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The game developers have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick movement can rejoice to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a surge of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. According to key developer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. This season, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to execute these advanced movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for some time, but the movement requires skill to perform and a player might not realize it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," the designer states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify when and how to trigger the high-octane movement ability, making accessible the mechanic and introducing new ways to play for a much wider base."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a once niche movement quirk accessible to everyone? Principal designer Josh Mohan explains developers aims for gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are new.

"[The playerbase] performs other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, observed what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'What if we provide some of this power to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Because currently, some of these techniques are kind of janky to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we create a more official version?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will boost players upward faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and capability to grant movement bonuses to those nearby. However it's aerial Valkyrie who's getting the most attention now, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her stronger, quicker, and more lethal.

"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says character developer the designer. "Certainly she was top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and sort of restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead says Respawn assessed each of her abilities and introduced significant changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing velocity while airborne, and this equipment now recharge three times faster, enabling her to spend more time in the air. Now she won't take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to tag enemies who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive ability — which lifts her entire squad into the air for repositioning or escape — requires much less time to activate. She's also getting recently added perk choices that users can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate activation.

"Her jet pack now delivers on the pilot experience," Holstead says.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with major changes that opens up choke points and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn state Apex Legends Season 27 focuses on giving players the resources required to keep up with the competition.

"Essentially, we were looking at the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

The battle royale the Amped season launches Nov. 4 at the specified times.