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The game developers have a special treat prepared for Apex Legends gamers, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick movement will be pleased to discover that a new movement mechanic will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on November 4th.

Introducing Mantle Boosting

Named "Mantle Boosting" by Respawn, this ability gives players a burst of forward momentum when climbing over obstacles. According to key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting was previously existed of Apex Legends for some time, often called as "mantle jumping." However it's no easy feat for casual gamers, and is mainly used by competitive players in competitive play or esports competitions. In this update, the team simplifies the process for everyone to successfully perform these advanced movement boosts.

"This technique existed in the game for some time, but executing it isn't easy to perform and gamers would never know it's possible without external guides," Canavese states. "Now including a visual cue so players can easily see when and how to trigger the fast-paced movement ability, making accessible the feature and introducing fresh strategies to compete for more players."

Why Make It Accessible

What's the reason for making a previously obscure movement quirk accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer Josh Mohan says the team aims for gamers to feel powerful — including ones who are new.

"Our community is doing other crazy stuff like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we looked around at other games, looked at what our players are doing, and we wondered, 'How can we extend some of this power to more players?'" the designer clarifies. "Because currently, some of these techniques are kind of janky to use — you need to remap your keybinds and execute within one-frame windows. We proposed, 'What if we make a polished version?'"

The Amped Update Movement Focus

Movement is largely the name of the game in Season 27, with Legends Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie all getting enhancements to help keep them mobile. Recovery time on her tactical ability has been decreased, and this skill will boost players upward much quicker than before. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and capability to provide speed boosts to those nearby. However it's the high-flying Valkyrie receiving the most attention now, with various adjustments applied to enhance her as more potent, faster, and more lethal.

"In my opinion many agree that her moment is here," says Legend designer the designer. "Certainly that she's been top-tier previously, but with the introduction of other characters, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind in today's the game. It was an ideal chance for us to revisit multiple elements in her abilities and sort of bring her back to her glory days."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To restore her competitive status in current strategies, Holstead notes Respawn evaluated each of her abilities and introduced significant modifications. Her VTOL Jets have been upgraded, increasing velocity while airborne, and this equipment regenerates three times faster, allowing her to remain longer in the air. She can no longer be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to mark opponents who take damage from the missiles. Her Skyward Dive ability — which lifts teammates into the air for repositioning or retreat — requires reduced delay to activate. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that players can select to reduce fuel consumption, widen the area of her rockets, or accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

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

Olympus Improvements

Additionally, the lone airborne map, this location, receives a movement-friendly facelift, with major changes that opens up bottlenecks and makes securing elevated positions a bit less daunting. The developers says Apex Legends Season 27 focuses on giving players the resources they need to keep up with matches.

"Essentially, we were looking at Apex's fundamental nature as a fast-paced FPS," explains principal designer the lead.

The battle royale the Amped season launches Nov. 4 at the specified times.