The Battle Royale's Niche Traversal Techniques Are Going Mainstream During This Update
Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid movement will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.
Introducing The Mantle Boost
Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a surge of propulsion when climbing over ledges and walls. According to lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially been a feature of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's challenging for casual gamers, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.
"This technique have been in the game for some time, but the movement requires skill to pull off and a player would never know it's possible without external guides," Canavese explains. "Now including a visual cue so users can clearly identify when and how to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and introducing fresh strategies to compete for more players."
The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics
Why make a once niche technique accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer the development lead says developers aims for players to experience empowerment — even those who are inexperienced.
"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we looked around at other games, looked at what the community execute, and we said, 'How can we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Because right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we create a polished version?'"
Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility
Mobility is largely the name of the game in this season, with characters the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to help keep them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel players into the air much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and the ability to provide movement bonuses to allies in range. But it's aerial Valkyrie receiving the most attention this season, with various adjustments applied to make her stronger, faster, and more lethal.
"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in today's Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to her glory days."
Valkyrie's Upgrades
To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, the developer says the team evaluated all her skills and implemented significant changes. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting her speed during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, allowing the player to remain longer in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to mark opponents who are hit from it. Her Skyward Dive ability — which lifts teammates into the air for redeployment or retreat — requires much less time to fire up. She's also getting recently added Legend Upgrades that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate activation.
"Her jet pack fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.
Olympus Improvements
Even the game's only floating arena, this location, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers state Apex Legends this update is all about giving players the resources they need to keep up with matches.
"Really, we were looking at Apex's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," explains lead Legend designer the lead.
The battle royale Season 27: Amped releases Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.
