Apex Legends' Specialized Movement Mechanics Are Going Mainstream This Season
Respawn Entertainment has a special treat in store for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's super-slick movement can rejoice to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.
Unveiling The Mantle Boost
Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this ability gives players a surge of propulsion when scaling ledges and walls. As explained key developer the design lead, this technique has unofficially been a feature of Apex Legends for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. This season, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to execute these advanced movement boosts.
"This technique have been in Apex for a while, but the movement isn't easy to pull off and a player would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "Now including a visual cue so players can easily see when and how to activate the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the feature and adding 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 technique accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan says the team aims for gamers to feel powerful — even those who are inexperienced.
"Our community performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we examined at our competition, observed what the community execute, and we wondered, 'How can we extend these capabilities to more players?'" the designer explains. "Because currently, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to use — you need to change controls and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'What if we make a polished version?'"
Season 27 Movement Focus
Movement is largely the name of the game in this season, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will boost players upward faster than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and the ability to provide movement bonuses to those nearby. But the spotlight is on aerial Valkyrie receiving significant improvements now, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as more potent, faster, and deadlier.
"I think many agree that her moment is here," says Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt she was dominant in the past, but due to the addition of other characters, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. It was a really great opportunity for us to reexamine multiple elements in her abilities and sort of restore her to former prominence."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, Holstead notes the team evaluated each of her abilities and introduced some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, boosting velocity during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge much quicker, allowing the player to spend more time aloft. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy ability — which launches teammates skyward for redeployment or escape — now takes much less time to activate. 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 activation.
"Her jet pack fulfills the pilot experience," Holstead comments.
Map Changes
Even the game's only floating arena, this location, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn state Apex Legends this update focuses on giving players the resources required to compete in matches.
"Essentially, we examined Apex's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says principal designer Josh Mohan.
The battle royale the Amped season launches Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.
