The Battle Royale's Specialized Movement Mechanics Become Widely Accessible This Season

The game developers has an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for the holidays. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this ability provides gamers a surge of propulsion when scaling obstacles. According to key developer the design lead, this technique has unofficially been a feature of the game for quite a while, often called as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for the average player, and typically employed by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. In this update, the team simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique have been in the game for some time, but the movement isn't easy to perform and gamers would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," the designer states. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so users can easily see the timing to activate the fast-paced movement ability, opening up the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a once niche movement quirk available to all players? Lead Legend designer the development lead says the team wants gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are new.

"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, observed what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'What if we provide some of this power to more players?'" the designer explains. "Because currently, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — you need to change controls and execute within one-frame windows. So we said, 'How about we create a more official version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Movement is largely the name of the game in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will boost players upward faster than before. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and the ability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. However the spotlight is on aerial this Legend receiving significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks applied to make her stronger, faster, and more lethal.

"I think there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," states Legend designer Ian Holstead. "Certainly that she's been top-tier previously, but with the introduction of other characters, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in today's the game. It was an ideal chance for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer notes the team assessed all her skills and implemented some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing velocity during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge much quicker, enabling her to spend more time aloft. She can no longer take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who take damage from the missiles. Her squad redeploy skill — which launches teammates into the air for repositioning or escape — requires much less time to activate. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that players can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead comments.

Map Changes

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused overhaul, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers state Apex Legends Season 27 is all about providing gamers 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.

The battle royale Season 27: Amped launches November 4th at the specified times.