🔗 Share this article

Respawn Entertainment has a special treat in store for Apex Legends gamers, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of this game's highly fluid movement can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. According to key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. This season, the team simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to execute these tricky speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for some time, but the movement requires skill to perform and gamers might not realize it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," the designer states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so players can clearly identify the timing to activate the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the mechanic and adding new ways to compete for more players."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a once niche technique accessible to all players? Principal designer the development lead explains the team wants players to experience empowerment — even those who are new.

"[The playerbase] is doing other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we looked around at other games, observed what the community are doing, and we wondered, 'What if we provide these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Since currently, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we create a more official implementation?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel users into the air faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include overhead protection and the ability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend receiving significant improvements this season, with various adjustments applied to make her stronger, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says character developer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant previously, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in current Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to revisit multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead says the team evaluated each of her abilities and introduced some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, boosting velocity while airborne, and this equipment regenerates much quicker, enabling the player to spend more time in the air. Now she won't take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to mark enemies who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches her entire squad skyward for redeployment or escape — now takes much less time to fire up. She's also getting recently added perk choices that players can select to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her rockets, or further speed up her ultimate activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on the pilot experience," Holstead says.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's only floating arena, this location, receives a mobility-focused overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers state Apex Legends this update focuses on giving players the tools required to keep up with matches.

"Really, we were looking at the game's core identity as a movement shooter," explains lead Legend designer the lead.

The battle royale Season 27: Amped launches November 4th at the specified times.