Apex Legends' Specialized Traversal Techniques Are Going Mainstream This Season

The game developers has a special treat prepared for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a surge of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. According to lead battle royale designer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in Apex for a while, but executing it isn't easy to perform and gamers might not realize it's possible without external guides," Canavese states. "We're adding a visual cue so players can clearly identify when and how to activate the fast-paced movement ability, opening up the feature and introducing new ways to compete for more players."

Why Make It Accessible

Why make a once niche movement quirk accessible to all players? Principal designer the development lead says developers wants gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are new.

"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, observed what the community are doing, and we said, 'What if we extend some of this power to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Because currently, some of these techniques are kind of janky to access — you need to change controls and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we make a more official implementation?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to maintain them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost players upward faster than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and the ability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. But the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend receiving significant improvements now, with multiple tweaks applied to enhance her as stronger, quicker, and more lethal.

"I think there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," says Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt she was top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it felt like she fell behind in today's the game. This presented a really great opportunity for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and essentially restore her to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead says the team assessed each of her abilities and implemented significant changes. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting her speed while airborne, and this equipment regenerates much quicker, allowing the player to remain longer in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches her entire squad skyward for redeployment or retreat — requires much less time to activate. She's also getting recently added perk choices that users can select to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on the pilot experience," he says.

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that expands bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers state Apex Legends this update is all about giving players the tools they need to keep up with matches.

"Essentially, we examined Apex's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer the lead.

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped launches November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.