🔗 Share this article

The game developers has a special treat in store for the popular battle royale gamers, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of this game's highly fluid movement will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season launches on November 4th.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a burst of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. As explained key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of Apex Legends for some time, often called as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. This season, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to execute these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in Apex for a while, but the movement isn't easy to pull off and a player would never know it's possible without external guides," the designer states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify when and how to trigger the high-octane traversal skill, making accessible the feature and adding new ways to compete for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a previously obscure movement quirk available to all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan explains developers aims for gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are new.

"Our community is doing other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we examined at other games, looked at what the community are doing, and we wondered, 'What if we provide these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Since right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit precise timings. We proposed, 'What if we make a polished version?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is primarily the name of the game in this season, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to help keep them in motion. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will propel players into the air faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and capability to provide speed boosts to those nearby. However it's aerial this Legend who's getting the most attention now, with various adjustments implemented to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," states character developer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt she was dominant previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in current Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and essentially restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead says Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and implemented significant changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, allowing her to remain longer in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag opponents who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches her entire squad skyward for redeployment or retreat — now takes much less time to fire up. Additionally, she gains some new Legend Upgrades that players can select to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her ultimate takeoff time.

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

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn state Apex Legends Season 27 focuses on providing gamers the tools they need to compete in the competition.

"Really, we were looking at the game's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer the lead.

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