Apex Legends' Niche Movement Mechanics Are Going Mainstream This Season
The game developers has a special treat in store for Apex Legends players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Enthusiasts of this game's super-slick movement can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.
Unveiling Mantle Boosting
Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this ability gives players a burst of forward momentum when climbing over obstacles. According to key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially been a feature of the game for some time, often called as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for casual gamers, and is mainly used by competitive players in competitive play or tournaments. This season, the team simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to execute these tricky speed-boosts.
"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for some time, but the movement requires skill to pull off and gamers might not realize 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 traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to play for more players."
Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics
Why make a once niche movement quirk accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer the development lead explains the team aims for players to experience empowerment — even those who are inexperienced.
"[The playerbase] performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we examined at other games, looked at what our players execute, and we wondered, 'How can we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Because currently, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — you need to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. So we said, 'What if we create a more official version?'"
The Amped Update Movement Focus
Mobility is primarily 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. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will boost users upward faster than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and the ability to grant speed boosts to allies in range. But the spotlight is on aerial this Legend who's getting significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her more potent, quicker, and deadlier.
"In my opinion many agree that Valkyrie's time is here," says character developer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier previously, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in today's Apex. It was an ideal chance for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and essentially bring her back to former prominence."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead says the team assessed each of her abilities and introduced some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, increasing her speed while airborne, and this equipment regenerates much quicker, allowing the player to remain longer aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts her entire squad into the air for redeployment or retreat — now takes reduced delay to activate. Additionally, she gains some new Legend Upgrades that users can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.
"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," he says.
Map Changes
Additionally, the only floating arena, this location, is getting a mobility-focused overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers says the game this update focuses on giving players the tools they need to compete in the competition.
"Really, we were looking at the game's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.
Apex Legends the Amped season launches November 4th at the specified times.
