Apex Legends' Niche Movement Mechanics Become Widely Accessible This Season
Respawn Entertainment has an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid movement will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.
Unveiling The Mantle Boost
Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a burst of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. According to lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for some time, often called as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for the average player, and is mainly used by competitive players in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. This season, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.
"This technique existed in the game for some time, but the movement isn't easy to pull off and a player would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," Canavese states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify when and how to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, opening up the mechanic and introducing fresh strategies to play for more players."
Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics
What's the reason for making a once niche movement quirk available to all players? Principal designer the development lead says developers aims for gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are new.
"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we examined at our competition, observed what the community execute, and we wondered, 'How can we provide these capabilities to more players?'" the designer explains. "Because currently, 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 more official version?'"
Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility
Mobility is primarily the central theme in this season, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to help keep them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will boost users upward much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and capability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. However it's aerial this Legend who's getting the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her stronger, faster, and more lethal.
"In my opinion many agree that Valkyrie's time is here," says Legend designer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was top-tier previously, but with the introduction of other characters, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in today's Apex. 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."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead notes the team assessed each of her abilities and introduced some powerful changes. Her jetpack received improvements, increasing velocity during flight, and this equipment regenerates three times faster, allowing her to spend more time in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag opponents who are hit from the missiles. Her squad redeploy ability — which lifts teammates into the air for repositioning or retreat — now takes much less time to activate. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that players can select to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate takeoff time.
"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," he says.
Map Changes
Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that expands choke points and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers state the game Season 27 is all about providing gamers the tools required to keep up with the competition.
"Really, we were looking at the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.
Apex Legends Season 27: Amped launches Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.