Apex Legends' Specialized Movement Mechanics Become Widely Accessible During This Update
Respawn Entertainment have a special treat in store for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid movement will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.
Unveiling The Mantle Boost
Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a burst of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously existed of Apex Legends for some time, often called as "mantle jumping." However 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 movement boosts.
"Mantle Boosts have been in Apex for a while, but executing it requires skill to pull off and a player might not realize it [is in the game] without external guides," Canavese explains. "Now including a visual cue so players can clearly identify the timing to activate the high-octane traversal skill, making accessible the feature and adding new ways to compete for a much wider base."
The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics
Why make a previously obscure technique accessible to everyone? Principal designer the development lead says developers aims for players to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.
"[The playerbase] performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at other games, looked at what the community are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Because right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we make a polished version?'"
Season 27 Movement Focus
Movement is primarily the central theme in this season, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to help keep them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and this skill will propel users into the air faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include overhead protection and the ability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend who's getting the most attention now, with various adjustments implemented to make her stronger, quicker, and deadlier.
"I think there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant in the past, 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 Apex. It was a really great opportunity for us to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of restore her to former prominence."
Valkyrie's Upgrades
To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead says the team evaluated all her skills and introduced some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, boosting velocity while airborne, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, allowing 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 take damage from the missiles. Her squad redeploy skill — which launches teammates into the air for repositioning or retreat — now takes reduced delay to activate. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate activation.
"Her jet pack now delivers on the pilot experience," he says.
Olympus Improvements
Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, receives a mobility-focused overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers says Apex Legends this update is all about giving players the resources required to keep up with the competition.
"Essentially, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," explains principal designer the lead.
The battle royale the Amped season launches November 4th at the specified times.
