Apex Legends' Specialized Traversal Techniques Become Widely Accessible During This Update
Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends gamers, arriving just in time for the holidays. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.
Unveiling Mantle Boosting
Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a burst of propulsion when scaling obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique has unofficially been a feature of Apex Legends for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." But it's challenging for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these advanced movement boosts.
"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for some time, but the movement requires skill to pull off and gamers would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese explains. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so players can easily see when and how to trigger the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the feature and adding fresh strategies to compete for more players."
Why Make It Accessible
What's the reason for making a previously obscure movement quirk accessible to all players? Principal designer the development lead says developers aims for gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are new.
"[The playerbase] is doing other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, looked at what our players execute, and we said, 'How can we extend some of this power to more players?'" the designer clarifies. "Because currently, certain techniques are kind of janky to access — you need to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we make a polished implementation?'"
The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility
Mobility is largely the central theme in this season, with characters the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will boost players into the air faster than before. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and the ability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie receiving significant improvements this season, with various adjustments implemented to make her more potent, faster, and deadlier.
"In my opinion many agree that Valkyrie's time is here," states character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly that she's been dominant previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind in current Apex. This presented an ideal chance for us to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and essentially restore her to her glory days."
Valkyrie's Upgrades
To restore her competitive status in current strategies, the developer notes Respawn assessed all her skills and introduced some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge much quicker, enabling her to remain longer in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive ability — which lifts teammates skyward for redeployment or retreat — requires reduced delay to fire up. Additionally, she gains recently added Legend Upgrades that players can choose to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her Skyward Dive activation.
"Her jet pack now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead comments.
Olympus Improvements
Even the game's only floating arena, this location, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that expands choke points and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers state Apex Legends Season 27 focuses on giving players the tools required to keep up with the competition.
"Essentially, we were looking at Apex's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer the lead.
The battle royale the Amped season releases Nov. 4 at the specified times.