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Respawn Entertainment have an exciting surprise prepared for Apex Legends players, perfectly timed for festive season. Enthusiasts of this game's highly fluid traversal will be pleased to discover that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when the Amped season launches on November 4th.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Named "Momentum Boosting" by Respawn, this feature provides gamers a surge of propulsion when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained key developer the design lead, this technique was previously been a feature of the game for some time, often called as "mantle jumping." However it's challenging for the average player, and is mainly used by competitive players in Ranked Mode or tournaments. This season, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these advanced movement boosts.

"Mantle Boosts have been in Apex for some time, but executing it isn't easy to pull off and gamers would never know it's possible without external guides," the designer explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so players can easily see the timing to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to play for a much wider base."

Why Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

What's the reason for making a previously obscure technique accessible to everyone? Principal designer Josh Mohan explains developers wants players to experience empowerment — including ones who are new.

"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we examined at other games, observed what our players execute, and we said, 'What if we extend some of this power to more players?'" the designer explains. "Since right now, some of these techniques are somewhat awkward to use — you need to change controls and hit precise timings. We proposed, 'How about we make a polished version?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Mobility is primarily the name of the game in this season, with Legends Horizon, Rampart, and the aerial combatant all getting buffs to help keep them mobile. The cooldown period on her tactical ability has been decreased, and the Gravity Lift will propel users upward much quicker than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include overhead protection and capability to provide speed boosts to allies in range. However the spotlight is on aerial Valkyrie who's getting the most attention this season, with multiple tweaks implemented to make her more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"In my opinion many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," says Legend designer the designer. "Certainly that she's been top-tier previously, but due to the addition of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it seemed like she fell behind in current the game. This presented an ideal chance for the team to reexamine a bunch of aspects [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead says Respawn evaluated all her skills and introduced significant changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, boosting her speed while airborne, and the jets themselves regenerates much quicker, allowing the player to remain longer aloft. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag enemies who take damage from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts her entire squad into the air for redeployment or escape — now takes much less time to fire up. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that players can choose to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or further speed up her ultimate takeoff time.

"Valkyrie's equipment fulfills that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead comments.

Map Changes

Even the game's only floating arena, Olympus, is getting a movement-friendly overhaul, with an extensive redesign that opens up bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers state Apex Legends this update focuses on providing gamers the tools they need to compete in matches.

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

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