Apex Legends' Niche Movement Mechanics Become Widely Accessible This Season

The game developers have an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick traversal will be pleased to discover that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. According to lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously existed of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. In this update, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique have been in Apex for a while, but the movement requires skill to pull off and gamers might not realize it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "We're adding a visual cue so users can clearly identify the timing to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the feature and adding new ways to compete for a much wider base."

Why Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a previously obscure technique available to all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan says developers aims for players to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we examined at other games, observed what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" Mohan clarifies. "Since currently, certain techniques are kind of janky to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. So we said, 'How about we make a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Movement is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie receiving buffs to help keep them in motion. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel players upward much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls now include a roof and the ability to provide movement bonuses to allies in range. But the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend who's getting the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as stronger, faster, and more lethal.

"In my opinion many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says Legend designer the designer. "Certainly that she's been dominant in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. It was an ideal chance for the team to reexamine a bunch of aspects in her abilities and essentially restore her to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, the developer notes Respawn assessed all her skills and introduced significant changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing her speed during flight, and this equipment now recharge three times faster, allowing her to spend more time aloft. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to mark enemies who take damage from the missiles. Her squad redeploy ability — which lifts her entire squad into the air for repositioning or retreat — requires much less time to fire up. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that players can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.

Map Changes

Additionally, the only floating arena, this location, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn state Apex Legends this update is all about providing gamers the resources required to keep up with the competition.

"Really, we examined Apex's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

The battle royale Season 27: Amped releases November 4th at the specified times.