Apex Legends' Specialized Movement Mechanics Become Widely Accessible During This Update
The game developers has a special treat prepared for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to discover that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.
Introducing Mantle Boosting
Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this ability gives players a surge of propulsion when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of the game for some time, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.
"Mantle Boosts have been in Apex for a while, but executing it isn't easy to perform and a player might not realize it [is in the game] without external guides," Canavese explains. "We're adding a visual cue so users can easily see when and how to activate the high-octane movement ability, opening up the mechanic and introducing new ways to compete for more players."
Why Make It Accessible
What's the reason for making a previously obscure movement quirk accessible to all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan explains the team wants players to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.
"Our community performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, observed what the community are doing, and we said, 'What if we extend some of this power to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Because right now, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to use — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'What if we make a polished implementation?'"
Season 27 Movement Focus
Movement is primarily the name of the game in this season, with characters the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will propel users into the air faster than before. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and the ability to grant speed boosts to allies in range. However it's aerial this Legend who's getting the most attention now, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as stronger, quicker, and deadlier.
"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time is here," says character developer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, 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 essentially restore her to her glory days."
Valkyrie's Upgrades
To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, the developer says the team evaluated all her skills and implemented significant modifications. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, boosting velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, allowing the player to remain longer in the air. She can no longer take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to tag enemies who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which launches teammates skyward for redeployment or retreat — requires much less time to fire up. She's also getting recently added Legend Upgrades that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.
"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on the pilot experience," Holstead comments.
Map Changes
Even the game's only floating arena, this location, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers state the game this update focuses on giving players the tools they need to keep up with the competition.
"Really, we examined Apex's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.
The battle royale the Amped season launches Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.
