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Respawn Entertainment has a special treat in store for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for the holidays. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's super-slick traversal will be pleased to discover that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season launches on November 4th.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a surge of propulsion when scaling ledges and walls. According to key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially been a feature of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's challenging for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. This season, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.

"This technique have been in Apex for some time, but executing it requires skill to perform and a player would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so players can easily see the timing to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, opening up the mechanic and adding new ways to compete for more players."

Why Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a once niche technique accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains developers aims for gamers to feel powerful — even those who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, observed what our players execute, and we said, 'How can we provide some of this power to more players?'" the designer clarifies. "Since currently, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to use — it requires to change controls and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we create a more official version?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Mobility is largely the central theme in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost users upward much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls feature a roof and the ability to grant movement bonuses to those nearby. However it's aerial Valkyrie receiving significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," states character developer the designer. "Certainly she was dominant in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in current Apex. It was an ideal chance for the team 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 the game's meta, the developer notes the team evaluated each of her abilities and implemented some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets 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 take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to mark opponents who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches teammates into the air for repositioning or retreat — requires reduced delay to activate. She's also getting some new perk choices that users can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.

"Her jet pack fulfills the pilot experience," Holstead comments.

Map Changes

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers state Apex Legends this update is all about providing gamers the resources they need to compete in matches.

"Really, we examined the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," explains principal designer the lead.

The battle royale Season 27: Amped releases November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.