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Respawn Entertainment has an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a surge of propulsion when scaling ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of the game for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and is mainly used by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. This season, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these tricky movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for some time, but executing it isn't easy to perform and a player would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese explains. "Now including a visual cue so users can clearly identify the timing to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, opening up the feature and adding new ways to play for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a previously obscure technique accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains developers wants gamers to feel powerful — even those who are new.

"[The playerbase] is doing other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, observed what our players execute, and we wondered, 'What if we extend these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Since currently, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to change controls and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'What if we make a more official implementation?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Movement is largely the central theme in this season, with Legends Horizon, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will boost users into the air faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and capability to provide speed boosts to those nearby. However the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend receiving the most attention now, with multiple tweaks applied to make her stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that her moment has arrived," says character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was top-tier in the past, but due to the addition of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind in today's the game. This presented an ideal chance for the team to reexamine multiple elements in her abilities and essentially restore her to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, the developer says Respawn assessed all her skills and implemented significant modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing velocity while airborne, and this equipment regenerates three times faster, enabling her to remain longer aloft. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to mark opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts her entire squad skyward for redeployment or escape — requires reduced delay to activate. Additionally, she gains recently added perk choices that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead comments.

Map Changes

Additionally, the 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. The developers state Apex Legends this update is all about giving players the resources they need to keep up with the competition.

"Really, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says principal designer Josh Mohan.

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped launches November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.