The Battle Royale's Specialized Movement Mechanics Are Going Mainstream During This Update
The game developers have an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends players, perfectly timed for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid movement can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when the Amped season launches on November 4th.
Introducing Mantle Boosting
Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature gives players a burst of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique was previously been a feature of Apex Legends for quite a while, often called as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. In this update, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.
"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for some time, but the movement requires skill to pull off and a player would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," Canavese states. "We're adding a visual cue so users can clearly identify the timing to activate the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to play for more players."
Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics
What's the reason for making a once niche technique available to all players? Principal designer the development lead explains the team aims for players to experience empowerment — including ones who are new.
"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we examined at our competition, looked at what the community execute, and we said, 'How can we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" Mohan clarifies. "Since right now, some of these techniques are kind of janky to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'What if we make a polished version?'"
The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility
Mobility is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving enhancements to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel users into the air faster than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and the ability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However the spotlight is on aerial Valkyrie receiving the most attention this season, with various adjustments implemented to enhance her as stronger, faster, and more lethal.
"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," says Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant previously, but due to the addition of other characters, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she's not very relevant in current Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for the team 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 current strategies, Holstead says the team evaluated all her skills and introduced significant modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting her speed during flight, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, allowing her to remain longer aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to mark opponents who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive ability — which lifts teammates into the air for redeployment or retreat — requires much less time to fire up. She's also getting some new perk choices that players can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate takeoff time.
"Her jet pack now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.
Olympus Improvements
Additionally, the only floating arena, this location, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands choke points and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn state Apex Legends Season 27 is all about providing gamers the tools they need to keep up with matches.
"Essentially, we examined the game's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," says principal designer the lead.
Apex Legends Season 27: Amped launches Nov. 4 at the specified times.
