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The game developers has a special treat in store for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of this game's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a surge of forward momentum when climbing over obstacles. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, this technique has unofficially been a feature of the game for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for the average player, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, the team simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for some time, but executing it requires skill to perform and a player might not realize it [is in the game] without external guides," Canavese explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so players can easily see the timing to activate the high-octane movement ability, opening up the mechanic and introducing new ways to compete for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a previously obscure movement quirk accessible to all players? Principal designer the development lead says the team wants players to feel powerful — including ones who are new.

"Our community performs advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, observed what our players execute, and we said, 'How can we provide some of this power to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Because right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to use — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we make a polished implementation?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Mobility is primarily the central theme in this season, with Legends Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to help keep them in motion. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost users upward faster than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover now include overhead protection and capability to provide speed boosts to those nearby. But the spotlight is on aerial this Legend who's getting significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks applied to make her more potent, quicker, and more lethal.

"I think there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," says character developer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant in the past, but due to the addition of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind in current Apex. It was a really great opportunity for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects in her abilities and essentially bring her back to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead notes the team assessed all her skills and implemented some powerful modifications. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, boosting velocity during flight, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, enabling her to remain longer aloft. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches her entire squad skyward for repositioning or escape — now takes much less time to fire up. She's also getting recently added Legend Upgrades that users can choose to conserve resources, expand the spread of her rockets, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's only floating arena, this location, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that expands bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn state the game this update focuses on giving players the tools they need to compete in matches.

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

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped launches November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.