Apex Legends' Specialized Traversal Techniques Are Going Mainstream During This Update
Respawn Entertainment has a special treat prepared for the popular battle royale gamers, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of this game's super-slick movement will be pleased to discover that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.
Unveiling Mantle Boosting
Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature gives players a burst of propulsion when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique was previously been a feature of the game for quite a while, usually referred to 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, the team simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.
"Mantle Boosts have been in Apex 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 Mantle Boost indicator so players can easily see when and how to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, opening up the feature and adding fresh strategies to play for a much wider base."
Why Make It Accessible
Why make a previously obscure movement quirk available to everyone? Principal designer Josh Mohan explains developers wants gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are new.
"Our community performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, looked at what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we provide some of this power to more players?'" the designer explains. "Since currently, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to use — it requires to change controls and hit precise timings. So we said, 'What if we create a more official version?'"
Season 27 Movement Focus
Mobility is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to maintain them mobile. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will propel players into the air faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and the ability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. However it's aerial this Legend who's getting significant improvements now, with various adjustments implemented to make her more potent, quicker, and deadlier.
"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," states Legend designer the designer. "Certainly she was top-tier in the past, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in today's the game. It was a really great opportunity for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and essentially bring her back to former prominence."
Valkyrie's Upgrades
To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead says Respawn assessed all her skills and introduced some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, boosting velocity while airborne, and this equipment regenerates three times faster, enabling the player to remain longer aloft. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches her entire squad skyward for repositioning or retreat — requires reduced delay to activate. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that players can select to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.
"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.
Map Changes
Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands choke points and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn state Apex Legends this update is all about providing gamers the tools required to compete in matches.
"Essentially, we examined Apex's core identity as a movement shooter," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.
The battle royale Season 27: Amped launches Nov. 4 at the specified times.
