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The game developers have a special treat in store for Apex Legends gamers, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to discover that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature gives players a surge of propulsion when scaling obstacles. According to lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique was previously been a feature of the game for quite a while, often called as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and is mainly used by competitive players in Ranked Mode or tournaments. In this update, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for a while, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and a player might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese explains. "We're adding a visual cue so users can easily see the timing to activate the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the feature and adding fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a previously obscure movement quirk available to all players? Lead Legend designer the development lead says the team aims for gamers to feel powerful — even those who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] is doing other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, observed what our players execute, and we said, 'How can we extend these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Because currently, certain techniques are kind of janky to access — you need to change controls and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we create a polished version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Mobility is largely the central theme in this season, with Legends Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will boost players into the air much quicker than before. Her defensive walls feature a roof and capability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. However the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie receiving significant improvements this season, with various adjustments applied to make her more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," says character developer the designer. "Certainly that she's been dominant previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in current the game. It was a really great opportunity for us to reexamine multiple elements in her abilities and sort of restore her to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead says Respawn evaluated all her skills and introduced some powerful modifications. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing velocity during flight, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, allowing the player to spend more time aloft. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts her entire squad skyward for repositioning or retreat — requires reduced delay to activate. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that users can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

"Her jet pack fulfills the pilot experience," Holstead comments.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's lone airborne map, this location, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with major changes that expands bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. The developers state the game this update focuses on giving players the resources required to compete in the competition.

"Essentially, we were looking at Apex's core identity as a movement shooter," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

The battle royale Season 27: Amped launches November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.