Apex Legends' Specialized Movement Mechanics Become Widely Accessible During This Update
The game developers have an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick traversal will be pleased to learn that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.
Unveiling Mantle Boosting
Named "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. According to key developer the design lead, this technique has unofficially been a feature of the game for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." But 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 everyone to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.
"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for some time, but the movement isn't easy to perform and gamers might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can easily see the timing to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the feature and adding new ways to play for more players."
Why Make It Accessible
Why make a once niche movement quirk available to everyone? Lead Legend designer the development lead says the team wants players to experience empowerment — including ones who are new.
"Our community is doing other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we examined at other games, looked at what the community are doing, and we wondered, 'What if we extend these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "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 make a polished version?'"
The Amped Update Movement Focus
Mobility is largely the name of the game in this season, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving enhancements to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel users upward faster than before. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and the ability to provide speed boosts to those nearby. But it's the high-flying Valkyrie receiving significant improvements now, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as stronger, faster, and more lethal.
"In my opinion many agree that her moment is here," says character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly that she's been dominant in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she's not very relevant in today's the game. It was a really great opportunity for the team to revisit multiple elements in her abilities and essentially restore her to former prominence."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To restore her competitive status in current strategies, the developer notes Respawn evaluated all her skills and implemented significant changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, increasing velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, allowing her to remain longer aloft. Now she won't be harmed from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy ability — which lifts teammates skyward for redeployment or retreat — requires reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting recently added perk choices that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her rockets, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.
"Her jet pack now delivers on the pilot experience," he comments.
Map Changes
Even the game's only floating arena, this location, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and makes securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. Respawn says Apex Legends this update focuses on providing gamers the resources required to compete in matches.
"Essentially, we were looking at Apex's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says lead Legend designer the lead.
The battle royale the Amped season releases Nov. 4 at the specified times.
