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Respawn Entertainment have a special treat in store for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of this game's super-slick traversal will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when the Amped season launches on November 4th.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Named "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a burst of propulsion when climbing over obstacles. According to key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially existed of the game for some time, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." But it's no easy feat for the average player, and is mainly used by competitive players in Ranked Mode or esports competitions. This season, Respawn simplifies the process for everyone to execute these advanced movement boosts.

"This technique existed in the game for some time, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and gamers would never know it's possible without external guides," Canavese states. "Now including a visual cue so users can clearly identify the timing to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, opening up the mechanic and introducing new ways to compete for a much wider base."

The Reasoning Behind Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a previously obscure movement quirk available to all players? Lead Legend designer the development lead explains the team wants players to experience empowerment — even those who are inexperienced.

"[The playerbase] is doing other crazy stuff like super-gliding and tap-strafes, and we looked around at other games, observed what our players are doing, and we said, 'How can we extend these capabilities to more players?'" Mohan explains. "Because currently, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit one-frame windows. So we said, 'What if we make a polished implementation?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is primarily the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to help keep them in motion. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will propel players into the air much quicker than it used to. Her defensive walls now include a roof and capability to provide movement bonuses to those nearby. But the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend who's getting the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks applied to make her stronger, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that her moment is here," says character developer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, movement[-based] passives, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind in current Apex. It was a really great opportunity for the team to revisit multiple elements [of her kit] and essentially bring her back to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead notes Respawn evaluated all her skills and implemented significant modifications. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting her speed during flight, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, allowing her to spend more time aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her own Missile Swarm, which was enhanced to mark opponents who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts her entire squad skyward for redeployment or retreat — requires much less time to activate. She's also getting some new perk choices that players can select to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her rockets, or further speed up her Skyward Dive activation.

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

Map Changes

Additionally, the only floating arena, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused overhaul, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers says the game Season 27 is all about providing gamers the tools they need to keep up with the competition.

"Essentially, we were looking at the game's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," says principal designer Josh Mohan.

The battle royale the Amped season releases Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.