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The game developers have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of this game's highly fluid traversal can rejoice to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season goes live on Nov. 4.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a surge of propulsion when scaling obstacles. According to lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for some time, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by competitive players in Ranked Mode or tournaments. In this update, Respawn simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to execute these advanced movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in the game for a while, but the movement isn't easy to perform and a player might not realize it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "Now including a visual cue so players can easily see when and how to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the feature and introducing new ways to compete for a much wider base."

Why Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a once niche movement quirk available to everyone? Principal designer Josh Mohan explains the team aims for players to feel powerful — including ones who are new.

"Our community performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, observed what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we provide these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Because currently, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. So we said, 'What if we make a polished version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Mobility is largely the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to help keep them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel players into the air much quicker than before. Her defensive walls now include a roof and the ability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However the spotlight is on aerial Valkyrie who's getting significant improvements this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her more potent, quicker, and more lethal.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," says character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly that she's been dominant previously, but due to the addition of other characters, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in today's the game. It was an ideal chance for the team to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially restore her to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, the developer says Respawn evaluated all her skills and implemented significant changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting velocity during flight, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, allowing the player to remain longer in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to mark enemies who are hit from it. Her Skyward Dive skill — which launches her entire squad skyward for repositioning or escape — requires reduced delay to activate. She's also getting recently added perk choices that users can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her Skyward Dive activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on the pilot experience," Holstead says.

Map Changes

Additionally, the only floating arena, this location, is getting a movement-friendly overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn state the game Season 27 focuses on giving players the tools required to keep up with matches.

"Really, we examined Apex's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says principal designer the lead.

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