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The game developers has an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's super-slick movement can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this ability provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. According to lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, this technique was previously been a feature of the game for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, the team simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these advanced speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed 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. "We're adding a visual cue so users can easily see the timing to trigger the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to play for more players."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a previously obscure movement quirk available to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan says the team aims for gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, looked at what the community execute, and we wondered, 'How can we extend some of this power to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Since right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to use — it requires to change controls and hit precise timings. So we said, 'How about we make a polished implementation?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel users upward much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and capability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However it's aerial this Legend receiving the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks applied to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and more lethal.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," says Legend designer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. This presented an ideal chance for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of restore her to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in current strategies, the developer says the team evaluated all her skills and implemented some powerful modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing her speed while airborne, and this equipment regenerates much quicker, enabling her to spend more time in the air. Now she won't take damage from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches teammates into the air for redeployment or retreat — now takes reduced delay to fire up. She's also getting some new Legend Upgrades that users can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her rockets, or further speed up her ultimate takeoff time.

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

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. Respawn state the game this update is all about giving players the tools they need to keep up with matches.

"Essentially, we were looking at Apex's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," says principal designer the lead.

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