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The game developers have an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously been a feature of the game for quite a while, often called as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. In this update, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for some time, but the movement 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 easily see when and how to activate the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the feature and adding new ways to compete for a much wider base."

Why Make It Accessible

Why make a previously obscure movement quirk available to all players? Principal designer the development lead explains developers aims for players to feel powerful — even those who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] performs other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, observed what the community are doing, and we said, 'What if we extend these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Because right now, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to access — you need to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we make a more official version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Mobility is primarily the central theme in this season, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will boost users into the air much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls now include a roof and the ability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. However it's the high-flying this Legend receiving significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her stronger, quicker, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time is here," says character developer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier in the past, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she fell behind in current Apex. This presented an ideal chance for the team to reexamine multiple elements in her abilities and essentially restore her to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer notes the team assessed all her skills and implemented some powerful modifications. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, boosting velocity while airborne, and this equipment regenerates much quicker, enabling her to spend more time in the air. Now she won't take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to tag enemies who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which launches teammates into the air for repositioning or escape — now takes reduced delay to activate. She's also getting recently added Legend Upgrades that users can select to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

"Her jet pack now delivers on the pilot experience," Holstead comments.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the only floating arena, this location, receives a mobility-focused overhaul, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn says the game Season 27 focuses on giving players the tools they need to keep up with the competition.

"Really, we examined Apex's core identity as a movement shooter," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

The battle royale the Amped season releases Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.