Apex Legends' Niche Traversal Techniques Become Widely Accessible This Season
Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise prepared for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season goes live on Nov. 4.
Unveiling Mantle Boosting
Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a burst of forward momentum when climbing over ledges and walls. 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 "mantle jumping." But it's challenging for casual gamers, and is mainly used by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. This season, the team simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.
"This technique existed in Apex for some time, but executing it requires skill to perform and gamers might not realize it [is in the game] without external guides," the designer states. "Now including a visual cue so users can easily see the timing to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, opening up the feature and introducing fresh strategies to play for a much wider base."
The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible
What's the reason for making a previously obscure technique available to everyone? Principal designer the development lead says the team aims for players to experience empowerment — even those who are new.
"[The playerbase] is doing other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at other games, observed what our players execute, and we said, 'What if we extend these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Since right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we create a polished version?'"
Season 27 Movement Focus
Movement is largely the central theme in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will propel users into the air much quicker than before. Her defensive walls feature a roof and capability to provide movement bonuses to allies in range. However the spotlight is on aerial Valkyrie receiving the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her more potent, faster, and deadlier.
"In my opinion many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," states Legend designer the designer. "Certainly that she's been dominant previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. This presented an ideal chance for us to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of restore her to former prominence."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To restore Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, the developer says Respawn evaluated all her skills and implemented significant changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, increasing her speed during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge much quicker, allowing the player to spend more time in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who take damage from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts teammates into the air for repositioning or retreat — requires much less time to fire up. Additionally, she gains some new Legend Upgrades that players can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate activation.
"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead comments.
Olympus Improvements
Additionally, the only floating arena, this location, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers state the game Season 27 is all about providing gamers the tools required to keep up with matches.
"Really, we were looking at the game's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.
The battle royale the Amped season releases Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.
