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The game developers has an exciting surprise prepared for Apex Legends players, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of this game's super-slick traversal can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on November 4th.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this ability provides gamers a surge of propulsion when scaling obstacles. As explained lead battle royale designer the design lead, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of the game for some time, often called as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these tricky speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in Apex for some time, but executing it isn't easy to perform and a player might not realize it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," the designer states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so users can easily see the timing to activate the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the mechanic and introducing new ways to compete 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 players to experience empowerment — even those who are inexperienced.

"Our community performs other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, looked at what our players execute, and we said, 'What if we extend these capabilities to more players?'" the designer clarifies. "Because right now, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and execute within precise timings. We proposed, 'What if we create a polished implementation?'"

Season 27 Movement Focus

Movement is largely the name of the game in this season, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on her tactical ability is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will propel users into the air faster than it used to. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and capability to grant speed boosts to allies in range. However the spotlight is on aerial this Legend who's getting the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her more potent, quicker, and more lethal.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time is here," says character developer Ian Holstead. "Certainly she was dominant previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in today's Apex. This presented an ideal chance for the team to revisit multiple elements [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 the team assessed each of her abilities and implemented significant changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, increasing velocity while airborne, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, allowing her to spend more time in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who are hit from it. Her Skyward Dive ability — which launches her entire squad skyward for repositioning or retreat — requires much less time to fire up. She's also getting recently added Legend Upgrades that players can choose to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead comments.

Map Changes

Even the game's only floating arena, this location, receives a mobility-focused overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. The developers says the game this update focuses on providing gamers the tools they need to keep up with the competition.

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

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