The Battle Royale's Niche Traversal Techniques Become Widely Accessible During This Update

Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise prepared for Apex Legends gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of this game's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to discover that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this ability gives players a surge of propulsion when scaling obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique has unofficially been a feature of the game for some time, often called as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and is mainly used by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these tricky movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for a while, but the movement isn't easy to perform and a player would never know it's possible without external guides," Canavese states. "Now including a visual cue so users can easily see when and how to activate the high-octane traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to play for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a once niche movement quirk accessible to all players? Principal designer the development lead says the team wants gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at other games, looked at what our players are doing, and we said, 'What if we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" Mohan explains. "Because currently, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to change controls and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'What if we make a polished version?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Movement is largely the central theme in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel players into the air faster than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover now include overhead protection and the ability to provide movement bonuses to those nearby. However it's aerial this Legend receiving significant improvements this season, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and more lethal.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," states character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly that she's been dominant in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she fell behind in current the game. It was a really great opportunity for the team to reexamine a bunch of aspects in her abilities and essentially bring her back to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead says Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and introduced some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, boosting velocity during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, allowing the player to remain longer aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts teammates into the air for redeployment or retreat — requires much less time to activate. Additionally, she gains some new Legend Upgrades that players can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her ultimate takeoff time.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with major changes that expands bottlenecks and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn state the game Season 27 focuses on giving players the tools required to compete in matches.

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

The battle royale the Amped season launches Nov. 4 at the specified times.