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The game developers have an exciting surprise prepared for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick traversal can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. According to lead battle royale designer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of Apex Legends for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, Respawn simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these advanced movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for some time, but the movement isn't easy to pull off and gamers would never know it's possible without external guides," the designer states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify the timing to activate the high-octane movement ability, opening up the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to compete for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

Why make a previously obscure movement quirk accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains developers wants gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are new.

"[The playerbase] performs other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, looked at what the community execute, and we said, 'How can we provide some of this power to a broader audience?'" Mohan clarifies. "Since currently, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — you need to remap your keybinds and hit precise timings. So we said, 'How about we create a polished version?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is primarily the central theme in this season, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel users upward much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover 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 this season, with multiple tweaks applied to enhance her as more potent, faster, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that her moment is here," says character developer the designer. "There's no doubt she was top-tier previously, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in current the game. It was a really great opportunity for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of restore her to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead notes the team evaluated each of her abilities and implemented significant modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing her speed during flight, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, allowing the player to spend more time aloft. She can no longer take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to mark opponents who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which launches her entire squad skyward for repositioning or escape — now takes reduced delay to fire up. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that users can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

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

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, receives a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that expands bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers says Apex Legends Season 27 is all about giving players the tools required to compete in the competition.

"Essentially, we were looking at the game's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer Josh Mohan.

The battle royale Season 27: Amped releases November 4th at the specified times.