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Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick movement will be pleased to learn that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a surge of propulsion when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting 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 pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to execute these tricky movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for a while, but the movement isn't easy to pull off and gamers would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," Canavese explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify the timing to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the feature and introducing new ways to play for more players."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a once niche movement quirk available to everyone? Principal designer the development lead says developers aims for players to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, observed what the community execute, and we wondered, 'How can we provide some of this power to more players?'" the designer explains. "Because right now, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to use — you need to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we make a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Mobility is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, 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 users upward much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and the ability to grant movement bonuses to those nearby. But it's the high-flying this Legend receiving significant improvements this season, with various adjustments implemented to make her more potent, quicker, and more lethal.

"In my opinion many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says Legend designer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt she was top-tier 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 Apex. It was an ideal chance for us to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, the developer says Respawn assessed each of her abilities and introduced significant changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing velocity during flight, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, allowing her to remain longer in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag enemies who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches teammates into the air for repositioning or escape — now takes reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting recently added Legend Upgrades that players can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate activation.

"Her jet pack now delivers on the pilot experience," he says.

Map Changes

Even the game's only floating arena, this location, is getting a mobility-focused overhaul, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn says Apex Legends Season 27 focuses on giving players the resources they need to keep up with the competition.

"Really, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says principal designer Josh Mohan.

Apex Legends the Amped season launches Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.