Apex Legends' Niche Traversal Techniques Become Widely Accessible This Season
Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid movement can rejoice to learn that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.
Unveiling Mantle Boosting
Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously existed of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for casual gamers, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or tournaments. In this update, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to execute these advanced movement boosts.
"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for a while, but the movement requires skill to pull off and gamers might not realize it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify when and how to activate the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the mechanic and adding new ways to play for a much wider base."
Why Make It Accessible
Why make a previously obscure technique accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains developers wants gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are new.
"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, observed what our players are doing, and we said, 'How can we provide these capabilities to a broader audience?'" Mohan clarifies. "Because right now, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to use — you need to change controls and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we make a polished version?'"
The Amped Update Movement Focus
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 mobile. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will propel players into the air much quicker than before. Her defensive walls now include a roof and the ability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. But it's aerial this Legend receiving the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks applied to make her more potent, quicker, and more lethal.
"I think there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," states character developer the designer. "Certainly that she's been dominant previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in today's the game. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and essentially bring her back to her glory days."
Valkyrie's Upgrades
To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead says Respawn assessed all her skills and implemented some powerful modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing her speed during flight, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, allowing the player to remain longer in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to mark opponents who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches teammates into the air for redeployment or escape — now takes much less time to activate. She's also getting recently added perk choices that users can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.
"Her jet pack now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead comments.
Olympus Improvements
Even the game's lone airborne map, this location, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that opens up choke points and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn says Apex Legends Season 27 is all about giving players the tools required to keep up with matches.
"Essentially, we were looking at the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says principal designer the lead.
The battle royale the Amped season releases November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.
