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Respawn Entertainment have a special treat in store for the popular battle royale gamers, perfectly timed for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a surge of propulsion when scaling obstacles. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for quite a while, often called as "mantle jumping." But it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. This season, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these advanced speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for some time, but the movement isn't easy to perform and a player might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so users can clearly identify the timing to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the mechanic and introducing new ways to play for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a once niche movement quirk accessible to everyone? Principal designer the development lead explains the team aims for gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.

"Our community performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we looked around at other games, looked at what our players execute, and we said, 'What if we extend some of this power to more players?'" the designer clarifies. "Since currently, certain techniques are kind of janky to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. So we said, 'What if we create a more official version?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel players upward much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and capability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. But the spotlight is on aerial Valkyrie who's getting the most attention now, with multiple tweaks applied to enhance her as stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," says character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in today's the game. It was an ideal chance for us to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially restore her to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead notes the team assessed each of her abilities and implemented some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing her speed during flight, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, 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 tag enemies who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts her entire squad into the air for redeployment or retreat — now takes reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting some new perk choices that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

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

Map Changes

Even the game's only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with major changes that expands bottlenecks and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers says Apex Legends this update focuses on providing gamers the tools required to compete in the competition.

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

The battle royale the Amped season launches November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.