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Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise in store for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of this game's highly fluid movement will be pleased to learn that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when the Amped season goes live on Nov. 4.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Named "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a surge of propulsion when climbing over ledges and walls. According to key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting has unofficially been a feature of the game for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or tournaments. This season, the team is making it easier for everyone to execute these tricky movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in Apex for a while, but the movement isn't easy to pull off and a player might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "We're adding a visual cue so players can easily see when and how to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, opening up the feature and introducing fresh strategies to play for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a previously obscure technique available to all players? Lead Legend designer the development lead explains developers wants gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we examined at other games, looked at what our players execute, and we said, 'What if we extend these capabilities to more players?'" the designer clarifies. "Since currently, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit precise timings. So we said, 'How about we make a more official version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Movement is largely the central theme in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to maintain them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will boost users into the air much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and capability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. However it's the high-flying this Legend who's getting significant improvements this season, with various adjustments implemented to make her stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"I think there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," states Legend designer the designer. "Certainly she was dominant in the past, but due to the addition of new Legends, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. This presented an ideal chance for us to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, the developer notes the team evaluated all her skills and introduced some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, boosting her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge much quicker, allowing her to spend more time in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to tag enemies who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches teammates into the air for redeployment or retreat — requires reduced delay to activate. She's also getting recently added perk choices that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate activation.

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

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, is getting a mobility-focused overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn state Apex Legends Season 27 is all about giving players the resources they need to compete in the competition.

"Essentially, we were looking at Apex's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

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