The Battle Royale's Specialized Traversal Techniques Are Going Mainstream During This Update
The game developers has a special treat prepared for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick movement will be pleased to discover that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.
Unveiling Mantle Boosting
Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this ability provides gamers a surge of forward momentum when climbing over ledges and walls. According to key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of the game for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by competitive players in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.
"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for some time, but the movement isn't easy to pull off and a player would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," Canavese explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify the timing to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, opening up the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to compete for more players."
Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics
What's the reason for making a previously obscure movement quirk available to all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan says the team aims for gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are new.
"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we looked around at other games, observed what the community execute, and we wondered, 'What if we provide some of this power to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Since currently, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to use — you need to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. So we said, 'What if we make a polished implementation?'"
The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility
Movement is primarily the name of the game in this season, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will boost players upward faster than it used to. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and capability to provide movement bonuses to allies in range. However it's aerial this Legend receiving significant improvements now, with multiple tweaks applied to enhance her as stronger, quicker, and more lethal.
"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time is here," states character developer the designer. "Certainly she was dominant previously, but due to the addition of other characters, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in current Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for us to revisit multiple elements [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to former prominence."
Valkyrie's Upgrades
To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead says Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and introduced some powerful modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting her speed during flight, and this equipment regenerates much quicker, enabling the player to spend more time aloft. Now she won't be harmed from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to mark opponents who take damage from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts her entire squad into the air for redeployment or retreat — now takes much less time to fire up. She's also getting some new perk choices that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive activation.
"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills the pilot experience," he says.
Olympus Improvements
Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused overhaul, with major changes that expands choke points and renders claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. The developers says the game this update focuses on providing gamers the tools required to keep up with the competition.
"Really, we were looking at Apex's core identity as a movement shooter," explains principal designer the lead.
Apex Legends Season 27: Amped releases Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.
