🔗 Share this article

The game developers has a special treat in store for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of this game's super-slick movement will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a burst of propulsion when scaling ledges and walls. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously existed of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, the team simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these advanced movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for a while, but executing it isn't easy to perform and a player would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," Canavese explains. "We're adding a visual cue so users can easily see when and how to trigger the high-octane traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and adding new ways to play for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a previously obscure technique accessible to all players? Principal designer the development lead says the team aims for gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are new.

"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, looked at what our players execute, and we wondered, 'How can we provide these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Since right now, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — you need to change controls and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we create a more official version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Movement is largely the central theme in this season, with Legends Horizon, Rampart, and the aerial combatant receiving enhancements to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost players upward faster than it used to. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and capability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. But it's aerial Valkyrie who's getting the most attention now, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time is here," says character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was dominant previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in current Apex. It was a really great opportunity for the team to reexamine a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore her competitive status in current strategies, the developer notes Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and implemented some powerful modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing velocity while airborne, and this equipment regenerates three times faster, allowing the player to spend more time aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to mark opponents who take damage from it. Her squad redeploy ability — which lifts her entire squad skyward for redeployment or retreat — now takes reduced delay to activate. Additionally, she gains recently added perk choices that users can choose to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate activation.

"Her jet pack fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," he says.

Map Changes

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn says Apex Legends this update is all about giving players the resources they need to keep up with the competition.

"Really, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says principal designer Josh Mohan.

Apex Legends the Amped season launches Nov. 4 at the specified times.