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The game developers have a special treat in store for the popular battle royale gamers, perfectly timed for the holidays. Fans of the battle royale's super-slick movement will be pleased to discover that an innovative traversal feature will be introduced when Season 27: Amped launches on Nov. 4.

Unveiling Mantle Boosting

Dubbed "Mantle Boosting" by the developers, this feature gives players a burst of forward momentum when climbing over ledges and walls. As explained key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting has unofficially been a feature of Apex Legends for some time, often called as "ledge boosting." But it's challenging for casual gamers, and typically employed by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. This season, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to successfully perform these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique have been in the game for some time, but executing it isn't easy to perform and gamers would never know it [is in the game] without external guides," the designer explains. "We're adding a visual cue so users can easily see the timing to trigger the fast-paced traversal skill, making accessible the feature and adding new ways to compete for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a once niche movement quirk accessible to all players? Lead Legend designer the development lead says the team aims for players to feel powerful — including ones who are inexperienced.

"Our community performs advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafes, and we looked around at our competition, observed what our players are doing, and we said, 'What if we extend some of this power to a broader audience?'" Mohan explains. "Because right now, some of these advanced [movement] mechanics are somewhat awkward to access — it requires to remap your keybinds and hit precise timings. So we said, 'What if we create a polished version?'"

The Amped Update Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is largely the name of the game in this season, with characters Horizon, Rampart, and Valkyrie receiving enhancements to maintain them mobile. The cooldown period on Horizon's Gravity Lift is shorter, and the Gravity Lift will boost users into the air faster than before. Rampart's Amped Cover now include a roof and the ability to grant movement bonuses to allies in range. However it's aerial Valkyrie who's getting the most attention now, with various adjustments implemented to make her more potent, quicker, and deadlier.

"I think many agree that Valkyrie's time has arrived," states Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been dominant previously, but due to the addition of other characters, movement[-based] passives, and redeployment tools, it felt like she fell behind in today's the game. This presented a really great opportunity for the team to reexamine multiple elements [of her kit] and sort of bring her back to former prominence."

Valkyrie's Upgrades

To restore Valkyrie's relevance in the game's meta, Holstead says the team assessed all her skills and implemented significant changes. Her jetpack have been upgraded, increasing velocity during flight, and the jets themselves now recharge much quicker, enabling the player to spend more time in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her ultimate ability, which has also been upgraded to tag opponents who take damage from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which lifts teammates into the air for redeployment or escape — requires much less time to activate. She's also getting recently added perk choices that players can select to conserve resources, widen the area of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive activation.

"Her jet pack fulfills the pilot experience," Holstead says.

Olympus Improvements

Even the game's only floating arena, this location, is getting a mobility-focused facelift, with an extensive redesign that expands bottlenecks and makes claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers says Apex Legends Season 27 is all about providing gamers the tools required to compete in the competition.

"Essentially, we were looking at Apex's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," explains lead Legend designer the lead.

Apex Legends the Amped season launches Nov. 4 at the specified times.