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Respawn Entertainment has a special treat in store for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of this game's highly fluid movement will be pleased to learn that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season launches on November 4th.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature gives players a surge of propulsion 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 "mantle jumping." But it's challenging 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 successfully perform these tricky movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts existed in the game for some time, but the movement requires skill to perform and a player would never know it [is in the game] without outside knowledge," Canavese explains. "Now including a visual cue so players can easily see when and how to activate the high-octane traversal skill, making accessible the mechanic and introducing new ways to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

Why make a previously obscure movement quirk available to everyone? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan explains the team aims for gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we looked around at our competition, observed what the community execute, and we wondered, 'What if we extend some of this power to more players?'" Mohan clarifies. "Because right now, certain techniques are somewhat awkward to use — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. So we said, 'How about we create a polished version?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is primarily the name of the game in this season, with characters Horizon, the defensive specialist, and Valkyrie all getting buffs to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and this skill will boost users into the air much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and capability to grant movement bonuses to those nearby. However the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend receiving the most attention now, with various adjustments implemented to enhance her as stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"I think there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," states character developer the designer. "There's no doubt she was dominant in the past, but due to the addition of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it seemed like she's not very relevant in today's the game. This presented an ideal chance for us to revisit multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially bring her back to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead notes the team assessed each of her abilities and implemented some powerful modifications. Her jetpack received improvements, increasing her speed while airborne, and this equipment now recharge three times faster, enabling the player to remain longer aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to mark opponents who take damage from it. Her Skyward Dive skill — which lifts her entire squad into the air for redeployment or escape — requires much less time to activate. She's also getting some new perk choices that players can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her ultimate activation.

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

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's lone airborne map, this location, is getting a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that opens up choke points and makes securing elevated positions more manageable. Respawn state the game Season 27 focuses on providing gamers the resources required to compete in the competition.

"Really, we were looking at the game's core identity as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer Josh Mohan.

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