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Respawn Entertainment has an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick movement can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this ability gives players a burst of forward momentum when climbing over ledges and walls. According to lead battle royale designer the design lead, Mantle Boosting has unofficially been a feature of the game for some time, often called as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for casual gamers, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. In this update, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for some time, but executing it isn't easy to perform and a player might not realize it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," Canavese explains. "We're adding a visual cue so players can easily see the timing to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, opening up the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to play for more players."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a once niche technique available to everyone? Principal designer Josh Mohan explains developers wants gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, observed what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we provide some of this power to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Because right now, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to use — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. So we said, 'What if we create a more official version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Movement is largely the central theme in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to help keep them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will boost users into the air faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and capability to grant movement bonuses to those nearby. But the spotlight is on aerial this Legend receiving the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her more potent, faster, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says character developer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant previously, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in current the game. This presented an ideal chance for the team to revisit multiple elements in her abilities and sort of bring her back to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, Holstead says the team assessed each of her abilities and introduced some powerful modifications. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing her speed during flight, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, allowing the player to spend more time in the air. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who are hit from it. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches her entire squad skyward for repositioning or retreat — now takes much less time to activate. Additionally, she gains recently added perk choices that players can select to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the only floating arena, this location, receives a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that expands choke points and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn state the game Season 27 is all about providing gamers the resources they need to keep up with the competition.

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

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped launches November 4th at the specified times.