The Battle Royale's Niche Movement Mechanics Become Widely Accessible This Season
Respawn Entertainment has a special treat prepared for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick movement can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.
Unveiling The Mantle Boost
Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of Apex Legends for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and is mainly used by competitive players in competitive play or tournaments. This season, the team is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.
"This technique existed in the game for some time, but executing it requires skill to pull off and gamers 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 activate the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the feature and adding fresh strategies to play for more players."
The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics
Why make a previously obscure technique accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer the development lead explains the team wants players to experience empowerment — including ones who are new.
"[The playerbase] performs other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we looked around at other games, looked at what our players execute, and we wondered, 'What if we provide these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Since currently, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit precise timings. So we said, 'What if we create a more official version?'"
Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility
Mobility is largely the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to maintain them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost users upward much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover now include overhead protection and capability to provide movement bonuses to allies in range. But the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend receiving significant improvements now, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as more potent, faster, and deadlier.
"I think many agree that her moment is here," states character developer the designer. "There's no doubt she was top-tier previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in today's Apex. It was a really great opportunity for us to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to her glory days."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To restore her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead says the team assessed all her skills and introduced some powerful modifications. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, boosting velocity during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, allowing her to remain longer in the air. She can no longer take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to mark opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive ability — which lifts teammates skyward for repositioning or retreat — requires reduced delay to activate. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her Skyward Dive activation.
"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on the pilot experience," Holstead says.
Map Changes
Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, is getting a mobility-focused overhaul, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers state Apex Legends Season 27 is all about giving players the resources they need to compete in the competition.
"Really, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," explains lead Legend designer the lead.
The battle royale Season 27: Amped launches Nov. 4 at the specified times.