Respawn Entertainment has a special treat in store for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick movement can rejoice to learn that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on Nov. 4.
Unveiling The Mantle Boost
Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. According to key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of the game for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. This season, the team simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these advanced movement boosts.
"This technique existed in Apex for a while, but executing it isn't easy to perform and gamers would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "Now including a visual cue so players can clearly identify the timing to activate the high-octane movement ability, opening up the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to play for a much wider base."
The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics
What's the reason for making a previously obscure movement quirk available to everyone? Lead Legend designer the development lead says the team wants gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.
"Our community performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we examined at our competition, looked at what the community are doing, and we said, 'What if we provide some of this power to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Because currently, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit precise timings. We proposed, 'What if we create a polished version?'"
Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility
Movement is primarily the central theme in this season, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving enhancements to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will boost users upward much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and the ability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. But it's aerial this Legend who's getting significant improvements now, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her stronger, faster, and more lethal.
"I think many agree that her moment has arrived," states character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly that she's been top-tier previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she fell behind in today's the game. This presented a really great opportunity for us to revisit multiple elements [of her kit] and sort of restore her to former prominence."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead notes Respawn assessed all her skills and introduced significant modifications. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, increasing velocity while airborne, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, enabling the player to spend more time in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts teammates into the air for repositioning or retreat — now takes much less time to activate. Additionally, she gains recently added Legend Upgrades that users can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.
"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills the pilot experience," Holstead says.
Olympus Improvements
Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with major changes that expands bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. The developers says the game this update focuses on giving players the resources they need to compete in matches.
"Really, we were looking at Apex's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer Josh Mohan.
Apex Legends the Amped season launches Nov. 4 at the specified times.
