The Battle Royale's Niche Traversal Techniques Become Widely Accessible During This Update

The game developers has a special treat in store for the popular battle royale players, arriving just in time for the holidays. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's super-slick movement will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Named "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a burst of propulsion when climbing over ledges and walls. According to lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique was previously been a feature of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." But it's challenging for casual gamers, and is mainly used by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. This season, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for some time, but executing it requires skill to perform and gamers might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "We're adding a visual cue so players can easily see when and how to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, opening up the feature and adding new ways to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a previously obscure technique available to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains developers aims for gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"Our community performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we examined at our competition, observed what the community are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Since right now, some of these techniques are kind of janky to access — you need to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. So we said, 'How about we make a polished version?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving enhancements to maintain them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will boost users upward faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and capability to provide movement bonuses to allies in range. But it's aerial this Legend receiving the most attention now, with various adjustments implemented to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and more lethal.

"In my opinion many agree that her moment has arrived," states Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she's not very relevant in today's the game. It was a really great opportunity for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer notes the team assessed each of her abilities and introduced significant modifications. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, boosting her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, enabling the player to spend more time in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag enemies who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts her entire squad into the air for redeployment or escape — requires reduced delay to activate. Additionally, she gains some new Legend Upgrades that users can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's only floating arena, Olympus, receives a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and makes claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. The developers state the game Season 27 is all about giving players the resources required to compete in the competition.

"Really, we examined Apex's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

Apex Legends the Amped season launches November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.