🔗 Share this article

The game developers have an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Named "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a burst of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. According to lead battle royale designer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. This season, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in the game for a while, but executing it requires skill to perform and gamers might not realize it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so players can clearly identify the timing to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the feature and introducing new ways to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a previously obscure technique accessible to all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan says the team aims for players to experience empowerment — even those who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, observed what the community execute, and we wondered, 'What if we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Since right now, some of these techniques are kind of janky to access — you need to change controls and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'How about we make a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Mobility is largely the name of the game in Season 27, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to help keep them in motion. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will propel players into the air much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls feature a roof and the ability to provide movement bonuses to those nearby. However the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend receiving significant improvements now, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as stronger, faster, and more lethal.

"I think there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," states character developer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant in the past, but due to the addition of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in today's Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for us to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and essentially restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, Holstead says Respawn evaluated all her skills and introduced significant modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, allowing her to spend more time in the air. 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 ability — which lifts her entire squad skyward for repositioning or retreat — now takes reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting some new perk choices that users can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.

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

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's lone airborne map, this location, receives a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that expands choke points and renders claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. The developers says Apex Legends Season 27 focuses on providing gamers the tools required to compete in matches.

"Essentially, we examined Apex's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says principal designer the lead.

The battle royale Season 27: Amped releases November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.