The Battle Royale's Specialized Traversal Techniques Are Going Mainstream This Season

Respawn Entertainment has an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick movement will be pleased to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a surge of propulsion when scaling ledges and walls. According to lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of the game for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in Ranked Mode or tournaments. In this update, the team simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in the game for a while, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and gamers would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," Canavese explains. "Now including a visual cue so players can clearly identify when and how to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and introducing new ways to compete for a much wider base."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a once niche movement quirk available to all players? Principal designer the development lead explains developers wants players to experience empowerment — including ones who are new.

"[The playerbase] is doing other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, observed what the community are doing, and we wondered, 'What if we provide some of this power to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Since right now, certain techniques are kind of janky to use — you need to change controls and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'What if we make a more official version?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is largely the name of the game in this season, with characters the gravity mage, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving buffs to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will propel players upward faster than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and capability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. But the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend who's getting significant improvements now, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as stronger, quicker, and deadlier.

"In my opinion many agree that her moment has arrived," states character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly that she's been dominant previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in current the game. This presented an ideal chance for the team to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer says Respawn evaluated all her skills and introduced some powerful changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting her speed during flight, and this equipment regenerates three times faster, allowing her to spend more time aloft. Now she won't be harmed from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who are hit from it. Her Skyward Dive ability — which lifts her entire squad skyward for redeployment or retreat — now takes 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 Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.

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

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and makes securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. Respawn says Apex Legends Season 27 focuses on giving players the tools required to keep up with the competition.

"Really, we examined Apex's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

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