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The game developers have a special treat in store for Apex Legends players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of this game's super-slick traversal can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season launches on November 4th.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a surge of propulsion when scaling ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique was previously existed of the game for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by competitive players in Ranked Mode or tournaments. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for some time, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and a player would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," the designer states. "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 feature and adding new ways to compete for more players."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a once niche technique available to everyone? Principal designer the development lead explains the team aims for players to experience empowerment — including ones who are new.

"[The playerbase] performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we looked around at other games, looked at what the community execute, and we wondered, 'What if we provide some of this power to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Because currently, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we make a more official implementation?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Mobility is largely the name of the game in this season, with characters the gravity mage, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will boost users upward much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and capability to provide speed boosts to those nearby. However it's the high-flying Valkyrie receiving significant improvements now, with multiple tweaks applied to enhance her as stronger, quicker, and deadlier.

"In my opinion many agree that Valkyrie's time is here," says character developer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt she was dominant previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in current Apex. It was an ideal chance for the team 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 current strategies, the developer notes Respawn assessed all her skills and implemented some powerful changes. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting velocity while airborne, and this equipment now recharge three times faster, enabling the player to remain longer in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, 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 — now takes reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that users can select to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive activation.

"Her jet pack now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead comments.

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and makes securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers says Apex Legends this update is all about providing gamers the resources they need to keep up with the competition.

"Really, we examined Apex's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," says principal designer Josh Mohan.

The battle royale the Amped season releases November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.