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Respawn Entertainment has an exciting surprise prepared for Apex Legends players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid movement can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. This season, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to execute these advanced speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in Apex for some time, but executing it requires skill to pull off and gamers might not realize it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," Canavese explains. "We're adding a visual cue so users can clearly identify when and how to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, opening up the feature and adding fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

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

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we looked around at other games, observed what the community are doing, and we wondered, 'What if we extend some of this power to more players?'" the designer explains. "Because right now, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit precise timings. So we said, 'What if we make a polished implementation?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie receiving buffs to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel users into the air much quicker than before. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and capability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. But the spotlight is on aerial this Legend who's getting the most attention now, with various adjustments implemented to enhance her as stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"I think there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time is here," says character developer the designer. "There's no doubt she was dominant previously, but due to the addition of other characters, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. It was an ideal chance for the team to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead says Respawn assessed all her skills and introduced significant modifications. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, increasing her speed during flight, and this equipment now recharge three times faster, allowing the player to remain longer aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to mark opponents who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches her entire squad skyward for redeployment or retreat — now takes much less time to fire up. She's also getting recently added perk choices that users can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

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

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with major changes that expands bottlenecks and makes claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. Respawn says Apex Legends this update focuses on giving players the resources they need to compete in the competition.

"Really, we were looking at the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says principal designer the lead.

The battle royale Season 27: Amped releases Nov. 4 at the specified times.