The Battle Royale's Niche Traversal Techniques Are Going Mainstream During This Update

Respawn Entertainment have a special treat in store for the popular battle royale players, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid movement can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a surge of propulsion when scaling obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously been a feature of Apex Legends for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's challenging for the average player, and is mainly used by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, the team is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique have been in Apex for a while, but the movement isn't easy to perform and gamers might not realize it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "Now including a visual cue so users can clearly identify when and how to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, opening up the mechanic and adding new ways to compete for a much wider base."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a once niche technique available to all players? Principal designer the development lead says developers aims for gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are new.

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, observed what our players are doing, and we said, 'How can we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Since currently, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — you need to remap your keybinds and hit precise timings. So we said, 'How about we make a polished version?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is largely the central theme in this season, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie receiving buffs to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will propel players into the air much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and the ability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However it's aerial this Legend receiving significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks applied to make her stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that her moment has arrived," says character developer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt she was top-tier in the past, 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 a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead says the team assessed all her skills and implemented some powerful modifications. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, enabling her to remain longer aloft. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches teammates into the air for redeployment or escape — requires much less time to activate. She's also getting recently added Legend Upgrades that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her ultimate activation.

"Her jet pack fulfills the pilot experience," he comments.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. Respawn says the game this update is all about giving players the resources they need to compete in the competition.

"Really, we were looking at the game's core identity as a movement shooter," explains principal designer the lead.

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped releases Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.