elements in her abilities and sort of restore her to her glory days."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, the developer says Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and implemented significant modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting velocity during flight, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, enabling her to remain longer aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches her entire squad into the air for redeployment or retreat — now takes reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.
"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," he says.
Olympus Improvements
Even the game's only floating arena, Olympus, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers state Apex Legends this update focuses on providing gamers the resources they need to keep up with matches.
"Essentially, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.
The battle royale the Amped season launches Nov. 4 at the specified times.
