The game developers have a special treat in store for the popular battle royale players, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid movement will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on Nov. 4.
Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a burst of forward momentum when climbing over ledges and walls. According to lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique was previously been a feature of Apex Legends for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, the team is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these advanced movement boosts.
"Mantle Boosts have been in Apex for some time, but executing it requires skill to perform and a player would never know it's possible without external guides," Canavese explains. "We're adding a visual cue so players can clearly identify the timing to trigger the high-octane traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and introducing fresh strategies to play for more players."
Why make a previously obscure movement quirk available to all players? Principal designer the development lead says developers wants gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are inexperienced.
"[The playerbase] performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, observed what our players execute, and we wondered, 'What if we extend some of this power to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Because currently, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to use — you need to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we make a more official version?'"
Movement is largely the name of the game in this season, with Legends the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to help keep them in motion. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will boost players upward much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and capability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However it's the high-flying this Legend receiving the most attention this season, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as stronger, faster, and more lethal.
"In my opinion many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says character developer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant in the past, but due to the addition of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she fell behind in current Apex. It was a really great opportunity for us to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially bring her back to former prominence."
To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead says the team evaluated each of her abilities and implemented significant changes. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, allowing the player to spend more time in the air. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to mark opponents who are hit from the missiles. Her squad redeploy ability — which launches teammates into the air 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 rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive activation.
"Her jet pack fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," he says.
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 a bit less daunting. Respawn state Apex Legends Season 27 focuses on giving players the tools they need to compete in the competition.
"Essentially, we were looking at the game's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.
The battle royale the Amped season releases November 4th at the specified times.
Elara is a seasoned gaming journalist with a passion for slot mechanics and player strategies.
