The Battle Royale's Niche Movement Mechanics Are Going Mainstream This Season

The game developers has a special treat in store for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a burst of propulsion when scaling ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique was previously existed of Apex Legends for some time, often called as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. This season, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to execute these advanced movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for a while, but the movement isn't easy to perform and gamers might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can easily see when and how to trigger the high-octane movement ability, making accessible the mechanic and introducing fresh strategies to compete for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

Why make a previously obscure movement quirk available to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan says the team wants gamers to feel powerful — even those who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at other games, observed what our players execute, and we said, 'What if we extend these capabilities to more players?'" the designer explains. "Because currently, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to use — you need to change controls and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we make a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie receiving buffs to help keep them in motion. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel users into the air much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and capability to provide movement bonuses to allies in range. But the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie receiving the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks applied to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time is here," says Legend designer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was top-tier in the past, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she fell behind in current Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, the developer notes Respawn assessed all her skills and introduced some powerful modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting her speed during flight, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, enabling her to remain longer in the air. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her squad redeploy ability — which lifts her entire squad skyward for repositioning or escape — requires much less time to activate. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills the pilot experience," Holstead says.

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused overhaul, with major changes that opens up choke points and makes securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. Respawn says the game this update focuses on providing gamers the resources they need to compete in matches.

"Really, we examined Apex's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer the lead.

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