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The game developers has an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid movement can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a surge of propulsion when climbing over ledges and walls. According to key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially been a feature of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for casual gamers, and typically employed by competitive players in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, the team simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in Apex for a while, but executing it requires skill to pull off and gamers might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer 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 introducing new ways to play for a much wider base."

Why Make It Accessible

Why make a previously obscure movement quirk available to everyone? Lead Legend designer the development lead explains the team aims for gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] is doing other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, observed what our players are doing, and we said, 'What if we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" Mohan clarifies. "Because right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — it requires to change controls and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we create a more official version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Mobility is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving buffs to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will boost players upward faster than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and capability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. However the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie who's getting the most attention this season, with various adjustments implemented to enhance her as stronger, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly 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 today's the game. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to revisit multiple elements in her abilities and sort of restore her to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in current strategies, the developer notes the team assessed each of her abilities and implemented some powerful modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing her speed while airborne, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, allowing the player to spend more time in the air. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who are hit from the missiles. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts her entire squad into the air for repositioning or escape — requires much less time to activate. Additionally, she gains some new Legend Upgrades that users can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her Skyward Dive activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with major changes that opens up choke points and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn says Apex Legends this update focuses on giving players the resources required to compete in matches.

"Essentially, we were looking at the game's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer the lead.

Apex Legends the Amped season launches November 4th at the specified times.