🔗 Share this article

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

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a surge of propulsion when scaling obstacles. According to lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by competitive players in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. This season, Respawn simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for some time, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and gamers might not realize it's possible without external guides," Canavese explains. "Now including a visual cue so players can clearly identify when and how to trigger the high-octane movement ability, opening up the feature and adding fresh strategies to play for a much wider base."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a once niche technique available to everyone? Principal designer the development lead explains the team aims for gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are new.

"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at other games, looked at what the community execute, and we wondered, 'What if we provide some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Since currently, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to use — you need to change controls and hit precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we make a more official version?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is largely the name of the game in Season 27, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to help keep them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will propel users into the air much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and capability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. However the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend receiving the most attention now, with various adjustments implemented to make her stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion many agree that Valkyrie's time is here," says Legend designer the designer. "Certainly that she's been top-tier in the past, but due to the addition of other characters, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she's not very relevant in current the game. It was a really great opportunity for us to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and essentially bring her back to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead notes the team evaluated all her skills and implemented significant changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting her speed during flight, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, allowing the player to remain longer in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who are hit from the missiles. Her squad redeploy ability — which lifts teammates skyward for repositioning or escape — now takes reduced delay to activate. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that users can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills the pilot experience," he says.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers says the game this update is all about giving players the resources they need to compete in the competition.

"Essentially, we were looking at the game's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

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