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Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends gamers, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick movement can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season launches on Nov. 4.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a surge of propulsion when scaling ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of Apex Legends for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. In this update, the team simplifies the process for everyone to execute these tricky movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in Apex for some time, but executing it requires skill to pull off and a player might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "Now including a visual cue so users can clearly identify the timing to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, opening up the feature and introducing fresh strategies to play for a much wider base."

Why Make It Accessible

Why make a once niche technique accessible to everyone? Principal designer the development lead explains developers wants gamers to feel powerful — even those who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we examined at other games, observed what our players are doing, and we said, 'How can we extend these capabilities to more players?'" the designer explains. "Because currently, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to use — you need to change controls and hit precise timings. So we said, 'What if we make a polished version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Mobility is primarily the name of the game in this season, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving enhancements to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel players into the air much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include overhead protection and the ability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. But the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend who's getting the most attention now, with various adjustments implemented to make her more potent, faster, and more lethal.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," states character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in current Apex. It was a really great opportunity for the team to revisit multiple elements in her abilities and essentially bring her back to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, the developer notes Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and introduced some powerful changes. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting velocity while airborne, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, allowing her to remain longer aloft. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive ability — which lifts teammates skyward for repositioning or retreat — requires reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting recently added perk choices that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive activation.

"Her jet pack fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead comments.

Map Changes

Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused overhaul, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers state Apex Legends this update focuses on providing gamers the resources they need to compete in the competition.

"Really, we examined Apex's core identity as a movement shooter," says principal designer Josh Mohan.

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