The Battle Royale's Specialized Movement Mechanics Are Going Mainstream This Season

The game developers have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale players, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of this game's super-slick movement can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature gives players a surge of forward momentum when climbing over obstacles. As explained key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of the game for quite a while, often called as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for a while, but executing it isn't easy to perform and gamers would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," the designer explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify when and how to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the mechanic and introducing fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a previously obscure technique available to all players? Principal designer the development lead says developers wants 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 our competition, looked at what the community are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" Mohan clarifies. "Since currently, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — it requires to change controls and execute within one-frame windows. So we said, 'What if we create a more official version?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is primarily the central theme in this season, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to help keep them in motion. Recovery time on her tactical ability has been decreased, and this skill will boost players into the air much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls feature a roof and the ability to grant movement bonuses to those nearby. However it's the high-flying Valkyrie who's getting significant improvements now, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as more potent, faster, 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 in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she fell behind in current Apex. It was an ideal chance for us to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially bring her back to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead says the team assessed each of her abilities and implemented some powerful modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing her speed while airborne, and this equipment regenerates much quicker, enabling the player to remain longer in the air. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts her entire squad skyward for repositioning or retreat — now takes much less time to fire up. She's also getting recently added Legend Upgrades that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

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

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with major changes that expands bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn says the game Season 27 is all about providing gamers the resources they need to compete in the competition.

"Essentially, we examined Apex's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

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

Dr. Deborah Hill
Dr. Deborah Hill

Elara is a seasoned writer and researcher passionate about sharing practical knowledge and innovative ideas with readers worldwide.