The Battle Royale's Specialized Traversal Techniques Are Going Mainstream During This Update

Respawn Entertainment have a special treat prepared for Apex Legends gamers, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of this game's super-slick traversal will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on Nov. 4.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a surge of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. As explained key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or tournaments. This season, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to execute these advanced speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for a while, but the movement isn't easy to perform and gamers would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "We're adding a visual cue so players can clearly identify the timing to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, opening up the mechanic and adding new ways to play for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a previously obscure movement quirk available to all players? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan says developers wants gamers to feel powerful — even those who are new.

"Our community performs other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we looked around at other games, looked at what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we extend these capabilities to more players?'" the designer explains. "Since currently, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — it requires to change controls and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we create a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Mobility is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to help keep them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel players upward faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include overhead protection and capability to grant speed boosts to allies in range. However it's aerial Valkyrie who's getting the most attention now, with various adjustments applied to make her more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," states Legend designer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt she was dominant previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in today's the game. This presented a really great opportunity for us to revisit multiple elements in her abilities and sort of restore her to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead says Respawn evaluated all her skills and introduced significant changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, increasing her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge much quicker, allowing the player to spend more time in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her squad redeploy skill — which launches her entire squad into the air for redeployment or escape — now takes reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting recently added Legend Upgrades that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.

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

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the only floating arena, this location, is getting a movement-friendly overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and makes securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. Respawn says Apex Legends this update focuses on giving players the resources they need to keep up with the competition.

"Really, we were looking at Apex's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer the lead.

The battle royale Season 27: Amped launches Nov. 4 at the specified times.