The Battle Royale's Specialized Movement Mechanics Become Widely Accessible During This Update
The game developers has a special treat prepared for Apex Legends gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of this game's highly fluid movement will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.
Unveiling The Mantle Boost
Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a surge of propulsion when scaling obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer the design lead, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. In this update, the team simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.
"This technique existed 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 outside knowledge," the designer states. "Now including a visual cue so players can easily see the timing to activate the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the feature and introducing new ways to compete for a much wider base."
The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics
What's the reason for making a previously obscure technique available to everyone? Principal designer Josh Mohan explains the team wants players to feel powerful — even those who are inexperienced.
"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we examined at our competition, looked at what our players execute, and we said, 'What if we provide these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Because right now, some of these techniques are kind of janky to use — you need to change controls and execute within one-frame windows. So we said, 'How about we make a polished implementation?'"
Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility
Mobility is largely the name of the game in this season, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and the aerial combatant receiving enhancements to help keep them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and this skill will propel users into the air faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and the ability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. But the spotlight is on aerial this Legend receiving the most attention now, with various adjustments implemented to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and deadlier.
"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," states Legend designer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt she was dominant in the past, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in today's the game. This presented a really great opportunity for us to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to her glory days."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer says the team assessed all her skills and introduced some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing her speed during flight, and this equipment now recharge three times faster, enabling the player to spend more time aloft. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts her entire squad into the air for redeployment or retreat — now takes much less time to activate. Additionally, she gains recently added Legend Upgrades that users can select to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.
"Her jet pack now delivers on the pilot experience," he comments.
Map Changes
Additionally, the only floating arena, this location, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that expands bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers state Apex Legends Season 27 focuses on giving players the tools they need to keep up with matches.
"Really, we examined the game's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains lead Legend designer the lead.
The battle royale the Amped season releases Nov. 4 at the specified times.
