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The game developers has a special treat in store for the popular battle royale gamers, arriving just in time for festive season. Fans of this game's highly fluid movement can rejoice to discover that a new movement mechanic is being implemented when the Amped season goes live on Nov. 4.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this ability provides gamers a burst of forward momentum when scaling ledges and walls. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of the game for quite a while, often called as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for casual gamers, and is mainly used by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, Respawn is making it easier for everyone to successfully perform these advanced movement boosts.

"This technique have been in the game for some time, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and gamers might not realize it's possible without external guides," Canavese states. "Now including a visual cue so players can clearly identify the timing to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, opening up the mechanic and introducing new ways to play for a much wider base."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

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

"Our community is doing advanced techniques like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we examined at our competition, observed what our players are doing, and we said, 'How can we provide some of this power to more players?'" the designer explains. "Because currently, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to use — you need to change controls and execute within one-frame windows. So we said, 'How about we make a polished implementation?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is primarily the central theme in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant receiving buffs to maintain them mobile. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and this skill will boost users upward much quicker than it used to. Rampart's Amped Cover feature overhead protection and capability to provide movement bonuses to allies in range. However the spotlight is on aerial this Legend who's getting the most attention now, with multiple tweaks applied to enhance her as stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that her moment is here," says character developer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant in the past, but with the introduction of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she's not very relevant in current Apex. It was a really great opportunity for us to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and sort of restore her to her glory days."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, Holstead says the team assessed each of her abilities and introduced significant changes. Her VTOL Jets received improvements, increasing velocity while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates three times faster, enabling her to spend more time aloft. Now she won't be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy ability — which launches her entire squad into the air for repositioning or retreat — requires reduced delay to activate. Additionally, she gains some new Legend Upgrades that users can choose to reduce fuel consumption, expand the spread of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive activation.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills the pilot experience," he comments.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground a bit less daunting. Respawn state Apex Legends this update is all about giving players the resources required to compete in matches.

"Essentially, we examined Apex's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," explains lead Legend designer Josh Mohan.

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