Apex Legends' Specialized Movement Mechanics Are Going Mainstream This Season
Respawn Entertainment have a special treat prepared for the popular battle royale players, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's super-slick movement will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.
Introducing The Mantle Boost
Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a surge of propulsion when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. This season, the team simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.
"Mantle Boosts have been in Apex for a while, but the movement isn't easy to perform and gamers might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can easily see the timing to activate the fast-paced movement ability, opening up the feature and adding fresh strategies to play for more players."
The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics
What's the reason for making a once niche movement quirk available to all players? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan says developers aims for gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are new.
"[The playerbase] is doing other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, looked at what the community are doing, and we wondered, 'What if we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Since right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. So we said, 'What if we make a polished implementation?'"
Season 27 Movement Focus
Mobility is largely the central theme in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost players into the air faster than before. Her defensive walls now include a roof and capability to grant movement bonuses to those nearby. But it's aerial this Legend receiving the most attention now, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as stronger, faster, and more lethal.
"In my opinion 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 previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind in current the game. It was an ideal chance for us to revisit multiple elements [of her kit] and sort of restore her to former prominence."
Valkyrie's Upgrades
To restore Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, the developer notes Respawn evaluated all her skills and introduced significant modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting velocity during flight, and this equipment now recharge three times faster, allowing the player to spend more time aloft. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag opponents who take damage from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts her entire squad skyward for redeployment or retreat — requires reduced delay to fire up. Additionally, she gains recently added perk choices that players can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.
"Her jet pack now delivers on the pilot experience," Holstead says.
Map Changes
Even the game's only floating arena, this location, is getting a movement-friendly overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers state the game this update is all about giving players the tools required to compete in the competition.
"Essentially, we examined Apex's core identity as a movement shooter," says principal designer Josh Mohan.
Apex Legends Season 27: Amped launches November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.