Apex Legends' Niche Traversal Techniques Are Going Mainstream This Season

The game developers has an exciting surprise prepared for Apex Legends players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid movement can rejoice to learn that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique has unofficially been a feature of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for casual gamers, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. This season, the team simplifies the process for everyone to execute these advanced movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for some time, but the movement requires skill to pull off and a player might not realize it's possible without external guides," the designer states. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify when and how to activate the high-octane traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and introducing fresh strategies to compete for more players."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a once niche movement quirk available to everyone? Principal designer the development lead says the team wants gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] is doing other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at other games, looked at what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we extend these capabilities to more players?'" the designer explains. "Because right now, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to use — you need to change controls and execute within one-frame windows. So we said, 'What if we make a more official version?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is largely the central theme in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to help keep them in motion. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost players upward much quicker than before. Her defensive walls now include a roof and capability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. However the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend receiving significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her more potent, faster, and more lethal.

"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time is here," says Legend designer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in today's the game. This presented a really great opportunity for us to reexamine multiple elements in her abilities and sort of restore her to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer says the team assessed each of her abilities and implemented significant modifications. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, boosting velocity while airborne, and this equipment now recharge three times faster, allowing her to spend more time in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to tag opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches her entire squad into the air for repositioning or retreat — requires much less time to fire up. She's also getting recently added Legend Upgrades that users can choose to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her ultimate activation.

"Her jet pack fulfills the pilot experience," Holstead comments.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's only floating arena, this location, is getting a mobility-focused overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and renders securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers state the game this update focuses on providing gamers the resources required to compete in matches.

"Essentially, we examined the game'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.