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Respawn Entertainment has an exciting surprise in store for Apex Legends players, arriving just in time for the holidays. Fans of this game's super-slick traversal can rejoice to discover that an innovative traversal feature is being implemented when Season 27: Amped goes live on Nov. 4.

Unveiling The Mantle Boost

Dubbed "Momentum Boosting" by the developers, this feature provides gamers a surge of forward momentum when scaling obstacles. According to key developer Eric Canavese, Mantle Boosting was previously been a feature of the game for quite a while, usually referred to as "ledge boosting." However it's challenging for the average player, and is mainly used by pro gamers in competitive play or esports competitions. This season, the team is making it easier for players of all skill levels to execute these tricky speed-boosts.

"This technique existed in Apex for some time, but the movement requires skill to perform and gamers would never know it's possible without external guides," Canavese explains. "Now including a Mantle Boost indicator so players can easily see the timing to trigger the high-octane movement ability, opening up the mechanic and adding fresh strategies to play for more players."

The Reasoning Behind Opening Up Advanced Mechanics

Why make a previously obscure movement quirk available to everyone? Principal designer Josh Mohan says the team wants gamers to experience empowerment — even those who are new.

"[The playerbase] is doing advanced techniques like super-glides and tap-strafing, and we examined at other games, observed what the community are doing, and we said, 'What if we provide some of this power to more players?'" the designer explains. "Because currently, certain advanced [movement] mechanics are kind of janky to access — it requires to change controls and hit one-frame windows. We proposed, 'How about we create a polished implementation?'"

Season 27 Emphasis on Mobility

Movement is largely the central theme in Season 27, with characters the gravity mage, the defensive specialist, and the aerial combatant all getting enhancements to maintain them mobile. Recovery time on Horizon's Gravity Lift has been decreased, and this skill will propel users upward faster than before. Her defensive walls feature overhead protection and the ability to grant movement bonuses to those nearby. But the spotlight is on the high-flying this Legend who's getting significant improvements now, with various adjustments implemented to make her stronger, faster, and deadlier.

"In my opinion there's quite a consensus that Valkyrie's time is here," says Legend designer the designer. "There's no doubt that she's been top-tier in the past, but with the introduction of new Legends, mobility perks, and Evac Towers, it felt like she fell behind in today's Apex. It was an ideal chance for the team to reexamine a bunch of aspects in her abilities and sort of bring her back to former prominence."

Enhancements to the Aerial Legend

To reclaim Valkyrie's relevance in current strategies, Holstead notes the team assessed all her skills and implemented some powerful changes. Her jetpack received improvements, boosting her speed while airborne, and this equipment now recharge much quicker, allowing her to spend more time in the air. Now she won't be harmed from her ultimate ability, which was enhanced to mark opponents who are hit from it. Her squad redeploy skill — which launches her entire squad into the air for redeployment or retreat — now takes much less time to fire up. Additionally, she gains some new perk choices that users can select to conserve resources, expand the spread of her Missile Swarm, or accelerate her Skyward Dive takeoff time.

"Valkyrie's equipment now delivers on that jet-fighter fantasy," Holstead says.

Map Changes

Even the game's lone airborne map, Olympus, receives a mobility-focused facelift, with major changes that expands bottlenecks and renders claiming the high ground more manageable. The developers state the game Season 27 is all about giving players the tools required to compete in the competition.

"Really, we examined Apex's fundamental nature as a movement shooter," says principal designer Josh Mohan.

Apex Legends Season 27: Amped releases November 4th at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.