🔗 Share this article The Battle Royale's Niche Traversal Techniques Become Widely Accessible This Season Respawn Entertainment has an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for the holidays. Enthusiasts of this game's super-slick movement can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on Nov. 4. Unveiling Mantle Boosting Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this ability gives players a burst of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. According to lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously existed of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." But it's challenging for casual gamers, and is mainly used by competitive players in competitive play or tournaments. This season, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to execute these tricky movement boosts. "This technique existed in the game for a while, but executing it requires skill to perform and a player might not realize it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," Canavese explains. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify when and how to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and adding new ways to compete for a much wider base." Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics Why make a once niche movement quirk accessible to all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan explains the team wants gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are new. "[The playerbase] performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we examined at other games, observed what the community execute, and we wondered, 'How can we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" Mohan explains. "Because right now, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we make a more official version?'" The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility Mobility is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will propel players upward much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls now include a roof and capability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. But the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend who's getting the most attention this season, with various adjustments implemented to make her stronger, faster, and deadlier. "In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," says Legend designer Ian Holstead. "Certainly that she's been dominant in the past, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in today's the game. This presented a really great opportunity for us to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to former prominence." Valkyrie's Upgrades To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead notes the team evaluated all her skills and implemented some powerful modifications. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing her speed during flight, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, enabling the player to remain longer aloft. She can no longer take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to tag opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her squad redeploy ability — which launches teammates skyward for redeployment or escape — now takes much less time to activate. She's also getting recently added Legend Upgrades that users can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation. "Her jet pack now delivers on the pilot experience," he 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 claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn state the game this update is all about providing gamers the tools required to compete in the competition. "Essentially, we were looking at Apex's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan. Apex Legends Season 27: Amped launches Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.