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

Respawn Entertainment has a special treat prepared for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick traversal will be pleased to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a surge of forward momentum when climbing over obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique was previously existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for casual gamers, and is mainly used by competitive players in Ranked Mode or tournaments. In this update, the team simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to execute these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in the game for some time, but executing it isn't easy to perform and a player might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can easily see when and how to activate the fast-paced movement ability, opening up the feature and introducing new ways to compete for a much wider base."

Why Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a once niche technique accessible to all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan explains developers wants gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are new.

"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, looked at what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" Mohan clarifies. "Since right now, some of these techniques are kind of janky to use — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we create a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant receiving enhancements to help keep them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost players into the air faster than before. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and capability to grant movement bonuses to those nearby. But it's aerial Valkyrie receiving significant improvements now, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as stronger, faster, and more lethal.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," says character developer the designer. "Certainly that she's been top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind in current the game. This presented an ideal chance for the team to reexamine a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of bring her back to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, the developer says Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and introduced some powerful changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing her speed during flight, and this equipment regenerates much quicker, enabling the player to spend more time in the air. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who are hit from it. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts her entire squad into the air for redeployment or retreat — requires much less time to activate. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate takeoff time.

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

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's lone airborne map, this location, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers says Apex Legends Season 27 is all about giving players the tools they need to compete in the competition.

"Really, we examined Apex's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

The battle royale the Amped season launches Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.