🔗 Share this article

The game developers have a special treat in store for Apex Legends players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's super-slick movement can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a surge of propulsion when scaling obstacles. According to lead battle royale designer the design lead, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of the game for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's challenging for casual gamers, and is mainly used by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these tricky movement boosts.

"This technique have been in the game for some time, but executing it requires skill to perform and a player would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "We're adding a visual cue so users can clearly identify when and how to activate the high-octane movement ability, making accessible the feature and adding new ways to play for a much wider base."

Why Make It Accessible

Why make a previously obscure technique available to everyone? Lead Legend designer the development lead explains developers aims for players to experience empowerment — even those who are inexperienced.

"Our community performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, looked at what the community execute, and we wondered, 'How can we extend some of this power to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Because currently, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to use — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'What if we create a more official implementation?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is largely the name of the game in this season, with characters the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to maintain them mobile. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will propel players upward much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and the ability to grant speed boosts to allies in range. However the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie who's getting the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as more potent, faster, and more lethal.

"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly that she's been top-tier previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. It was a really great opportunity for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects in her abilities and essentially restore her to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead notes Respawn assessed each of her abilities and implemented 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 aloft. She can no longer take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to mark opponents who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy ability — which launches her entire squad into the air for redeployment or retreat — requires reduced delay to fire up. Additionally, she gains some new Legend Upgrades that users can select to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her ultimate activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills the pilot experience," Holstead comments.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, receives a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn state Apex Legends this update is all about providing gamers the resources required to compete in matches.

"Essentially, we were looking at Apex's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer the lead.

Apex Legends the Amped season releases November 4th at the specified times.