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Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale gamers, perfectly timed for the holidays. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature gives players a burst of propulsion when scaling ledges and walls. According to lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique has unofficially been a feature of the game for some time, often called as "mantle jumping." But it's challenging for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. This season, the team simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for some time, but the movement requires skill to pull off and gamers might not realize it [is in the game] without external guides," Canavese states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so players can easily see the timing to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the feature and adding fresh strategies to play for a much wider base."

Why Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a previously obscure technique available to all players? Principal designer the development lead explains developers wants gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, observed what our players execute, and we wondered, 'How can we provide some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Since right now, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to use — it requires to change controls and hit precise timings. We proposed, 'What if we make a polished version?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is largely the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to help keep them mobile. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel players upward faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and the ability to grant speed boosts to allies in range. However the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie receiving the most attention now, with multiple tweaks applied to enhance her as stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time has arrived," states Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt she was top-tier previously, but due to the addition of other characters, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in today's the game. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of restore her to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer notes Respawn evaluated all her skills and introduced some powerful changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing her speed while airborne, and this equipment regenerates three times faster, enabling her to spend more time aloft. Now she won't take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to mark opponents who are hit from the missiles. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts her entire squad skyward for redeployment or retreat — requires reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting some new perk choices that players can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

"Her jet pack fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," he says.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and makes claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. The developers state Apex Legends this update is all about giving players the resources they need to keep up with matches.

"Essentially, we were looking at Apex's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," explains principal designer Josh Mohan.

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