Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for the holidays. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.
Unveiling Mantle Boosting
Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a burst of propulsion when scaling obstacles. According to key developer the design lead, this technique has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." But it's challenging for the average player, and is mainly used by competitive players in competitive play or tournaments. In this update, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.
"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for a while, but the movement requires skill to perform and a player would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can easily see the timing to activate the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the feature and introducing new ways to play for a much wider base."
Why Make It Accessible
Why make a previously obscure movement quirk accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains developers wants gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are new.
"[The playerbase] is doing other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we examined at our competition, observed what our players execute, and we wondered, 'How can we provide these capabilities to more players?'" the designer clarifies. "Because right now, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — you need to change controls and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we create a polished implementation?'"
Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility
Mobility is primarily the name of the game in this season, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving enhancements to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will propel players into the air much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and capability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. However it's the high-flying this Legend receiving the most attention now, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her stronger, faster, and deadlier.
"I think there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time is here," states Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt she was dominant previously, but due to the addition of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. This presented an ideal chance for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects in her abilities and essentially bring her back to former prominence."
Valkyrie's Upgrades
To restore her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead says the team evaluated each of her abilities and introduced significant modifications. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, boosting velocity during flight, and this equipment now recharge three times faster, allowing the player to remain longer in the air. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches teammates into the air for redeployment or retreat — requires reduced delay to fire up. Additionally, she gains recently added Legend Upgrades that players can select to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate activation.
"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.
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. Respawn says Apex Legends this update focuses on giving players the tools they need to keep up with matches.
"Really, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer the lead.
The battle royale the Amped season launches Nov. 4 at the specified times.
