🔗 Share this article

The game developers have a special treat prepared for Apex Legends gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid movement will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Named "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a surge of propulsion when scaling obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially been a feature of Apex Legends for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. This season, the team simplifies the process for everyone to execute these tricky movement boosts.

"This technique have been in Apex for a while, but executing it requires skill to perform and a player would never know it's possible without external guides," Canavese explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so players can easily see when and how to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to play for more players."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a previously obscure technique accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains developers wants gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at other games, observed what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we provide some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Since right now, certain techniques are kind of janky to use — you need to change controls and execute within one-frame windows. So we said, 'How about we create a polished version?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Movement is largely the name of the game in this season, with characters the gravity mage, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will propel players upward much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and the ability to provide movement bonuses to those nearby. However the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend who's getting the most attention now, with various adjustments implemented to enhance her as stronger, quicker, and more lethal.

"In my opinion many agree that her moment has arrived," states character developer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in today's Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for us to reexamine multiple elements in her abilities and sort of restore her to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, the developer says Respawn evaluated all her skills and introduced some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, allowing the player to spend more time aloft. Now she won't take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts her entire squad skyward for repositioning or escape — requires reduced delay to fire up. Additionally, she gains recently added Legend Upgrades that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on the pilot experience," he comments.

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused overhaul, with major changes that opens up choke points and makes securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers says Apex Legends Season 27 is all about providing gamers the tools required to compete in matches.

"Really, we examined the game's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped launches November 4th at the specified times.