Apex Legends' Niche Movement Mechanics Are Going Mainstream During This Update

Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for festive season. Fans of this game's highly fluid movement can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature gives players a surge of propulsion when scaling ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique has unofficially existed of the game for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's challenging for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. In this update, the team simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for some time, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and a player would never know it's possible without external guides," the designer states. "We're adding a visual cue so users can easily see the timing to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, opening up the feature and adding fresh strategies to compete for more players."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a previously obscure movement quirk accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan says developers wants players to experience empowerment — including ones who are new.

"Our community is doing other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, looked at what the community are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" Mohan explains. "Because right now, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'What if we create a more official implementation?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is largely the name of the game in Season 27, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving buffs to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will boost users upward much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and the ability to grant movement bonuses to those nearby. But the spotlight is on aerial Valkyrie who's getting the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks applied to make her more potent, faster, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that her moment is here," says Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in today's the game. It was a really great opportunity for us to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and essentially restore her to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer notes Respawn evaluated all her skills and implemented some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, boosting her speed during flight, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, enabling the player to remain longer aloft. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who are hit from the missiles. Her squad redeploy ability — which lifts teammates skyward for repositioning or retreat — requires much less time to fire up. She's also getting some new perk choices that players can select to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.

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

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the only floating arena, this location, is getting a mobility-focused overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn says Apex Legends this update is all about providing gamers the tools required to compete in matches.

"Essentially, we were looking at the game's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

The battle royale the Amped season releases November 4th at the specified times.