Apex Legends' Niche Traversal Techniques Become Widely Accessible This Season
The game developers has a special treat prepared for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.
Unveiling The Mantle Boost
Named "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a burst of forward momentum when climbing over obstacles. According to key developer the design lead, this technique has unofficially been a feature of the game for some time, often called as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. This season, Respawn simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to execute these tricky movement boosts.
"This technique have been in Apex for some time, but executing it requires skill to perform and a player might not realize it's possible without external guides," Canavese states. "We're adding a visual cue so players can easily see when and how to trigger the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to play for a much wider base."
Why Make It Accessible
Why make a previously obscure movement quirk available to all players? Principal designer the development lead explains the team aims for players to experience empowerment — even those who are inexperienced.
"Our community performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, looked at what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Because currently, certain techniques are kind of janky to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we create a polished version?'"
The Amped Update Movement Focus
Movement is primarily the name of the game in this season, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to help keep them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will boost players upward faster than it used to. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and capability to provide speed boosts to those nearby. However the spotlight is on aerial this Legend receiving significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks applied to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and deadlier.
"I think many agree that her moment is here," states character developer the designer. "Certainly that she's been dominant in the past, but due to the addition of other characters, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. This presented an ideal chance for us to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially 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 Respawn assessed each of her abilities and introduced significant changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing velocity while airborne, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, allowing her to remain longer aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark opponents who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts teammates into the air for redeployment or escape — requires much less time to fire up. Additionally, she gains recently added perk choices that users can choose to conserve resources, expand the spread of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.
"Her jet pack fulfills the pilot experience," he comments.
Map Changes
Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. The developers state the game this update focuses on giving players the resources required to compete in matches.
"Essentially, we were looking at Apex's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.
Apex Legends Season 27: Amped releases Nov. 4 at the specified times.
