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Respawn Entertainment has an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends gamers, arriving just in time for the holidays. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this ability provides gamers a burst of propulsion when scaling ledges and walls. According to lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique was previously been a feature of the game for some time, often called as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, the team is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for some time, but the movement requires skill to perform and gamers might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "We're adding a visual cue so players can clearly identify the timing to activate the high-octane movement ability, making accessible the feature and introducing fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

Why make a previously obscure technique accessible to everyone? Principal designer Josh Mohan says developers aims for gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are new.

"Our community performs other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we examined at our competition, observed what the community execute, and we wondered, 'How can we extend these capabilities to more players?'" the designer explains. "Because currently, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we create a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will boost users upward faster than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and capability to provide movement bonuses to allies in range. However it's the high-flying this Legend who's getting the most attention now, with various adjustments applied to make her more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," states character developer the designer. "Certainly that she's been top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for us to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and essentially restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, Holstead says the team assessed each of her abilities and implemented significant modifications. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, boosting her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge much quicker, allowing the player to remain longer aloft. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches teammates into the air for repositioning or escape — requires much less time to activate. Additionally, she gains recently added Legend Upgrades that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," he says.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn state the game Season 27 focuses on giving players the tools required to compete in matches.

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

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped launches Nov. 4 at the specified times.