🔗 Share this article Apex Legends' Niche Traversal Techniques Are Going Mainstream During This Update The game developers have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of this game's super-slick traversal can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4. Introducing Mantle Boosting Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a surge of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously existed of the game for some time, usually referred to 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 is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these advanced movement boosts. "Mantle Boosts existed in the game for a while, but executing it requires skill to pull off and a player would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," Canavese states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can easily see when and how to activate the high-octane movement ability, opening up the feature and adding new ways to play for more players." The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible Why make a once niche movement quirk accessible to everyone? Principal designer Josh Mohan says the team wants gamers to feel powerful — even those who are new. "[The playerbase] performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we examined at our competition, observed what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we extend some of this power to more players?'" the designer explains. "Because currently, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — you need to change controls and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'What if we create a more official version?'" The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility Mobility is primarily the central theme in this season, with Legends the gravity mage, 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 much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and the ability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. However the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend who's getting the most attention now, with various adjustments implemented to enhance her as more potent, faster, and deadlier. "I think many agree that her moment has arrived," says character developer the designer. "Certainly that she's been dominant previously, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in current the game. This presented a really great opportunity for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of restore her to her glory days." Enhancements to the Aerial Legend To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead says the team evaluated all her skills and implemented significant modifications. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, increasing her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, enabling the player to spend more time aloft. Now she won't take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark opponents who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts her entire squad into the air for redeployment or escape — now takes reduced delay to fire up. Additionally, she gains some new Legend Upgrades that players can select to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her Skyward Dive activation. "Her jet pack now delivers on the pilot experience," Holstead comments. Map Changes Additionally, the lone airborne map, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers state Apex Legends this update focuses on providing gamers the resources required to compete in matches. "Really, we were looking at Apex's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer Josh Mohan. Apex Legends Season 27: Amped launches Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.