Apex Legends' Specialized Movement Mechanics Are Going Mainstream This Season
Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale gamers, perfectly timed 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 November 4th.
Introducing Mantle Boosting
Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this ability provides gamers a surge of propulsion when climbing over ledges and walls. According to lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique has unofficially been a feature of Apex Legends for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these advanced speed-boosts.
"Mantle Boosts have been in Apex for a while, but the movement requires skill to pull off and a player would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so users can easily see when and how to activate the fast-paced movement ability, opening up the feature and adding fresh strategies to play for more players."
Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics
Why make a once niche movement quirk available to all players? Principal designer the development lead explains the team wants players to feel powerful — including ones who are new.
"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, observed what the community execute, and we wondered, 'How can we provide some of this power to a broader audience?'" Mohan explains. "Because currently, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to change controls and hit precise timings. So we said, 'What if we create a polished implementation?'"
The Amped Update Movement Focus
Mobility is largely the name of the game in this season, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to maintain them mobile. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will boost players upward much quicker than before. Her defensive walls now include a roof and the ability to grant speed boosts to allies in range. But it's aerial Valkyrie receiving the most attention this season, with various adjustments applied to make her more potent, quicker, and more lethal.
"In my opinion many agree that her moment is here," says character developer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier previously, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in current the game. This presented an ideal chance for the team to revisit multiple elements in her abilities and essentially restore her to her glory days."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead says the team assessed all her skills and introduced some powerful modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting her speed while airborne, and this equipment regenerates three times faster, enabling her to remain longer in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to mark opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches teammates into the air for redeployment or escape — now takes reduced delay to activate. She's also getting some new perk choices that users can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate takeoff time.
"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.
Olympus Improvements
Additionally, the lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and makes claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. Respawn says Apex Legends this update is all about giving players the resources they need to keep up with the competition.
"Essentially, we examined Apex's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.
The battle royale the Amped season launches Nov. 4 at the specified times.
