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The game developers have an exciting surprise prepared for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for the holidays. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this ability provides gamers a surge of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. As explained key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of the game for quite a while, often called as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by competitive players in competitive play or tournaments. This season, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for some time, but executing it requires skill to perform and gamers might not realize it [is in the game] without external guides," the designer explains. "We're adding a visual cue so players can clearly identify when and how to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the feature and introducing new ways to compete for more players."

Why Make It Accessible

Why make a previously obscure technique available to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains developers wants gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at other games, observed what the community execute, and we wondered, 'How can we provide some of this power to more players?'" the designer clarifies. "Because right now, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit precise timings. We proposed, 'What if we make a polished implementation?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Movement is primarily the name of the game in this season, with characters the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant 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 feature overhead protection and capability to provide movement bonuses to those nearby. But it's the high-flying Valkyrie receiving the most attention this season, with various adjustments implemented to make her more potent, quicker, and more lethal.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," states Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind in current Apex. It was a really great opportunity for the team to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and essentially restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, the developer notes the team evaluated each of her abilities and implemented some powerful changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, allowing the player to spend more time aloft. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag enemies who take damage from the missiles. Her squad redeploy ability — which lifts her entire squad skyward for repositioning or retreat — requires much less time to fire up. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that users can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.

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

Map Changes

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused overhaul, with an extensive redesign that expands choke points and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn state the game this update focuses on providing gamers the resources they need to compete in matches.

"Essentially, we were looking at Apex's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says lead Legend designer the lead.

Apex Legends the Amped season releases Nov. 4 at the specified times.