🔗 Share this article

The game developers has a special treat prepared for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature gives players a surge of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. As explained key developer the design lead, this technique has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for some time, often called as "mantle jumping." But it's challenging for casual gamers, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. This season, Respawn simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to execute these advanced movement boosts.

"This technique have been in Apex for a while, but executing it isn't easy to perform and a player would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify when and how to trigger the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the feature and adding fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

Why make a once niche movement quirk accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer the development lead explains developers aims for players to feel powerful — including ones who are new.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we examined at other games, looked at what our players execute, and we wondered, 'What if we provide some of this power to more players?'" the designer clarifies. "Since currently, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to change controls and hit precise timings. We proposed, 'What if we create a more official version?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will boost players into the air much quicker than before. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and the ability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. But the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie who's getting the most attention now, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as more potent, faster, and more lethal.

"In my opinion many agree that her moment is here," says Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier previously, but due to the addition of other characters, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it felt like she fell behind in current the game. It was an ideal chance for us to revisit multiple elements in her abilities and essentially restore her to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, the developer notes the team evaluated all her skills and introduced some powerful modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, allowing her to remain longer in the air. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag opponents who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts teammates skyward for redeployment or retreat — requires much less time to fire up. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that players can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.

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

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's only floating arena, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn says Apex Legends this update focuses on providing gamers the tools they need to keep up with the competition.

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

The battle royale the Amped season releases Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.