Apex Legends' Specialized Movement Mechanics Are Going Mainstream During This Update
The game developers have an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of this game's highly fluid movement can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.
Unveiling Mantle Boosting
Named "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a surge of forward momentum when climbing over obstacles. According to key developer Eric Canavese, this technique has unofficially existed of the game for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." But it's challenging for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or tournaments. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.
"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for some time, but the movement requires skill to perform and a player might not realize it's possible without external guides," Canavese states. "We're adding a visual cue so players can clearly identify the timing to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, opening up the feature and introducing fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."
The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics
What's the reason for making a once niche movement quirk available to all players? Principal designer the development lead explains developers aims for gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are new.
"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, looked at what the community are doing, and we said, 'How can we provide some of this power to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Since right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — you need to change controls and hit one-frame windows. So we said, 'What if we create a polished version?'"
The Amped Update Movement Focus
Mobility is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to help keep them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and this skill will propel players into the air much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and capability to grant speed boosts to allies in range. However it's aerial Valkyrie who's getting the most attention now, with various adjustments implemented to make her more potent, faster, and more lethal.
"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time is here," states Legend designer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt she was dominant in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she's not very relevant in current Apex. It was an ideal chance for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and essentially restore her to her glory days."
Valkyrie's Upgrades
To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead says Respawn evaluated all her skills and introduced significant modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting velocity while airborne, and this equipment now recharge three times faster, enabling her to spend more time aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to mark enemies who are hit from it. Her Skyward Dive ability — which lifts teammates skyward for redeployment or escape — now takes reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting recently added perk choices that users can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.
"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills the pilot experience," he says.
Map Changes
Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that opens up choke points and makes claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. The developers says Apex Legends this update focuses on giving players the resources required to compete in matches.
"Really, we examined Apex's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer the lead.
Apex Legends Season 27: Amped releases November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.
