🔗 Share this article

The game developers have an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's super-slick traversal can rejoice to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season launches on November 4th.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this ability gives players a burst of propulsion when scaling obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously been a feature of the game for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and is mainly used by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. This season, the team simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in the game for a while, but the movement requires skill to perform and a player might not realize it [is in the game] without external guides," the designer states. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so users can easily see the timing to trigger the high-octane traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and adding new ways to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

Why make a once niche technique accessible to all players? Principal designer the development lead explains the team aims for gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are inexperienced.

"Our community performs other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, observed what the community are doing, and we wondered, 'What if we provide these capabilities to a broader audience?'" Mohan clarifies. "Since currently, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we make a more official version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Mobility is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to help keep them in motion. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel users upward much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and the ability to provide movement bonuses to allies in range. However it's aerial this Legend who's getting significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion many agree that Valkyrie's time is here," states character developer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt she was top-tier previously, but due to the addition of other characters, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind 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 reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, the developer says the team assessed each of her abilities and introduced some powerful modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing velocity during flight, 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 ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts teammates skyward for repositioning or retreat — requires much less time to fire up. Additionally, she gains recently added perk choices that users can choose to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate activation.

"Her jet pack now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's only floating arena, 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 providing gamers the tools they need to compete in matches.

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

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