Apex Legends' Specialized Traversal Techniques Are Going Mainstream During This Update
The game developers have an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to discover that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season goes live on Nov. 4.
Introducing Mantle Boosting
Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this ability provides gamers a surge of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique was previously existed of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to execute these tricky movement boosts.
"This technique have been in the game for a while, but the movement isn't easy to perform and gamers might not realize it [is in the game] without external guides," the designer states. "We're adding a visual cue so users can easily see when and how to activate the high-octane movement ability, making accessible the feature and introducing fresh strategies to play for a much wider base."
The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible
What's the reason for making a previously obscure technique available to all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan says developers wants players to feel powerful — even those who are new.
"Our community performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, observed what our players are doing, and we said, 'What if we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" Mohan explains. "Because right now, some of these techniques are kind of janky to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. So we said, 'How about we make a polished implementation?'"
Season 27 Movement Focus
Movement is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel users upward much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover now include overhead protection and capability to provide movement bonuses to those nearby. However it's aerial Valkyrie who's getting the most attention now, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her stronger, faster, and more lethal.
"I think there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," says Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt she was dominant previously, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in current Apex. It was an ideal chance for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of bring her back to her glory days."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer says the team assessed all her skills and introduced significant changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing velocity during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, enabling her to remain longer aloft. She can no longer take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to tag opponents who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts teammates into the air for redeployment or escape — requires reduced delay to activate. She's also getting some new perk choices that players can select to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.
"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills the pilot experience," he comments.
Olympus Improvements
Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers state Apex Legends this update focuses on giving players the resources required to compete in the competition.
"Essentially, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says principal designer the lead.
The battle royale Season 27: Amped launches Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.
