Apex Legends' Niche Movement Mechanics Become Widely Accessible This Season
Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for the holidays. Enthusiasts of this game's super-slick movement will be pleased to discover that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.
Unveiling The Mantle Boost
Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. According to lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique has unofficially been a feature of the game for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or tournaments. This season, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.
"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for some time, but executing it requires skill to perform and a player would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese explains. "We're adding a visual cue so users can easily see when and how to activate the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the feature and adding fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."
Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics
What's the reason for making a once niche technique available to all players? Lead Legend designer the development lead explains developers aims for players to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.
"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, observed what our players execute, and we wondered, 'What if we provide some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Because currently, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to use — it requires to change controls and hit one-frame windows. So we said, 'How about we make a more official version?'"
Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility
Movement is primarily the name of the game in this season, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to help keep them mobile. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will propel users upward faster than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and the ability to provide movement bonuses to allies in range. But it's the high-flying Valkyrie receiving the most attention now, with multiple tweaks applied to make her more potent, faster, and deadlier.
"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," states character developer the designer. "Certainly that she's been top-tier previously, but with the introduction of other characters, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. It was a really great opportunity for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of restore her to former prominence."
Valkyrie's Upgrades
To restore Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, Holstead notes the team evaluated all her skills and introduced some powerful modifications. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, boosting her speed during flight, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, enabling her to spend more time aloft. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag enemies who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches teammates skyward for repositioning or retreat — now takes much less time to fire up. She's also getting recently added perk choices that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive activation.
"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on the pilot experience," Holstead says.
Map Changes
Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. Respawn says the game this update is all about giving players the tools they need to compete in matches.
"Essentially, we examined the game's core identity 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.
