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The game developers have an exciting surprise prepared for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid movement can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this ability provides gamers a surge of forward momentum when climbing over obstacles. According to lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously been a feature of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. In this update, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for a while, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and a player would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," Canavese explains. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so users can easily see the timing to activate the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the feature and introducing fresh strategies to play for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

Why make a once niche movement quirk accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan says the team aims for gamers to feel powerful — even those who are new.

"[The playerbase] is doing other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we examined at our competition, observed what our players execute, and we said, 'What if we provide some of this power to more players?'" the designer explains. "Because right now, some of these techniques are kind of janky to use — it requires to change controls and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we make a polished version?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Mobility is largely the central theme in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to help keep them in motion. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will propel players upward 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 the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend who's getting the most attention now, with various adjustments implemented to make her stronger, quicker, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time is here," states character developer the designer. "There's no doubt she was dominant previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she fell behind in today's the game. It was an ideal chance for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of bring her back to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead says the team assessed each of her abilities and implemented some powerful modifications. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, allowing the player to remain longer in the air. Now she won't take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark opponents who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive ability — which lifts her entire squad into the air for repositioning or escape — requires reduced delay to activate. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that users can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead comments.

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers state Apex Legends Season 27 is all about giving players the resources they need to compete in the competition.

"Really, we examined the game's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

The battle royale the Amped season releases Nov. 4 at the specified times.