The Battle Royale's Niche Movement Mechanics Are Going Mainstream This Season
The game developers has a special treat prepared for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid movement will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.
Introducing The Mantle Boost
Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a surge of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of the game for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's challenging for casual gamers, and is mainly used by competitive players in competitive play or tournaments. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to execute these tricky movement boosts.
"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for a while, but the movement requires skill to perform and a player would never know it's possible without external guides," the designer states. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so players can clearly identify when and how to activate the high-octane movement ability, making accessible the feature and adding fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."
The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible
Why make a once niche technique accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer the development lead says developers aims for gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are new.
"Our community is doing other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, looked at what our players are doing, and we said, 'What if we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Because right now, certain 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 create a more official implementation?'"
The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility
Mobility is largely the central theme in this season, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to help keep them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will boost users into the air faster than before. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and capability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. But the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend who's getting the most attention this season, with various adjustments implemented to make her more potent, quicker, and deadlier.
"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," says character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly that she's been top-tier previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in current the game. It was an ideal chance for us to revisit multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially restore her to her glory days."
Valkyrie's Upgrades
To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, the developer notes Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and implemented significant changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, increasing velocity during flight, and this equipment now recharge three times faster, allowing the player to spend more time in the air. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag enemies who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts her entire squad skyward for repositioning or escape — requires reduced delay to activate. Additionally, she gains recently added perk choices that players can choose to conserve resources, expand the spread of her rockets, or further speed up her ultimate takeoff time.
"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.
Olympus Improvements
Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, is getting a mobility-focused overhaul, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. Respawn state the game this update is all about providing gamers the resources they need to keep up with matches.
"Essentially, we examined the game's core identity as a movement shooter," explains lead Legend designer the lead.
The battle royale the Amped season releases Nov. 4 at the specified times.
