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Respawn Entertainment have a special treat in store for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick traversal can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a burst of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. According to key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of the game for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's challenging for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. In this update, the team simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.

"This technique have been in the game for a while, but the movement isn't easy to perform and a player would never know it's possible without external guides," the designer states. "Now including a visual cue so players can clearly identify the timing to trigger the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the feature and adding fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."

Why Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a previously obscure movement quirk available to everyone? Principal designer the development lead explains developers aims for gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, observed what the community execute, and we wondered, 'How can we extend some of this power to more players?'" the designer explains. "Because currently, some of these techniques are kind of janky to access — it requires to change controls and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we make a polished version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Mobility is largely the name of the game in this season, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost players upward faster than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature a roof and capability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie receiving significant improvements now, with various adjustments implemented to make her stronger, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was dominant in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she's not very relevant in current Apex. This presented an ideal chance for the team to revisit multiple elements in her abilities and sort of restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead says the team assessed all her skills and implemented some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, boosting velocity during flight, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, allowing the player to remain longer aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches her entire squad into the air for redeployment or escape — now takes much less time to fire up. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that users can choose to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.

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

Map Changes

Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and makes securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers state the game Season 27 focuses on providing gamers the resources they need to compete in the competition.

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

The battle royale the Amped season launches November 4th at the specified times.