The Battle Royale's Specialized Traversal Techniques Are Going Mainstream This Season

The game developers have a special treat in store for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid movement will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season launches on November 4th.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when climbing over ledges and walls. According to lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique was previously been a feature of Apex Legends for quite a while, often called as "mantle jumping." But it's challenging for casual gamers, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or tournaments. In this update, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in Apex for some time, but the movement isn't easy to perform and gamers might not realize it's possible without external guides," Canavese states. "We're adding a visual cue so players can clearly identify the timing to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the mechanic and introducing new ways to play for a much wider base."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a once niche movement quirk accessible to all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan says developers aims for players to experience empowerment — even those who are new.

"Our community is doing other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, looked at what the community are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we provide some of this power to more players?'" the designer clarifies. "Because right now, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to change controls and hit precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we make a more official implementation?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Mobility is largely the central theme in this season, with characters the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to help keep them in motion. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will boost users into the air faster than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and capability to grant movement bonuses to those nearby. However it's the high-flying this Legend who's getting the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as more potent, faster, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," states Legend designer the designer. "Certainly that she's been dominant previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she's not very relevant in today's the game. It was an ideal chance for the team to revisit multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially restore her to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, the developer notes Respawn assessed each of her abilities and introduced some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, enabling her to remain longer aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which launches teammates skyward for redeployment or escape — requires reduced delay to fire up. Additionally, she gains recently added Legend Upgrades that players can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills the pilot experience," Holstead says.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn says the game Season 27 focuses on giving players the resources required to keep up with matches.

"Essentially, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer the lead.

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