Apex Legends' Niche Movement Mechanics Are Going Mainstream During This Update
The game developers has a special treat prepared for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid movement will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.
Unveiling The Mantle Boost
Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this ability provides gamers a surge of forward momentum when climbing over obstacles. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, this technique has unofficially been a feature of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, the team simplifies the process for everyone to execute these tricky movement boosts.
"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for some time, but the movement requires skill to pull off and a player would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so players can easily see when and how to activate the high-octane movement ability, opening up the mechanic and introducing fresh strategies to play for more players."
Why Make It Accessible
What's the reason for making a previously obscure movement quirk available to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains developers wants players to experience empowerment β including ones who are new.
"[The playerbase] is doing other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at other games, observed what our players execute, and we said, 'How can we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" Mohan explains. "Since right now, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access β you need to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'What if we create a more official implementation?'"
The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility
Mobility is largely the central theme in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving enhancements to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and this skill will boost players upward much quicker than before. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and capability to grant movement bonuses to those nearby. But the spotlight is on aerial Valkyrie who's getting the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks applied to make her stronger, quicker, and more lethal.
"In my opinion many agree that her moment is here," says character developer the designer. "Certainly she was top-tier previously, but due to the addition of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind in current the game. This presented an ideal chance for us to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of restore her to former prominence."
Valkyrie's Upgrades
To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead notes the team assessed each of her abilities and implemented some powerful changes. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting velocity during flight, and this equipment regenerates three times faster, allowing the player to spend more time aloft. She can no longer take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who are hit from the missiles. Her squad redeploy ability β which lifts her entire squad skyward for redeployment or retreat β now takes much less time to activate. Additionally, she gains some new Legend Upgrades that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.
"Her jet pack fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.
Olympus Improvements
Additionally, the only floating arena, this location, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers says Apex Legends this update focuses on providing gamers the resources required to keep up with matches.
"Really, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer the lead.
Apex Legends Season 27: Amped launches Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.
