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Respawn Entertainment has an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for festive season. Enthusiasts of the battle royale's super-slick movement can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Introducing The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature gives players a surge of propulsion when climbing over ledges and walls. According to key developer the design lead, this technique was previously existed of Apex Legends for some time, often called as "ledge boosting." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or tournaments. In this update, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these tricky speed-boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in Apex for some time, but executing it requires skill to pull off and a player might not realize it [is in the game] without external guides," the designer states. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so players can clearly identify when and how to trigger the high-octane movement ability, opening up the feature and introducing fresh strategies to play for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a once niche movement quirk accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer the development lead says the team wants gamers to experience empowerment — including ones who are inexperienced.

"Our community performs other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, looked at what the community are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we extend these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Since right now, some of these techniques are kind of janky to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we make a more official version?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Mobility is largely the central theme in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to maintain them in motion. The cooldown period on her tactical ability is shorter, and this skill will boost users into the air faster than before. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and the ability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However it's aerial Valkyrie who's getting the most attention this season, with various adjustments applied to make her more potent, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion many agree that Valkyrie's time is here," says character developer the designer. "Certainly that she's been dominant previously, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it felt like she's not very relevant in current Apex. This presented a really great opportunity for us to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially bring her back to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead notes Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and introduced some powerful modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, increasing her speed during flight, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, enabling her to remain longer aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to mark opponents who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy ability — which lifts her entire squad into the air for repositioning or escape — now takes reduced delay to activate. Additionally, she gains recently added perk choices that users can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

"Her jet pack now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead comments.

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the only floating arena, this location, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and makes claiming the high ground 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 core identity as a movement shooter," explains principal designer the lead.

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped releases Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.