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The game developers have a special treat prepared for the popular battle royale players, 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 Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Named "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a burst of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. According to key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of the game for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and is mainly used by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. In this update, Respawn simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to execute these advanced speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for some time, but executing it requires skill to perform and gamers might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so players can clearly identify the timing to activate the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the mechanic and adding 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? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan says the team aims for players to feel powerful — even those who are inexperienced.

"Our community performs other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, looked at what our players execute, and we said, 'What if we provide these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Since right now, certain techniques are kind of janky to access — it requires to change controls and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we create a polished version?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Movement is largely the name of the game in this season, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost users into the air much quicker than before. Her defensive walls now include a roof and the ability to grant movement bonuses to those nearby. However the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie receiving significant improvements this season, with various adjustments implemented to make her more potent, quicker, and more lethal.

"I think there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," says character developer the designer. "There's no doubt she was dominant previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she fell behind in current Apex. It was a really great opportunity for us to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and essentially bring her back to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead says Respawn evaluated all her skills and implemented significant changes. Her jetpack received improvements, increasing velocity during flight, and this equipment now recharge three times faster, enabling her to spend more time in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her squad redeploy ability — which lifts her entire squad skyward for redeployment or escape — now takes much less time to activate. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that users can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her ultimate takeoff time.

"Her jet pack now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the lone airborne map, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers says the game Season 27 is all about providing gamers the resources required to keep up with the competition.

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

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped releases Nov. 4 at the specified times.