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The game developers has an exciting surprise prepared for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's super-slick traversal can rejoice to learn that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a burst of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of Apex Legends for quite a while, often called as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for casual gamers, and is mainly used by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, the team is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in Apex for a while, but the movement requires skill to pull off and gamers would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," the designer explains. "Now including a visual cue so players can easily see the timing to activate the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the feature and adding fresh strategies to play for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a once niche movement quirk available to everyone? Principal designer Josh Mohan says the team wants gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are new.

"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we examined at our competition, observed what the community are doing, and we wondered, 'What if we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Since right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'What if we make a polished version?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is primarily the central theme in this season, with characters the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie receiving buffs to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost users into the air much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and the ability to provide movement bonuses to allies in range. But the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie receiving significant improvements now, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion many agree that her moment has arrived," says Legend designer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt she was top-tier previously, but with the introduction of other characters, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she fell behind in today's the game. This presented a really great opportunity for us to revisit multiple elements in her abilities and essentially bring her back to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead says the team assessed all her skills and implemented some powerful modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, increasing her speed during flight, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, allowing her to remain longer in the air. Now she won't take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches her entire squad skyward for repositioning or retreat — now takes much less time to fire up. Additionally, she gains recently added perk choices that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused overhaul, with major changes that expands bottlenecks and renders securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn state the game this update focuses on giving players the tools they need to compete in the competition.

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

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