The Battle Royale's Specialized Movement Mechanics Become Widely Accessible During This Update
The game developers have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of this game's super-slick traversal can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.
Introducing The Mantle Boost
Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this ability provides gamers a burst of propulsion when scaling obstacles. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of the game for quite a while, often called as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, the team 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 executing it requires skill to pull off and gamers would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so players can clearly identify when and how to trigger the high-octane movement ability, making accessible the mechanic and introducing new ways to play for a much wider base."
The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible
What's the reason for making a once niche technique available to all players? Principal designer the development lead explains developers aims for players to feel powerful — even those who are inexperienced.
"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, looked at what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'What if we provide these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Since right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to use — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we make a more official implementation?'"
The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility
Movement is largely the name of the game in this season, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift 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 provide speed boosts to allies in range. But it's aerial Valkyrie who's getting significant improvements now, with various adjustments implemented to make her stronger, quicker, and deadlier.
"I think many agree that her moment is here," states Legend designer Ian Holstead. "Certainly that she's been top-tier in the past, but due to the addition of new Legends, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she's not very relevant in today's the game. It was a really great opportunity for us to revisit multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially restore her to former prominence."
Valkyrie's Upgrades
To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, the developer says Respawn assessed all her skills and implemented significant changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing her speed while airborne, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, enabling her to spend more time in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to mark opponents who are hit from the missiles. Her squad redeploy skill — which launches her entire squad into the air for redeployment or retreat — now takes much less time to fire up. She's also getting recently added Legend Upgrades that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.
"Her jet pack fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.
Map Changes
Additionally, the lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with major changes that expands bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers says the game this update focuses on giving players the resources required to compete in the competition.
"Really, we examined Apex's core identity as a movement shooter," explains lead Legend designer the lead.
Apex Legends the Amped season releases Nov. 4 at the specified times.
