The Battle Royale's Niche Traversal Techniques Become Widely Accessible This Season
Respawn Entertainment has an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick movement will be pleased to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.
Introducing Mantle Boosting
Named "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a burst of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. According to key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. This season, the team is making it easier for everyone to execute these tricky movement boosts.
"This technique existed in Apex for some time, but the movement isn't easy to pull off and a player would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," the designer explains. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so players can easily see when and how to activate the fast-paced movement ability, opening up the mechanic and introducing fresh strategies to play for a much wider base."
Why Make It Accessible
Why make a once niche technique available to all players? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains the team aims for gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are inexperienced.
"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at other games, looked at what our players execute, and we wondered, 'What if we extend some of this power to more players?'" the designer clarifies. "Because currently, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to use — you need to remap your keybinds and hit precise timings. So we said, 'What if we create a more official version?'"
The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility
Mobility is largely the central theme in this season, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel users upward faster than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover now include overhead protection and the ability to provide movement bonuses to those nearby. But it's aerial Valkyrie who's getting the most attention now, with various adjustments implemented to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and more lethal.
"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says character developer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt she was top-tier previously, but due to the addition of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she's not very relevant in current Apex. It was a really great opportunity for us to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially bring her back to her glory days."
Enhancements to the Aerial Legend
To restore Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, Holstead says Respawn assessed each of her abilities and implemented some powerful modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting velocity while airborne, and this equipment regenerates three times faster, allowing the player to spend more time in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who take damage from the missiles. Her squad redeploy ability — which lifts teammates skyward for redeployment or escape — now takes reduced delay to fire up. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that users can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.
"Her jet pack fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.
Map Changes
Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused overhaul, with major changes that opens up choke points and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers says Apex Legends Season 27 is all about providing gamers the tools required to keep up with matches.
"Essentially, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says principal designer Josh Mohan.
Apex Legends Season 27: Amped launches November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.
