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Respawn Entertainment has a special treat prepared for the popular battle royale players, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of this game's super-slick traversal can rejoice to learn that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this ability gives players a surge of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. According to key developer the design lead, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." But it's challenging 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 successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in Apex for some time, but executing it requires skill to pull off and gamers might not realize it [is in the game] without external guides," Canavese explains. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so users can easily see when and how to trigger the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the mechanic and adding new ways to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a once niche technique accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan says developers wants gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, looked at what our players execute, and we said, 'What if we provide some of this power to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Because right now, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to access — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we create a more official version?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Mobility is largely the name of the game in Season 27, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel users into the air much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and the ability to grant speed boosts to those nearby. But the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie receiving the most attention this season, with various adjustments implemented to make her stronger, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time is here," states character developer the designer. "There's no doubt she was dominant previously, but with the introduction of other characters, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in current Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for us to revisit a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and essentially restore her to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead says Respawn assessed each of her abilities and implemented some powerful modifications. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, increasing velocity during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge much quicker, enabling the player to spend more time in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts her entire squad into the air for redeployment or escape — requires reduced delay to fire up. Additionally, she gains recently added Legend Upgrades that players can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on the pilot experience," he comments.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the only floating arena, this location, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that expands choke points and renders securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. Respawn state Apex Legends Season 27 focuses on giving players the resources they need to compete in the competition.

"Essentially, 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.