Apex Legends' Specialized Movement Mechanics Become Widely Accessible During This Update

Respawn Entertainment have a special treat prepared for the popular battle royale players, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's super-slick traversal can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a surge of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. According to key developer the design lead, this technique was previously been a feature of the game for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's challenging for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. In this update, the team simplifies the process for everyone to execute these advanced speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for some time, but the movement requires skill to perform and gamers would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "We're adding a visual cue so users can clearly identify when and how to activate the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the mechanic and introducing new ways to compete for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a previously obscure movement quirk accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains developers wants players to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we looked around at other games, observed what the community are doing, and we said, 'What if we provide some of this power to more players?'" the designer explains. "Because currently, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to use — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we make a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Movement is primarily the central theme in this season, with Legends Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will boost users upward much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and capability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. But it's aerial this Legend who's getting significant improvements now, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time is here," says character developer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she's not very relevant in current the game. It was an ideal chance for us to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of bring her back to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore her competitive status in current strategies, the developer notes Respawn evaluated all her skills and implemented some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge much quicker, allowing her to remain longer in the air. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy ability — which lifts her entire squad into the air for repositioning or retreat — now takes much less time to fire up. She's also getting recently added perk choices that users can select to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.

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

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a movement-friendly facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn says the game Season 27 focuses on providing gamers the tools required to keep up with matches.

"Essentially, we were looking at the game's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer Josh Mohan.

The battle royale the Amped season releases Nov. 4 at the specified times.