Apex Legends' Specialized Movement Mechanics Become Widely Accessible During This Update
Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale gamers, perfectly timed for the holidays. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's super-slick movement can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.
Introducing Mantle Boosting
Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this ability provides gamers a burst of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and is mainly used by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. This season, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to execute these tricky speed-boosts.
"This technique have been in the game for a while, but executing it requires skill to pull off and a player would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "Now including a visual cue so users can easily see the timing to activate the high-octane movement ability, opening up the mechanic and introducing fresh strategies to play for more players."
The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible
Why make a previously obscure movement quirk available to everyone? Principal designer the development lead says developers aims for gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are new.
"[The playerbase] performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, looked at what the community are doing, and we said, 'What if we extend some of this power to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Because currently, some of these techniques are kind of janky to access — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we make a polished implementation?'"
The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility
Mobility is largely the central theme in Season 27, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will boost users upward much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and the ability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. But the spotlight is on aerial this Legend who's getting significant improvements now, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her more potent, faster, and deadlier.
"In my opinion many agree that her moment has arrived," says character developer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt she was top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she's not very relevant in current the game. This presented a really great opportunity for us to reexamine multiple elements in her abilities and essentially bring her back to her glory days."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To restore her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead says Respawn assessed all her skills and introduced significant changes. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting velocity during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge much quicker, enabling the player to remain longer aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to mark opponents who are hit from it. Her Skyward Dive ability — which lifts teammates skyward for redeployment or retreat — requires much less time to activate. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that players can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her Skyward Dive activation.
"Her jet pack now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.
Map Changes
Additionally, the only floating arena, this location, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that expands bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. Respawn says Apex Legends this update focuses on giving players the tools they need to compete in matches.
"Really, we were looking at Apex's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says principal designer the lead.
Apex Legends Season 27: Amped launches November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.
