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Respawn Entertainment have a special treat in store for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of this game's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a burst of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But 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 players of all skill levels to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in Apex for a while, but the movement isn't easy to pull off and a player might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "Now including a visual cue so users can easily see when and how to trigger the high-octane movement ability, opening up the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to compete for more players."

Why Make It Accessible

Why make a previously obscure movement quirk available to all players? Principal designer Josh Mohan says developers wants gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are new.

"Our community performs other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we looked around at other games, observed what the community are doing, and we said, 'How can we provide some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Since currently, certain techniques are kind of janky to use — you need to change controls and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'What if we make a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is largely the central theme in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will boost players into the air faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and capability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However it's the high-flying Valkyrie who's getting significant improvements now, with various adjustments applied to make her more potent, faster, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that her moment has arrived," says character developer the designer. "There's no doubt she was top-tier previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she's not very relevant in today's the game. This presented a really great opportunity for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer notes Respawn evaluated all her skills and implemented some powerful modifications. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, boosting her speed during flight, and this equipment now recharge three times faster, enabling the player to remain longer aloft. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to mark opponents who take damage from it. Her squad redeploy ability — which lifts teammates skyward for redeployment or retreat — now takes much less time to activate. She's also getting recently added perk choices that users can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.

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

Map Changes

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that opens up choke points and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers state the game this update focuses on giving players the tools required to compete in matches.

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

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