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Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of this game's highly fluid movement will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a surge of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. According to key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of the game for quite a while, often called as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in competitive play or tournaments. In this update, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in the game for some time, but executing it requires skill to pull off and a player might not realize it's possible without external guides," Canavese states. "We're adding a visual cue so users can clearly identify the timing to activate the fast-paced movement ability, opening up the feature and adding fresh strategies to play for more players."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a once niche movement quirk accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer the development lead explains the team aims for gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"Our community is doing other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we looked around at other games, looked at what our players execute, and we said, 'How can we extend these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Because right now, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to change controls and hit one-frame windows. So we said, 'What if we make a more official version?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is largely the name of the game in this season, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to help keep them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost users into the air much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and capability to provide movement bonuses to those nearby. However the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend who's getting the most attention this season, with various adjustments implemented to make her stronger, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that her moment has arrived," states Legend designer the designer. "Certainly that she's been dominant in the past, but due to the addition of other characters, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she fell behind in current the game. It was a really great opportunity for us to revisit multiple elements [of her kit] and sort of restore her to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead says Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and implemented significant modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, increasing velocity during flight, and this equipment regenerates three times faster, allowing her to spend more time aloft. She can no longer take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy ability — which launches teammates skyward for redeployment or escape — now takes reduced delay to activate. Additionally, she gains recently added perk choices that players can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her rockets, or further speed up her ultimate activation.

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

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's lone airborne map, this location, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that opens up choke points and renders securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. Respawn state the game this update focuses on providing gamers the tools they need to keep up with the competition.

"Really, we were looking at the game's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says lead Legend designer the lead.

The battle royale Season 27: Amped launches Nov. 4 at the specified times.