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Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's super-slick movement will be pleased to learn that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a surge of propulsion when climbing over ledges and walls. According to key developer the design lead, this technique has unofficially been a feature of Apex Legends for some time, often called as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, the team simplifies the process for everyone to execute these tricky speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for some time, but the movement isn't easy to perform and gamers might not realize it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify the timing to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and adding new ways to play for more players."

Why Make It Accessible

Why make a once niche movement quirk accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer the development lead explains the team aims for gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are new.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at other games, looked at what our players execute, and we wondered, 'How can we provide some of this power to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Because currently, some of these techniques are kind of janky to access — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we create a more official version?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is largely the central theme in this season, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will propel users upward faster than before. Her defensive walls feature a roof and the ability to grant movement bonuses to those nearby. But it's aerial Valkyrie receiving the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to enhance her as stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"I think there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time is here," states character developer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she fell behind in current Apex. It was an ideal chance for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead notes the team evaluated each of her abilities and implemented some powerful modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting her speed during flight, and this equipment regenerates much quicker, enabling her to spend more time in the air. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to mark opponents who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive ability — which lifts her entire squad into the air for redeployment or retreat — requires reduced delay to activate. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her rockets, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills the pilot experience," he says.

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, is getting a mobility-focused overhaul, with major changes that opens up choke points and renders securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers state the game Season 27 focuses on providing gamers the tools they need to compete in the competition.

"Really, we were looking at Apex's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer Josh Mohan.

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