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The game developers has an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale players, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of this game's super-slick traversal will be pleased to discover that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when the Amped season goes live on November 4th.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a burst of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. According to key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of Apex Legends for some time, often called as "mantle jumping." But it's challenging for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. In this update, the team simplifies the process for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.

"This technique existed in the game for a while, but the movement requires skill to pull off and gamers would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," Canavese states. "Now including a visual cue so players can easily see the timing to activate the high-octane traversal skill, making accessible the feature and introducing fresh strategies to play for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a previously obscure technique accessible to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains developers wants gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are new.

"Our community performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we looked around at other games, observed what our players execute, and we said, 'How can we extend these capabilities to a broader audience?'" the designer explains. "Since right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we make a more official version?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Movement is largely the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to maintain them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel users into the air faster than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover now include overhead protection and the ability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. But the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie who's getting significant improvements this season, with various adjustments implemented to make her stronger, faster, and more lethal.

"I think there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," states character developer Ian Holstead. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier previously, but due to the addition of other characters, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in today's the game. It was a really great opportunity for us to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and sort of restore her to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, the developer says Respawn assessed each of her abilities and implemented some powerful changes. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, boosting velocity while airborne, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, allowing her to remain longer in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to mark opponents who take damage from it. Her squad redeploy ability — which launches her entire squad skyward for repositioning or retreat — requires much less time to fire up. She's also getting some new perk choices that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her ultimate activation.

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

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly overhaul, with an extensive redesign that expands choke points and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers state the game this update focuses on providing gamers the resources they need to keep up with the competition.

"Really, we were looking at the game's core identity as a movement shooter," explains principal designer the lead.

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped releases Nov. 4 at the specified times.