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Respawn Entertainment have a special treat prepared for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for the holidays. Enthusiasts of this game's super-slick movement will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a surge of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. As explained key developer the design lead, this technique has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and is mainly used by competitive players in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for a while, but the movement requires skill to pull off and gamers might not realize it [is in the game] without external guides," the designer states. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify when and how to activate the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the feature and adding new ways to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a previously obscure movement quirk available to all players? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains developers aims for players to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, observed what the community are doing, and we said, 'How can we provide these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Since currently, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to access — you need to change controls and hit precise timings. We proposed, 'What if we create a more official implementation?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is largely the name of the game in this season, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to help keep them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will propel users into the air much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and capability to grant speed boosts to allies in range. But it's aerial Valkyrie who's getting significant improvements now, with various adjustments applied to make her more potent, faster, and deadlier.

"I think there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," says Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt she was dominant in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in current the game. This presented a really great opportunity for us to reexamine multiple elements in her abilities and essentially bring her back to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer notes the team assessed all her skills and introduced significant changes. Her jetpack received improvements, increasing her speed during flight, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, allowing her to remain longer aloft. She can no longer take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts her entire squad into the air for redeployment or escape — requires reduced delay to activate. Additionally, she gains recently added perk choices that users can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on the pilot experience," he says.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that expands choke points and renders claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. The developers says Apex Legends this update focuses on providing gamers the resources required to keep up with the competition.

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

The battle royale the Amped season releases November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.