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Respawn Entertainment have a special treat prepared for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick movement will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this ability provides gamers 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 quite a while, often called as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. This season, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these advanced movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for a while, but the movement isn't easy to pull off and gamers might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "Now including a visual cue so players can easily see when and how to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, opening up the mechanic and introducing new ways to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

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

"[The playerbase] is doing other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, observed what the community are doing, and we said, 'How can we extend these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Because currently, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to use — you need to change controls and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we make a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Movement is largely the central theme in this season, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel users upward faster than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover now include overhead protection and the ability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. But it's the high-flying Valkyrie receiving significant improvements now, with multiple tweaks applied to make her more potent, quicker, and more lethal.

"I think many agree that her moment has arrived," says Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt she was top-tier previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind in today's Apex. It was an ideal chance for the team to revisit multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially bring her back to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead notes the team evaluated all her skills and implemented significant changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, increasing velocity during flight, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, enabling her to remain longer in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts teammates into the air for repositioning or escape — requires much less time to fire up. Additionally, she gains recently added Legend Upgrades that players can select to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her rockets, or further speed up her ultimate activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills the pilot experience," Holstead comments.

Map Changes

Additionally, the only floating arena, this location, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn state Apex Legends Season 27 focuses on providing gamers the tools required to keep up with the competition.

"Really, we examined Apex's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

The battle royale Season 27: Amped launches November 4th at the specified times.