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The game developers have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale players, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's highly fluid movement will be pleased to discover that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature gives players a burst of forward momentum when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained lead battle royale designer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of the game for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and is mainly used by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these advanced movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in Apex for some time, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and a player would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," Canavese explains. "We're adding a visual cue so players can easily see when and how to activate the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the mechanic and adding new ways to play for a much wider base."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a previously obscure movement quirk available to everyone? Principal designer the development lead says developers wants players to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.

"Our community performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we examined at other games, looked at what the community are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we provide these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Because right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to use — it requires to change controls and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we create a more official implementation?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Movement is largely the central theme in this season, with characters the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to maintain them in motion. Recovery time on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will boost users into the air faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection 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 enhance her as stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"I think there's quite a consensus that her moment has arrived," states character developer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and redeployment tools, it felt like she fell behind in today's the game. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to revisit multiple elements in her abilities and sort of bring her back to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, the developer notes Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and introduced some powerful changes. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting velocity during flight, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, allowing the player to spend more time aloft. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to mark enemies who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive ability — which lifts teammates into the air for repositioning or retreat — requires much less time to activate. She's also getting recently added Legend Upgrades that players can select to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her ultimate takeoff time.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.

Map Changes

Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly overhaul, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers says Apex Legends Season 27 focuses on providing gamers the tools required to keep up with matches.

"Essentially, we examined the game's core identity as a movement shooter," says lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

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