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The game developers has an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale players, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's super-slick traversal can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this ability gives players a burst of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. According to key developer Eric Canavese, 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 competitive players in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. This season, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.

"This technique have been in Apex for a while, but executing it requires skill to pull off and a player would never know it's possible without external guides," the designer states. "We're adding a visual cue so players can easily see the timing to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the feature and adding fresh strategies to compete for more players."

Why Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a previously obscure technique accessible to all players? Principal designer the development lead says the team aims for players to experience empowerment — even those who are new.

"Our community performs other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, looked at what the community are doing, and we said, 'What if we provide some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Since currently, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we make a polished version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Movement is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will propel players upward much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and capability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie receiving significant improvements now, with various adjustments implemented to enhance her as stronger, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that her moment is here," states Legend designer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind in today's Apex. It was a really great opportunity for us to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and essentially restore her to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead says the team evaluated each of her abilities and implemented some powerful changes. Her jetpack received improvements, increasing velocity during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, enabling the player to spend more time aloft. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag opponents who are hit from it. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts teammates skyward for repositioning or escape — now takes reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that players can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.

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

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's lone airborne map, this location, receives a mobility-focused overhaul, with major changes that opens up choke points and renders claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. Respawn says Apex Legends this update is all about providing gamers the tools they need to compete in the competition.

"Really, we were looking at the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," explains lead Legend designer the lead.

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