Apex Legends' Niche Movement Mechanics Become Widely Accessible During This Update

The game developers has an exciting surprise prepared for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of this game's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a surge of propulsion when climbing over ledges and walls. According to key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of the game for some time, often called as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for casual gamers, and is mainly used by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. This season, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to execute these tricky movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for some time, but executing it requires skill to perform and a player might not realize it's possible without external guides," the designer explains. "Now including a visual cue so players can clearly identify when and how to activate the fast-paced movement ability, opening up the feature and adding new ways to play 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 the development lead says the team wants players to feel powerful — even those who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, observed what the community execute, and we said, 'How can we provide these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Since right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — you need to change controls and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'How about we create a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Mobility is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost users into the air faster than it used to. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and the ability to grant speed boosts to allies in range. But it's the high-flying Valkyrie receiving significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks applied to make her more potent, faster, and more lethal.

"In my opinion many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," states character developer the designer. "Certainly that she's been dominant in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. It was a really great opportunity for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of restore her to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, the developer notes the team evaluated each of her abilities and implemented significant modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting her speed during flight, and this equipment regenerates much quicker, allowing the player to spend more time aloft. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to mark opponents who take damage from it. Her squad redeploy ability — which lifts her entire squad skyward for redeployment or retreat — now takes much less time to fire up. She's also getting recently added Legend Upgrades that users can choose to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate activation.

"Her jet pack fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a movement-friendly facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. Respawn state Apex Legends Season 27 focuses on giving players the tools they need to keep up with matches.

"Essentially, we were looking at the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

The battle royale the Amped season launches November 4th at the specified times.