Apex Legends' Niche Traversal Techniques Are Going Mainstream This Season

Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise prepared for Apex Legends gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously existed of Apex Legends for some time, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's challenging for the average player, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. This season, the team simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.

"This technique have been in Apex for a while, but executing it requires skill to pull off and gamers would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," the designer 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 feature and adding new ways to play for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a once niche technique accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer the development lead says the team aims for players to feel powerful — including ones who are new.

"Our community performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, looked at what our players execute, and we wondered, 'What if we provide these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Because currently, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to use — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we make a polished implementation?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Movement is largely the name of the game in this season, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to help keep them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel players upward much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and capability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. However the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie who's getting significant improvements now, with various adjustments implemented to enhance her as more potent, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," states character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly that she's been top-tier previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in current the game. It was an ideal chance for us to revisit multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially bring her back to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead says the team evaluated each of her abilities and introduced significant changes. Her jetpack received improvements, increasing her speed during flight, 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 own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who are hit from the missiles. Her squad redeploy ability — which lifts teammates into the air for repositioning or escape — requires reduced delay to activate. Additionally, she gains recently added Legend Upgrades that players can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.

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

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers says the game Season 27 is all about providing gamers the tools they need to keep up with the competition.

"Essentially, we examined Apex's core identity as a movement shooter," explains principal designer Josh Mohan.

The battle royale Season 27: Amped launches November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.