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Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise prepared for the popular battle royale players, perfectly timed for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's super-slick movement will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when climbing over obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer the design lead, this technique was previously existed of Apex Legends for some time, usually referred to as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and typically employed by competitive players in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. In this update, the team is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.

"This technique existed in Apex for some time, but executing it requires skill to pull off and gamers would never know it's possible without outside knowledge," Canavese states. "We're adding a Mantle Boost indicator so players can clearly identify the timing to trigger the high-octane traversal skill, opening up the mechanic and introducing fresh strategies to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a once niche movement quirk available to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains developers wants gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"Our community performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, observed what our players are doing, and we said, 'What if we provide some of this power to a broader audience?'" the designer clarifies. "Since currently, certain techniques are kind of janky to use — you need to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. So we said, 'How about we create a more official implementation?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is largely the central theme in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to maintain them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and this skill will propel users upward faster than it used to. Her defensive walls now include overhead protection and capability to provide movement bonuses to allies in range. However the spotlight is on the high-flying Valkyrie receiving the most attention this season, with various adjustments implemented to enhance her as more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that her moment is here," says Legend designer the designer. "Certainly she was dominant previously, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in current the game. This presented an ideal chance for us to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of restore her to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in the game's meta, Holstead notes the team evaluated all her skills and implemented significant modifications. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, boosting velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves now recharge three times faster, allowing the player to spend more time aloft. Now she won't take damage from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who are hit from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive ability — which lifts teammates skyward for repositioning or escape — now takes much less time to fire up. Additionally, she gains recently added perk choices that players can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate activation.

"Her jet pack fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," he comments.

Map Changes

Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, receives a movement-friendly overhaul, with major changes that opens up choke points and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers says Apex Legends Season 27 focuses on giving players the tools they need to keep up with the competition.

"Really, we were looking at Apex's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains lead Legend designer the lead.

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