Apex Legends' Specialized Traversal Techniques Are Going Mainstream This Season
The game developers have a special treat prepared for Apex Legends players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of this game's super-slick traversal can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.
Unveiling The Mantle Boost
Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this ability provides gamers a burst of propulsion when scaling ledges and walls. According to key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. In this update, the team is making it easier for everyone to execute these advanced movement boosts.
"Mantle Boosts have been in Apex for some time, but the movement requires skill to perform and gamers would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "Now including a visual cue so players can clearly identify when and how to activate the high-octane traversal skill, making accessible the feature and introducing new ways to play for more players."
The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible
What's the reason for making a once niche technique available to all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan says developers wants players to experience empowerment — including ones who are new.
"Our community is doing other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, observed what the community are doing, and we said, 'What if we extend some of this power to more players?'" the designer clarifies. "Because right now, certain techniques are kind of janky to access — it requires to change controls and hit precise timings. So we said, 'How about we create a more official implementation?'"
Season 27 Movement Focus
Mobility is largely the name of the game in this season, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie receiving 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. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and capability to provide movement bonuses to those nearby. However the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie who's getting significant improvements this season, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as stronger, faster, and more lethal.
"I think many agree that her moment is here," states Legend designer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was top-tier in the past, but due to the addition of other characters, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of bring her back to her glory days."
Valkyrie's Upgrades
To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead notes the team assessed all her skills and implemented significant modifications. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, boosting velocity while airborne, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, allowing the player to spend more time in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to mark enemies who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches her entire squad skyward for repositioning or escape — requires reduced delay to activate. Additionally, she gains recently added perk choices that users can choose to conserve resources, expand the spread of her rockets, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.
"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.
Olympus Improvements
Even the game's lone airborne map, this location, is getting a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that expands bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn says Apex Legends Season 27 is all about providing gamers the resources required to keep up with the competition.
"Essentially, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says principal designer the lead.
Apex Legends the Amped season releases Nov. 4 at the specified times.
